Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling - Database Description
Resource Ecology
Fish Foods Habits Database
The REEM fish food habits database consists of
diet data collected from key groundfish
throughout the northeast Pacific (Table
1). Our samples are
primarily collected from trawl caught groundfish by NOAA scientists
aboard research surveys. We also utilize Fishery Observers to collect
samples from regions and seasons outside of our survey areas.
Fish
stomach samples preserved in the field are returned to the lab for
analysis and account for the majority of our database. A small number
of samples are analyzed at sea in a qualitative manner and account for
the remainder of our data. Our data are split into four regions;
Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands and West Coast with
identical data table structure in each regional data set.
Our database is maintained in Oracle 10g and is
composed of four basic tables.
The primary diet table is the Predator-Prey (PredPrey) table, which contains
data on each stomach analyzed. Within this table are data on the size,
weight, sex, stomach fullness and maturity of each predator along with
the taxon, number, weight, and state of digestion of each prey within
a given predator’s stomach. Identification information about the
vessel, cruise, haul number and specimen number of each predator
sampled are also kept in the PredPrey table to allow unique identification
of each sample as well as cross-referencing to other tables. The Haul
table contains spatial, temporal and physical data for each location
at which we have fish stomach samples. Within the Haul table are
latitude, longitude, date, bottom and gear depth, surface and gear
temperature, gear type as well as vessel, cruise and haul identifiers.
The Prey Length (PreyLen) table primarily contains size information of
commercially important prey found in the stomach contents that were in
adequate condition to allow measurement. In this table we have
standard length (mm) of fish prey, carapace width (mm) of brachyuran
crabs (snow, Tanner, Dungeness), and carapace length (mm) of anomuran
(king) crabs and pandalid shrimps. Along with the prey data, the
corresponding predator length as well as the vessel, cruise, haul
identifiers and specimen number are maintained. Finally the intestine
(Intest) table contains intestine data of those species, primarily
small-mouthed flatfishes, from which we examine intestine contents in
addition to stomach contents. This table is fundamentally structured
the same as the PP table. The combination of these four tables across
four regions results in sixteen tables that make up our primary
database. Combined, these tables currently account for approximately
820,000 records.
Additionally, we have an eastern Bering Sea
groundfish food habits database donated to us by Japanese scientists
who collected these data on Japanese research vessels from 1979 to
1985. The data are stored in tables similar to our main database but
are maintained separately. The numbers of analyzed stomachs in the
Japanese data set are presented in Table 2
by year and species.
We also maintain a West Coast (Washington, Oregon, and California waters) groundfish food habits database that contains approximately 20,000 records of data collected from 1967 through 1999. A breakdown of these collections is present by species and year in Table 3.
If you have questions about our database, please
contact Kerim Aydin, REEM Program Leader. Kerim.Aydin@noaa.gov
or 1.206.526.4225
|
