Using OBIS to Provide Reliable Estimates of Population Indices for Marine Species from Research Trawl Surveys Ocean Biodiversity Informatics Conference Hamburg Germany, November 29, 2004 Robert M. Branton 1, Daniel Ricard 2 1 Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 2 Dalhousie University Nova Scotia, Canada

Background Traditionally trawl surveys are species rich (100s) with analysis focus on commercial species (~10s). Recently other species have been added to sampling protocols thus enabling investigation of ecosystem issues. OBIS is expected to provide a basis for interoperability of these data with other scientific disciplines.

Presentation focus: 1.DFO/NOAA trawl data 2.Trawl data quality 3.DFO’s OBIS provider service 4.Ways to improve OBIS DFO - Canada Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans NOAA - USA National Ocean and Atmospheric Agency

1) DFO/NOAA trawl data ECNASAP database created in 1995 : –5 laboratories – –50,000 fishing sets –276 species. Static copy of DFO 4VWX summer survey posted on OBIS in Year = 1988 Maps produced using DFO - ACON ECNASAP – East Coast North America Strategic Assessment Project

Status ECNASAP available from DFO/NOAA staff: –300+ column SPSS file on CD –not updated since ‘95 although surveys are ongoing. DFO now testing OBIS views for ECNASAP and various other DFO trawl surveys: –basis for ‘Status of Ecosystem Reports’. OBIS-ECNASAP exported to U. of Southern Maine: –basis for ‘Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership’.

Fishing Set Metadata Observed Numbers and Weights Length Counts Specimen Details Species Metadata Survey Metadata Area Metadata Database Content Age Readings Parasites and/or Stomach Content Sex And Maturity Fishing Set Metadata Observed Numbers and Weights Species Metadata Specimen Details Fishing Set Metadata Observed Numbers and Weights Species Metadata DFO/NOAA ECNASAP OBIS

2) Trawl Data quality Validate survey species lists using ITIS: –Get most current scientific names and hierarchies –Taxonomists / survey staff review discrepancies, correct lists, note species difficult to identify and/or not routinely sampled. Add hierarchy data to species lists: –Use cumulative discovery curves for each hierarchy level to investigate protocol changes vs. new discoveries in survey area. ITIS - Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Average = / tow Taking care of zeros Zero catches & counts usually not recorded: –not looking = NULL, –looking but not finding = 0. Zeros are important when mapping distribution and calculating averages. Augment species list to indicate when and where to assume zero. Average = / tow

Standardizing Observations General recommendations: –Define Collection Codes for each survey vessel, sampling gear, stratification plan & season combination (series) –Adjust Observed Individual Count and Weight (at length, sex & maturity) by sampling ratio (e.g. total/sample) –Don’t include damaged sets. Indicate if data are standardized or estimated: –fishing sets for distance towed (e.g. standard/observed), species for catchability by gear (e.g. proportion caught at length), … –numbers at age using stock specific age length keys (e.g. proportion at age for given length), …

Confidence Limits Relative indices such as ‘average per standard tow’ should include variance or standard error. Absolute estimates such as ‘total biomass’ and ‘total abundance’ should also be peer reviewed. –give links to citable publications.

3) DFO’s OBIS provider service Inputs –FTP for small databases (e.g. museums) –SQL*net for large databases (e.g. research labs) Output –DiGIR XML to OBIS global cache portal at Rutgers U.

Architecture Diagram DMZ Oracle DB DiGIR Provider BIO DMZ DFO Firewall OBIS Portal Pre-Scheduled Exports Only Operational Oracle DBs SQL*net ODBC FTP Large Remote Data Bases Small Remote Data Bases MSAccess DBs Remote Oracle DBs Large Local Data Bases

Trawl Survey & Ecosystem Reporting

4) Ways to improve OBIS Enhance existing schema concepts: Basis of Record – stratum average, stock estimate Locality – stratum, ecozone, grid square, stock area Life Stage – maturity stage, age class. Add new concepts to schema: Number of Samples and Sampling Units in Locality Length Class of Observed Individuals Observed Individual Count Variances or Error Estimate Observed Weight Variances or Error Estimate Parent Catalog Number (for stomach contents and parasites).

…/ Add new schemas: Collection/survey metadata Area gazetteer (e.g. stratum, ecozone, grid square and stock areas). Enhance end-user interface: Collection based multi-species mapping and reporting –expanding pie symbol maps (shown earlier) –species by row or column missing values as zeroes or nulls species catchability standardization summary statistics by stratum, ecozones,...

Expected Benefits Systematic basis for ongoing enhancement and extension of the OBIS schema and interface. –Ability to integrate data from disparate sampling schemes –Capacity to derive population/community indices of abundance, diversity, production, etc. around the world.

e.g. Trophic Cascade models (using Trawl and CPR data) being developed for Scotian Shelf could also be tested on North Sea. Compliments of Ken Frank, DFO