Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Classification--Admiralty Inlet, Washington

Title:: Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Classification--Admiralty Inlet, Washington
Abstract:: This part of OFR 2015-1073 presents data for the substrate, geomorphic, and biotope maps (see sheet 2, 3, and 4, OFR 2015-1073) of the Admiralty Inlet map area, Washington. The vector data file is included in "CMECS_AdmiraltyInlet.zip," which is accessible from <https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/935/AdmiraltyInlet/data_catalog_AdmiraltyInlet.html>.
Given the variable bathymetric resolution, the complex geologic history of the region, and the lack of acoustic backscatter data, automated and semi-automated classification schemes of classifying seafloor substrate and geoform were deemed to have very low accuracy. Instead, classification of these properties was performed manually following the “Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard” (CMECS) (Madden and others, 2009). The CMECS Geoform map (Sheet 2) and the CMECS Substrate map (Sheet 3) display their CMECS variable counterparts found in the CMECS polygon shapefile.
The best overall predictors of biotic assemblage were used to generate the CMECS biotope map (Sheet 4) which displays the biotope variable in the CMECS polygon shapefile. However, the nature of the biological data gathered makes it difficult to define clear ‘biotopes’. It was difficult to see or identify many organisms in the video; with an average of only 3-4 taxa per sampling unit, it is hard to characterize biotic assemblages. Some biological clusters of taxa were identified statistically for multiple map areas, and within each area, some of these groupings were found at consistent depths and/or with predictable substrates. The maps are not fine-grained enough to capture the physical variation seen within one-minute video units. The biological data suggest that to some degree these combinations of physical parameters correspond to ‘biotopes’, i.e. that there is some level of predictability about the associations of plants and animals that will be found with different combinations of geological and oceanographic parameters. Depth zones in the biotope map are based on Dethier (1992).
References Cited: Dethier, M.N. 1992. Classifying marine and estuarine natural communities: an alternative to the Cowardin system. Natural Areas Journal 12(2):90-100. Madden, C.J., K. Goodin, R.J. Allee, G. Cicchetti, C. Moses, M. Finkbeiner, D. Bamford. 2009. Coastal and marine ecological classification standard (Version 3). NOAA and NatureServe. 126 pp. <http://www.csc.noaa.gov/benthic/cmecs/>
Supplemental_Information:: Map political location: King and Island Counties, Washington Compilation scale: 1:30,000 Base maps used are hillshades generated from IfSAR, LiDAR, and multibeam mapping both onshore and offshore (see sheet 1, OFR 2015-1073 for more information).

Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Classification--Admiralty Inlet, Washington

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