Musquash Marine Protected Area Benthic Infauna Baseline Monitoring

Benthic infauna monitoring data establishes a biodiversity baseline for the Musquash Marine Protected Area, collected from 30 random stations across channel, intertidal, and subtidal strata. Data collection began in 2010, analyzing samples for grain size, carbon content, species abundance, diversity, and biomass. The dataset supports monitoring of productivity, biodiversity, and habitat indicators within Musquash Harbour.

Use Cases

• Analyze species abundance and diversity across three strata (channel, intertidal, subtidal) to assess habitat-specific biodiversity.
• Investigate relationships between grain size and carbon content (Loss on Ignition) as indicators of benthic habitat quality.
• Monitor temporal changes in biomass and species composition to evaluate ecosystem health within the Marine Protected Area.
• Use data on grain size and carbon content to model sediment characteristics and their influence on infaunal community structure.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a structured monitoring plan with 30 random sampling stations, ensuring spatial representation.
• Samples were collected up to three times per year to account for seasonal and annual variation, providing temporal depth.
• Analysis includes multiple ecological indicators: grain size, carbon content, species abundance/diversity, and biomass.

Limitations

• The specific number of data rows, columns, and total sample size is unknown, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale.
• Data may be geographically limited to the Musquash Estuary, reducing generalizability to other marine ecosystems.
• Reliance on manual grab sampling and laboratory analysis may introduce measurement variability not quantified in the metadata.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Coastal Ecosystem Science Division.

Collection Method

Samples collected using a 1500 cubic centimetre ponar benthic grab at randomly distributed stations, analyzed for grain size, carbon content, species metrics, and biomass.

Time Range

Monitoring began in 2010; specific end date is not provided.

Freshness

Data collection began in 2010; the dataset record was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Musquash Harbour within the Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area, New Brunswick, Canada.