Trends in biomass of marine fish Focal Ecosystem Components across each Arctic Marine Area STATE OF THE ARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY REPORT - Chapter 4 - Page 180 - Figure 4.4

This product displays for DDT, DDE, and DDD, positions with percentages of all available data values per group of animals that are present in EMODnet regional contaminants aggregated datasets, v2024. The product displays positions for all available years.

Ocean physical conditions in the Maritimes Region in 2019 were characterized by cooler surface temperatures, continued warmer bottom temperatures and weaker stratification compared to recent years. Deep nutrient inventories were lower than normal over most of the region, with the exception of the Cabot Strait section where deep nutrients were near or higher than normal during the spring sampling and associated with record-warm water. Anomalies of surface nutrients were negative across the region, with the exception of positive anomalies observed at the deep shelf and offshore stations of the Louisbourg section. The spring phytoplankton bloom was near or slightly earlier than normal across the Scotian Shelf (SS) with near-normal duration. Peak chlorophyll a concentrations during the spring bloom occurred within a narrow time window across the SS. At Halifax-2 (HL2), the spring bloom was characterized by a high amplitude, and a rapid progression and decline. Plankton community changes persisted in 2019 with lower abundance of large phytoplankton (diatoms), mainly lower-than-normal biomass of zooplankton and abundance of Calanus finmarchicus, and higher-than-normal abundance of non-copepods. Arctic Calanus and warm-shelf copepods showed mixed abundance anomalies in 2019, reversing the pattern of 2018. Above-normal abundances of Oithona atlantica, especially at HL2, suggest a greater influence of offshore waters in recent years. Surface temperature in the Bedford Basin was near normal in 2019 with mainly cooler-than-normal temperatures from January to June and near- or slightly-above-normal temperatures from July to December. Bottom temperature and salinity were below normal in 2019 with near- or slightly-above-normal conditions at the start of the year and progressing toward cooler and fresher water from February to December. Surface and deep nitrate, phosphate and silicate were near or below normal, with surface phosphate reaching a record low in 2019. The 2018 Continuous Plankton Recorder data indicated an annual abundance of diatoms close to normal for the Eastern (ESS) and Western Scotian Shelf (WSS), while the abundance of dinoflagellates and the Phytoplankton Colour Index values were near (WSS) or above (ESS) normal. The annual abundance of Calanus CI-IV was near normal (ESS) or slightly below normal (WSS), while C. finmarchicus CV-VI levels were slightly below (ESS) or below (WSS) normal. The abundance of Calanus glacialis (ESS, WSS) and Para/Pseudocalanus and Limacina spp. (WSS) were lower than normal, while that of coccolithphore (ESS, WSS), and copepod nauplii and foraminifera (ESS) was higher than normal. "

Time series of dissolved inorganic nutrients (nitrate, silicate, phosphate) (mmol/m2) at the 3 fixed stations and 46 stations, grouped into transects, of the Atlantic Zonal Monitoring Program (AZMP) under the Quebec region responsibility. The mean integrated nutrient data of 2 strata (0-50 m) et (50-150 m) from the last ten years are displayed as 12 layers, 6 for the June survey (2013-2022, 2020 not sampled) and 6 for the autumn survey (2013-2022). Finally, 2 other layers shows the positions of the fixed stations of the program (Anticosti Gyre, Gaspé Current and Rimouski). Each station is linked with a .png file showing the time series of nutrients and with a .csv file containing all the integrated nutrient data acquired at those stations since the beginning of the program sampling (columns : Station, Latitude, Longitude, Date(UTC), Sounding(m), Depth_min/Profondeur_min(m), Depth_max/Profondeur_max(m), Integrated_Nitrate/Nitrate_intégré(mmol/m²), Integrated_Phosphate/Phosphate_intégré(mmol/m²), Integrated_Silicate/Silice_intégrée(mmol/m²)). Purpose The Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) was implemented in 1998 with the aim of increasing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) capacity to detect, track and predict changes in the state and productivity of the marine environment. The AZMP collects data from a network of stations composed of high-frequency monitoring sites and cross-shelf sections in each following DFO region: Québec, Gulf, Maritimes and Newfoundland. The sampling design provides basic information on the natural variability in physical, chemical, and biological properties of the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf. Cross-shelf sections sampling provides detailed geographic information but is limited in a seasonal coverage while critically placed high-frequency monitoring sites complement the geography-based sampling by providing more detailed information on temporal changes in ecosystem properties. In Quebec region, two surveys (46 stations grouped into transects) are conducted every year, one in June and the other in autumn in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Historically, 3 fixed stations were sampled more frequently. One of these is the Rimouski station that still takes part of the program and is sampled about weekly throughout the summer and occasionally in the winter period. Annual reports (physical, biological and a Zonal Scientific Advice) are available from the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm). Devine, L., Scarratt, M., Plourde, S., Galbraith, P.S., Michaud, S., and Lehoux, C. 2017. Chemical and Biological Oceanographic Conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2015. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/034. v + 48 pp. Supplemental Information Water sampling for nutrients analysis is done from Niskin bottles according to AZMP sampling protocol: Mitchell, M. R., Harrison, G., Pauley, K., Gagné, A., Maillet, G., and Strain, P. 2002. Atlantic Zonal Monitoring Program sampling protocol. Can. Tech. Rep. Hydrogr. Ocean Sci. 223: iv + 23 pp.

Status of marine mammal Focal Ecosystem Component stocks by Arctic Marine Area. STATE OF THE ARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY REPORT - <a href="https://arcticbiodiversity.is/findings/marine-mammals" target="_blank">Chapter 3</a> - Page 157 - Figure 3.6.3

Sea ice meiofauna composition (pie charts) and total abundance (red circles) across the Arctic, compiled by the CBMP Sea Ice Biota Expert Network from 27 studies between 1979 and 2015. Scaled circles show total abundance per individual ice core while pie charts show average relative contribution by taxon per Arctic Marine Area (AMA). Number of ice cores for each AMA is given in parenthesis after region name. Note that studies were conducted at different times of the year, with the majority between March and August (see 3.1 Appendix). The category ‘other’ includes young stages of bristle worms (Polychaeta), mussel shrimps (Ostracoda), forams (Foraminifera), hydroid polyps (Cnidaria), comb jellies (Ctenophora), sea butterflies (Pteropoda), marine mites (Acari) and unidentified organisms. STATE OF THE ARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY REPORT - <a href="https://arcticbiodiversity.is/findings/sea-ice-biota" target="_blank">Chapter 3</a> - Page 40 - Figure 3.1.4 From the report draft: "Here, we synthesized 19 studies across the Arctic conducted between 1979 and 2015, including unpublished sources (B. Bluhm, R. Gradinger, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway; H. Hop, Norwegian Polar Institute; K. Iken, University of Alaska Fairbanks). These studies sampled landfast sea ice and offshore pack ice, both first- and multiyear ice (Appendix 3.1). Meiofauna abundances reported in individual data sources were converted to individuals m-2 of sea ice assuming that ice density was 95% of that in melted ice. Due to the low taxonomic resolution in the reviewed studies, ice meiofauna were grouped into: Copepoda, nauplii (for copepods as well as other taxa with naupliar stages), Nematoda, Polychaeta (mostly juveniles, but also trochophores), flatworms (Acoelomorpha and Platyhelminthes; these phyla have mostly been reported as one category), Rotifera, and others (which include meroplanktonic larvae other than Polychaeta, Ostracoda, Foraminifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Pteropoda, Acari, and unidentified organisms). Percentage of total abundance for each group was calculated for each ice core, and these percentages were used for regional averages. Maximum available ice core length was used in data analysis, but 50% of these ice cores included only the bottom 10 cm of the ice, 12% the bottom 5 cm, 10% the bottom 2 cm, and 11% the entire ice-thickness. Data from 617 cores were used."

Figure 3.2.2a: Relative abundance of major eukaryote taxonomic groups found by high throughput sequencing of the small-subunit (18S) rRNA gene across Arctic Marine Areas. Figure 3.2.2b: Relative abundance of major eukaryote functional groups found by microscopy in the Arctic Marine Areas. STATE OF THE ARCTIC MARINE BIODIVERSITY REPORT - <a href="https://arcticbiodiversity.is/findings/plankton" target="_blank">Chapter 3</a> - Page 70 - Figures 3.2.2a and 3.2.2b

A towfish containing sidescan and video hardware was used to map eelgrass in two shallow northern New Brunswick estuaries. The sidescan and video data were useful in documenting suspected impacts of oyster aquaculture gear and eutrophication on eelgrass. With one boat and a crew of three, the mapping was accomplished at a rate of almost 10 km2 per day. That rate far exceeds what could be accomplished by a SCUBA based survey with the same crew. Moreover, the towfish survey applied with a complementary echosounder survey is potentially a more cost effective mapping method than satellite based remote sensing. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Beds Using Sidescan and Video - Shippagan 2007. Published: November 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/6454594e-c8f9-41c4-801a-db125b8a8875

Vinsamlega hafið samband við Fiskistofu vegna nánari upplýsinga.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) High Water Mark Lines provide alongshore and across-shore geomorphological and biological attributes of the high water mark shoreline. The lines are used in the CHS nautical charts to represent the level reached by sea water at high tide.