This project will evaluate the importance of Sargassum as a nursery habitat for fish in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

This dataset is a collection of files containing the necessary inputs to, and relevant outputs from, the U.S. Gulf-wide ecosystem model, developed using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling software package. The spatial extent of the model is 25°-30.5° N and -81° to -97.3° W and hindcast simulations were run in Ecosim from 1980 (the Ecopath snapshot year) to 2016 at a monthly timestep. Input parameters for Ecopath include biomass, consumption, mortality, diet, landings, and discards for 78 functional groups included in the model. Each input or output parameter type is included as its own csv file with informative names.

This dataset presents results from surface-tethered drifting sediment traps deployed in the open ocean Gulf of Mexico during cruises of the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, May 10-30, 2017 (NF17), and May 5-19, 2018 (NF18). Sediment trap results include particulate organic carbon flux, particulate nitrogen flux, carbon isotope ratio of sinking organic matter (13C/12C), nitrogen isotopes of sinking material (15N/14N), chlorophyll a flux, and phaeopigment flux.

This dataset presents results from zooplankton net tows taken in the open ocean Gulf of Mexico during cruises of the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, May 10-30, 2017 (NF17), and May 5-19, 2018 (NF18). Mesozooplankton results include separate files for: 1) wet weight, dry weight, carbon and nitrogen biomass estimates for total zooplankton and five size fractions; 2) carbon and nitrogen percent dry weight, stable carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) isotope ratios of five size fractions; and 3) size-fractioned chlorophyll and phaeopigment gut pigment contents, pigment-based estimates of mesozooplankton grazing on phytoplankton in the euphotic zone (grazing m-2 h-1) and biomass-specific rates of grazing relative to zooplankton dry weight and carbon.

This data set contains trawl information from collections near the West Pointe a la Hache siphon in south Louisiana. Species composition (fishes and macroinvertebrates), abundance, biomass and lengths are reported, along with salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen data. Data are in spreadsheet format.

This dataset presents results from flow cytometry samples collected in the euphotic zone in the open ocean Gulf of Mexico during cruises of the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, May 10-30, 2017 (NF17), and May 5-19, 2018 (NF18). Flow cytometry results include abundances of phytoplankton taxa (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, Photosynthetic Eukaryotes) and non-pigmented bacteria (HBACT).

Measurements made under the Linking habitat to recruitment: evaluating the importance of pelagic Sargassum to fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Collaboration with USF and USM.

This dataset consists of blue crab growth and mortality data from caging and tethering experiments in turtlegrass-dominated seagrass beds of the northern Gulf of America, including Lower Laguna Madre, TX; Coastal Bend, TX; Chandeleur Islands, LA; St. George Sound, FL; Cedar Key, FL, and Charlotte Harbor, FL.