Invertebrate Important Areas in West Coast Vancouver Island Ecoregion

West Coast Vancouver Island Ecoregion data details Important Areas for key invertebrate species, mapped to inform marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area selection. Experts identified these areas based on high rankings in criteria like Uniqueness, Aggregation, and Fitness Consequences. The dataset is part of a series covering other taxonomic groups like birds, cetaceans, and fish.

Use Cases

• Identify marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) by analyzing the spatial distribution of Important Areas for invertebrates.
• Assess conservation priorities by evaluating areas ranked high in the Uniqueness, Aggregation, and Fitness Consequences criteria.
• Compare Important Areas for invertebrates with those for other taxonomic groups like birds and fish within the same ecoregion.

Strengths

• Data collection is considered complete, providing a stable baseline for analysis.
• Part of a broader series covering multiple taxonomic groups, enabling comparative ecological studies.
• Based on expert assessment using established scientific criteria for ecological significance.

Limitations

• Assessment methods, scientific advisors, and temporal extents differed between the 2004-2005 PNCIMA effort and the 2009 WCVI and SOG efforts.
• The dataset may become outdated if significant new ecological data emerges, requiring case-by-case review.
• Specific sample size, row count, and column details are unknown, limiting precise quantification of data volume.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Expert assessment and spatial data collection, with efforts in 2004-2005 for PNCIMA and 2009 for WCVI and SOG.

Time Range

Primary assessment for WCVI conducted in 2009; may revisit earlier PNCIMA data from 2004-2005.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-24, though underlying data collection for WCVI was conducted in 2009.

Geography

West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI) ecoregion, part of Canadian Pacific marine waters.