Description
This dataset reports new records and range extensions of 60 species of amphipods from 39 genera of amphipoda that were not previously described among Thalassia testudinum beds at Bon Accord Lagoon (BAL) Tobago. Amphipods were obtained from sampling efforts conducted in BAL over two sampling periods in the wet and dry seasons of 2018, the majority from discrete seagrass bed microhabitats. Sampling involved immersing a 15cm diameter corer to a depth of 10 cm and using a rubber bung at the top of the device to create a vacuum. Core samples were sieved in the field using a 0.5mm mesh screen. Samples were stained with Rose Bengal and preserved with a 10% formalin-seawater mixture. Benthic samples were sorted by hand and all macrofaunal species were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level This study increases the number of amphipods on record from Trinidad and Tobago to 60.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 67 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Kanhai A (2023). Amphipod Data derived from Bon Accord Lagoon, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago. Version 1.1. Institute of Marine Affairs. Occurrence dataset. https://cloud.gbif.org/lac/resource?r=bal_amphipod_2018&v=1.1
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Institute of Marine Affairs. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 03e0cd8d-58b5-4c3b-9a71-1f82556afa37. Institute of Marine Affairs publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.
Keywords
Occurrence; Marine Ecology; Amphipod populations; Bon Accord Lagoon; Taxonomy; Benthic Macroinvertebrates; Gammaridea; Senticaudata; Observation; Amphipoda; Caribbean; Taxonomy; Benthic Macroinvertebrates; Crustacea; Bon Accord Lagoon; Marine Ecology; Amphipod populations; Bon Accord Lagoon; Taxonomy; Benthic Macroinvertebrates; Gammaridea; Senticaudata
Contacts
- Originator
- Research Officer
https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-6903
- Point Of Contact
- Data Officer
- Publisher
- Data Officer
Geographic Coverage
Bon Accord Lagoon, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago, is approximately 32 km on the northeastern side of Trinidad.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [11.166, -60.839], North East [11.173, -60.816] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
N/A
| Kingdom | Animalia |
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| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Amphipoda, Tanaidacea |
| Family | Bateidae, Cyproideidae, Amphilochidae, Apseudidae, Dexaminidae, Megaluropidae, Aoridae, Maeridae, Isaeidae, Ampeliscidae, Ischyroceridae, Phoxocephalidae, Hyalidae, Caprellidae, Gammaridae, Platyischnopidae, Lysianassidae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date | 2018-08-21 |
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Project Data
There is a dearth of information on marine amphipods found in Trinidad and Tobago, as no local study has focused exclusively on these assemblages which this study seeks to address. The aim of this project is to report new records, range extensions and community analysis of amphipod epifaunal and infaunal species found within Thalassia testudinum dominated seagrass beds. Amphipods were obtained from seasonal (dry and wet) sampling efforts conducted in Bon Accord Lagoon (BAL), Tobago in 2018, the majority from discrete seagrass bed microhabitats at six sites. The Natural Geography in Shore Areas (NaGISA) protocol for sampling infauna was used. One thousand, eight hundred and twenty (1,820) amphipods were collected among T. testudinum beds representing 65 species and belonging to 40 genera and 21 families. Seasonal and spatial differences in amphipod assemblages were observed.
| Title | Structural and functional diversity of benthic amphipods in Thalassia testudinum dominated seagrass beds in the Southern Caribbean Sea. |
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| Identifier | BID-CA2020-004-INS |
| Funding | Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Study Area Description | The seagrass community in Bon Accord Lagoon (BAL) covers an area of approximately 102 square hectares and extends in some places to a depth of approximately 6 m. The seagrass beds are found in three main areas: north of Sheerbird’s Point in the back reef area, south of Sheerbird’s Point, and in the Lagoon extending west of Gibson jetty towards Pigeon Point. |
| Design Description | Turtle grass, T. testudinum is the dominant seagrass species in the lagoon with small patches of Halophila decipiens Ostenfeld, 1902 and Halodule wrightii Asch interspersed among the turtle grass. The dominant algal genera present are Acanthophora, Padina, Bryopsis, Dictyota, Halimeda, and Caulerpa while corals such as Porites porites (Pallas, 1766) also occur in the lagoon among the seagrass beds. The null hypothesis states that there would be no variation among areas affected by land-based runoff from one season to the next. The experimental design includes two fixed factors: The fixed factor is land-based runoff with two levels, affected and not affected, and the factor season, with two levels, dry and wet. Random factors include site, random and nested in the runoff with three levels, and time, random and nested in a season with two levels. Community structure was tested against physiochemical variables (pH, salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen). Seagrass biomass and shoot density were measured to determine any statistical variation between seasons. |
The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
In total four sampling days were conducted, two within the dry season and two within the wet season. March and September are usually the zenith of dry and wet seasons respectively, hence their selection for sampling. Given budget and time constraints six stations were the most practical for this study. Physiochemical variables - pH, Salinity, Temperature, and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels were recorded using a YSI multi-parameter meter. Buccoo Benthic Sampling Stations. The six location were as follows: Decimal Degrees Stations Longitude Latitude 1 -60.824002 11.177465 2 -60.821225 11.174719 3 -60.819746 11.173345 4 -60.826948 11.167264 5 -60.831886 11.167515 6 -60.83529 11.168938
| Study Extent | Amphipod samples were collected among seagrasses within the Bon Accord Lagoon during two sampling periods, March and September 2018, the dry and wet seasons respectively, using a handheld PVC corer. The distance between the furthest samples is 1773.37 meters. |
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Method step description:
- The Natural Geography in Shore Areas (NaGISA) protocol for sampling seagrass infauna was used which involved immersing a 15 cm diameter corer to a depth of 10 cm and using a rubber bung at the top of the device to create a vacuum. This was later confirmed by sampling conducted in the present study with a plateauing of species richness after five replicates. Sites within the BAL and sites outside were selected in order to test the hypothesis that those within the BAL would be subjected to some level of influence by land-based sources of pollution seasonally. Sediment cores were passed through a 0.5 mm sieve and rinsed with seawater. After sieving, the amphipods were carefully separated, preserved in 5–7 % formalin, labeled, and stored for further examination. In the laboratory, the samples were rewashed under freshwater and 5–7 % formalin containing Rose Bengal was added. Identification of amphipods up to the species/ genus level was done with a binocular microscope.
Collection Data
| Collection Name | Institute of Marine Affairs BERP 2018 Corer Sample for Bon Accord Lagoon |
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| Specimen preservation methods | Alcohol |
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| Curatorial Units | Between 1 and 30 Jars |
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Additional Metadata
| Purpose | The study of amphipods in Trinidad and Tobago is still in its infancy and as such the numbers are still incomparable to those from the South American mainland. However, an increase in sampling efforts may lead to an increase in the number of species described which would lead to the amphipod assemblages more closely resembling that of the South American countries. This study provides a baseline for further studies to build on the complex and diverse world of marine benthic amphipods in Trinidad and Tobago. |
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| Alternative Identifiers | 03e0cd8d-58b5-4c3b-9a71-1f82556afa37 |
| https://cloud.gbif.org/lac/resource?r=bal_amphipod_2018 |