Mobile Bay Benthic Fauna Monthly Survey 1980-1981

Eight stations in Mobile Bay, Alabama were sampled monthly for benthic fauna from April 1980 to February 1981. The Alabama Coastal Area Board funded this baseline survey to monitor changes in coastal resources over time. Fauna were collected via 0.1 m² Peterson grab and identified to the lowest possible taxon.

Use Cases

• Analyze monthly trends in benthic fauna abundance and composition across eight sampling stations.
• Model species distribution for crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, and echinoderms based on station location and sampling date.
• Correlate benthic community data with concurrent hydrographic, sediment, or plankton measurements from the broader survey program.
• Establish a 1980s baseline for comparing modern benthic surveys in Mobile Bay to assess ecological change.

Strengths

• Monthly sampling provides temporal resolution across 11 months from April 1980 to February 1981.
• Taxonomic identification to the lowest possible level for enumerated fauna.

Limitations

• Data coverage is incomplete, ending in February 1981 instead of the full planned period to April 1981.
• Limited spatial coverage to only eight stations within Mobile Bay.
• Dataset is over 40 years old, representing a historical snapshot that may not reflect current conditions.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), sourced from Alabama Coastal Area Board-funded surveys.

Collection Method

Samples collected via 0.1 m² Peterson grab, with fauna enumerated and identified to lowest taxon.

Time Range

April 1980 to February 1981.

Freshness

Historical dataset; last sample collected 1981-02-26.

Geography

Eight stations within Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA.