Development of an Atlantic Canada Marine Biodiversity Information

Development of an Atlantic Canada Marine Biodiversity Information System Based on a Museum Collection: A Case Study Angela J. Martin, Lou Van Guelpen, Gerhard Pohle, and Mark J. Costello Atlantic Reference Centre (Huntsman Marine Science Centre) St. Andrews, Canada

This talk • Atlantic Reference Centre – establishment/joining of two collections • Process of creating an Canadian Atlantic Biodiversity Information System • Future goals of linking to other bioinitiatives and providing an accessible on-line version

Atlantic Reference Centre • Division of the Huntsman Marine Science Centre • Established in 1984 • Joint program between Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Huntsman Marine Science Centre

Establishment of the ARC • ID Centre • Department of Fisheries and Oceans • Established in 1960’s • Collection: Invertebrates and Fishes • Database: MINISIS • Ichthyoplankton Lab • Huntsman Marine Science Centre • Established in 1977 • Collection: Fishes • Database: d. Base, Revelation, Advanced Revelation

ARC collections • Represent marine fauna of the Bay of Fundy & Gulf of Maine, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Newfoundland-Labrador • Premier research museum for Marine life in Atlantic Canada

• Many lots were collected on surveys • Valuable for ecological, population, and biogeographic as well as systematic studies

ARC Museum

• Fish - 23254 lots • Invertebrates - 13358 lots • Larval Fish Collection - 88610 lots • Collection also includes type species and osteological preparations.

• Larval Fish Collection 88610 lots – largest collection in North America – documented in Copeia 1995(1): 48 -70

Atlantic Reference Centre Research

• Involved in major research programs: – U. S. GLOBEC (Georges Bank) • In house expertise include: – ontogeny, taxonomy, systematics, and evolutioncrustaceans and fishes – marine benthic biodiversity and ecology – environmental baseline research, monitoring and impact assessment – procedures for biological sample processing and museum curation

ARC museum database: Beginning • HMSC fishes remained in Advance Revelation • DFO fishes - remained MINISIS • DFO invertebrates - money & effort brought database from MINISIS to Advanced Revelation

ARC database restructuring • 2 nd ARC director adopted MUSE – Efforts to change from Adv. Rev failed – fish were entered manually – inverts lanquished, eventually entered manually • In 2001, database updated to SPECIFY

• Data management and biodiversity funding programs brought completion of computerizing catalogued specimens. – DFO (government internships, summer programs) – U. S. (GMBIS, funded by NOPP & Co. ML) • Database – online through Geo. Connections

• Through several biodiversity initiatives the ARC database, together with other sources, has been used to create species list, complemented by standardized taxonomy (ITIS & Fish. Base) – AC CDC: Habitat classification – CDC: images – GMBIS: distribution mapping/analyses – ETF: Biological and ecological info

Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center (AC CDC) • Funded by GOMCME. • Is there a link between geographic seascapes and their biological communities? • Focus on Bay of Fundy rare, endangered and keystone vertebrate species. • Project provided preliminary fish list.

Figure ##. Total number of Atlantic Halibut per groundfish trawl station from groundfish surveys conducted from 1970 to 2001. Map dots are scaled according to the total number of fish caught at each trawl station. Seascapes are coloured according to the percent of the total number of fish caught within their boundaries, with percent total catch per seascape indicated.

Fishes of Atlantic Canada: A Photographic Compendium • Sponsored by Industry Canada, Canada’s Digital Collections and hosted there http: //collections. ic. gc. ca/compendium • Rescued hundreds of photographs, slides, and illustrations of fishes from Canadian Atlantic waters. • Each species was accompanied by common name, scientific name, status, and basic biological and ecological traits.

Bay of Fundy Component (Phase I) • Sponsored by the Province of New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund • List of all annelids, crustaceans, echinoderms and fishes of the Bay of Fundy - Classification (Based on ITIS), Synonyms and common names, Author & year of description, Identification and ecological, publications, Habitat description, Abundance (on a 1 -3 rating system), Geographic range, Importance (e. g. Commercial, conservation), Other (reproduction, maximum size)

Bay of Fundy Component (Phase II) An expansion of Phase I – additional taxa: • • • Seaweeds Molluscs Remaining minor invertebrate phyla Birds Mammals Phytoplankton

Canada’s Digital Collections II • Sponsored by Industry Canada, Canada’s Digital Collections • Canadian Atlantic fishes in ARC museum specific locality records. • Each species - a map of distribution within these waters. • Online via CDC web site. http: //collections. ic. gc. ca/

Gulf of Maine Biogeographic Information System (GMBIS) • Funded by NOPP and Co. ML • Objective: development of a prototype information system for integration, visualization, and analysis of biogeographical and oceangraphic information using the internet as a medium as tools such as GIS for modeling of marine populations • Partners include USC, DFO, and ARC • http: //cephbase. biology. dal. ca/gmbis

GMBIS rational purpose uses • To create: – support tool that facilitates the integrated approach to fisheries management in the Gulf of Maine – a model for OBIS by providing a generic framework for development of biogeographical systems in other regions

GMBIS

e. ASY Software • Function: – principal data integration, viewing & analysis software of GMBIS • Designed for the – storage – integration – analysis – and dynamic display of spatially referenced series of diverse oceanographic data, including satellite imagery

Future Funding: Geo. Connections 1. Sponsored by Natural Resources Canada 2. program to coordinate Canada’s numerous databases of geographic information and make them accessible via a common internet web site 3. Proposal on behalf of the Centre for Marine Biodiversity. CMB members include DFO laboratories, Universities, NGOs and personnel.

• CMB Goal: - Promote scientific activity in support of the protection of marine biodiversity in NW Atlantic. - To expand CMB membership to a more national basis thus expanding biodiversity datasets and computerized museum catalogues.

Proposal Objectives • • For CMB members to: - Consolidate computerized museum catalogues and biodiversity datasets into an integrated database at BIO. - Provide Internet access to this database For ARC museum: - One online source to disseminate data

• Proposal partners include: -DFO -ARC -AC CDC -Nova Scotia Museum -Marine Invertebrate Diversity Initiative (MIDI) -Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN)

Ultimately. . • Species Information System: – Linked to complementary biodiversity initiatives both nationally and internationally. – Nationally: Centre for Marine Biodiversity, Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility) – Internationally: (Co. ML, Global Biodiversity Information Facilty, OBIS, Fish. Base, Larval. Base, The North Atlantic Project)

– Link to environmental data and tools such as GMBIS and Virtual Museum of Canada to analyze these records. – Provide a comprehensive and easily accessible biodiversity information system, allowing researchers and managers to better protect the natural environment and promote sustainable use of natural resources.