Bathymetry data collected from Mobile Epibenthic Invertebrate Stations, November 2022

This dataset forms part of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB)'s collection of Bathymetry data for the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) Smart Zones MPA. This dataset is used for seabed analysis, the interpretation and creation of derivatives for geomorphological and statistical analysis in comparison with biological metrics. This dataset consists of locations below the surface of the water where the depth of water is precisely known relative to MSL. Sessile and mobile epibenthic invertebrates are organisms that are part of the benthic community. These organisms perform crucial roles and ecosystem services that benefit the benthic community and marine environment as a whole. These organisms’ distribution is affected by many abiotic and biotic factors. This study aims to determine the distribution of both the mobile and sessile epibenthic invertebrates and to investigate the relationship between the mobile and sessile epibenthic invertebrates. The objectives are to measure the abundance and composition of both the mobile and sessile epibenthic invertebrates found on the inner continental shelf of Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal and to analyze the statistical relationship between the sessile epibenthic assemblage data and the mobile epibenthic assemblage data. These aims and objectives will be satisfied by sampling on the Umhlanga coast using a drop camera and a baited drop camera. Multivariate tests were run on the abundance data and a Pearson’s correlation test for the relationship between the mobile and sessile epibenthic invertebrates. This study will provide new data on the presence and abundance of understudied mobile invertebrates inhabiting unconsolidated sediments of the KZN inner continental shelf and contribute to our understanding of the relationship between sessile and mobile invertebrate epifauna on the unconsolidated inner continental shelf. It will also test and establish the usefulness of a baited drop-camera for sampling epibenthic invertebrates.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Feature metadata record on SAEOSS landing page? false
DOI 10.15493/NRF.SAIAB.20232516
Metadata Standard
Metadata record responsible party
Individual name
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Position name
SAIAB
Role
owner
Electronic mail address
Website URL
https://nrfsaiab.wixsite.com/gemapocean
Metadata record responsible party contact info
Phone
Facsimile
Metadata record responsible party contact address
delivery Point
Somerset Street
City
Makhanda
Administrative area
Postal Code
6139
Topic category and SAEOSS theme
Topic Category
Oceans
Metadata and Metadata record language and character set
Dataset language
English
Dataset character set
UTF-8
Metadata language
English
Metadata character set
UTF-8
Lineage statement This dataset consists of locations below the surface of the water where the depth of water is precisely known relative to MSL. Sessile and mobile epibenthic invertebrates are organisms that are part of the benthic community.
Metadata record point of contact
Individual contact name
Thamsanqa Wanda
Role / Position of the contact individual
Geologist
Organisation role
point of contact
Electronic mail address
T.Wanda@saiab.nrf.ac.za
Metadata record point of contact additional info
Contact point phone
Contact point facsimile
Metadata record online information
URL
http://doi.org/10.15493/NRF.SAIAB.20232516
Name
bathymetry_data_collected_from_mobile_epibenthic_invertebrate_stations_november_2022
Application profile
Description
information
Distribution format
Metadata record distribution format name
Electronic metadata record
Metadata record distribution format version
1.1
Spatial parameters
Spatial resolution equivalent scale
N/A
Spatial representation type
Vector (vector data is used to represent geographic data)
Spatial Reference System Identifier
EPSG: 4326
Additional information about Reference Systems (temporal, vertical)
Reference date
Reference date 1
Reference datetime
2023-01-27T00:00
Reference date type
Creation
Metadata stamp date 2023-01-27T00:00
Metadata record thumbnail