Sediment and Faunal Attributes of Simoom Sound, British Columbia (2000-2001)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides sediment and faunal data from Simoom Sound, British Columbia, collected between November 2000 and February 2001. The dataset includes measurements of sediment grain size, porosity, organic content, carbon and nitrogen concentrations, trace elements, chlorophyll, and faunal abundance. Data formatting was performed by Meagan Mak for a study on the effects of shrimp trawling and trapping on benthic ecosystems.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlations between sediment grain size, porosity, and macrofaunal abundance to assess habitat suitability.
• Model chlorophyll and phaeopigment concentrations as indicators of primary productivity in relation to trace element levels.
• Compare total carbon and nitrogen content in sediment samples collected before and after commercial fishing activity.
• Investigate meiofaunal community composition as a bioindicator for potential ecosystem modification from trawling.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific time range from November 2000 to February 2001, enabling before-and-after impact analysis.
• Includes multiple sediment characteristics (grain size, porosity, organic content) and faunal data (macrofauna, meiofauna) for a holistic benthic assessment.
• Collected in the context of a controlled study investigating shrimp trawling and trapping impacts, providing focused environmental context.

Limitations

• Unknown sample size (row count) and specific column structure limits assessment of statistical power and feature scope.
• Data is temporally limited to two sampling events over a four-month period, restricting longitudinal analysis.
• Relies on tabulated data from a report; primary raw data formats or collection methodologies may not be fully detailed.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Sediment and infaunal samples collected before and after fishing with commercial otter-trawl, beam-trawl, and trap-lines.

Time Range

November 2000 to February 2001

Freshness

Dataset metadata was last updated in March 2026, though the underlying data collection occurred in 2000-2001.

Geography

Simoom Sound, central coast of British Columbia, Canada