Gulf of Maine Intertidal Communities

Overview: 

This dataset provides records of density and cover meaurements of an intertital community. Two datasets have been published spanning 1996-2007.

Dataset Location: Ecological Archives (1996-2002); Ecological Archives Update (2003-2007)

Site Location: Swan Island, Gulf of Maine (44o 10' N, 68o 25 W)

Sites Georefferenced: Yes

Timespan: 1996-2007

Sampling Frequency: Annually (summer)

Methods: 12 sites within 4 bays were established in 1996. Each site contained four circular experimental plots cleared at various diameters of vegetation (to mimic ice scours) and a control plot with no clearing. At least once a year, abundance and percent cover of the most common species were sampled.

Data Collected:  density (mussels, herbivourous limpet, herbiverous snails, predatory snail, barnacle, and fucoid alga); percent cover (mussels, barnacles, fucoids, and other sessile organisms)

Citation: Peter S. Petraitis and Nicholas Vidargas. 2006. Marine intertidal organisms found in experimental clearings on sheltered shores in the Gulf of Maine, USA. Ecology 87:796.

Peter S. Petraitis, Harrison Liu, and Erika C. Rhile. 2008. Densities and cover data for intertidal organisms in the Gulf of Maine, USA, from 2003 to 2007. Ecology 89:588.

Available via EcoData Retriever: Yes (Petraitis et al. 2008 only)

Last modified: 
2011
Taxonomic Group: 
Ecosystem level: 
Spatial scale: 
Data type: 
Biome: