Plum Island Ecosystems LTER Database

Acceptance and utilization of LTER data requires that:

(1) The Principal Investigator be sent a notice stating reasons for acquiring any data and a description of the publication intentions.
(2) The Principal Investigator of the data set be sent a copy of the report or manuscript prior to submission and be adequately cited in any resultant publications.
(3) A copy of any resultant publications should be sent to:

Principal Investigator
Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
7 MBL St.
Woods Hole, MA 02543

Dataset URLs:	METADATA: HTML, Rich Text, XML(EML compliant) DATA: Comma Delimited, Excel file with Metadata and data
Dataset ID:	EST-PR-ChemTax.01
Dataset Title:	Phytoplankton identification using HPLC and Chem Taxonomy along transects in the Plum Island Sound estuary
Investigator 1:
First Name:	Charles
Last Name:	Hopkinson
Address line 1:	Ecosystems Center
Address line 2:	MBL
Address line 3:	7 MBLSt
City:	Woods Hole
State:	MA
Zip Code:	02543
Country:	USA
Investigator 2:
First Name:	John
Last Name:	Hobbie
Address line 1:	Ecosystems Center
Address line 2:	MBL
Address line 3:	7 MBLSt
City:	Woods Hole
State:	MA
Zip Code:	02543
Country:	USA
Associate Investigators:	Hap Garritt, Jane Tucker, Emily Gaines, William Lee, Christina Maki, Aaron Strong
Keywords:	LTER, PIE, Plum Island Ecosystems, Massachusetts, Parker River, chlorophyll, phytoplankton, estuary, Chem Tax
Abstract:
Contact:	Plum Island Ecosystems LTER Information Manager The Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Lab 7 MBL St Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone (508) 289 7485 Email: pie_im@mbl.edu Online URL: http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/
DATA FILE INFORMATION:
Data File URL	http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/data/EST/data/EST-PR-ChemTax.dat
Data File Name	EST-PR-ChemTax
Beginning Date	4/16/2003
End Date	12/5/2006
Number of Data Records	164
Other Files to Reference
Availability Status	Type 1
Quality Control Information
Maintenance Description	On going collections
Log of Changes:	01) 24Sep2007, Initial data publication on the web

RESEARCH LOCATION:

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

Site 6

Site 7

Site 8

Site 9

Site 10

Site 11

Site 12

Geographic Description

EST-PR-0

EST-PR-4

EST-PR-6

EST-PR-8

EST-PR-12

EST-PR-16

EST-PR-18

EST-PR-20 Mill

EST-PR-22

EST-PR-24

EST-SO-Nelson

EST-SO-IBYC

EST-SO-Ocean

Location Bounding Box

West Bounding Coordinate

East Bounding Coordinate

North Bounding Coordinate

South Bounding Coordinate

OR if single point location

Latitude

42.75085508

42.75174265

42.75219747

42.75697423

42.75708039

42.76247293

42.75472052

42.76258164

42.76177168

42.74716149

42.70978014

Longitude

-70.92796269

-70.91691665

-70.91020899

-70.90897971

-70.89690988

-70.88417006

-70.87582063

-70.85821174

-70.83675555

-70.82008701

-70.79483658

Elevation


TAXONOMIC COVERAGE:
Taxonomic Protocols
Organisms studied

Methods:	EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND METHODS: The procedure is similar to the standard method for filtering water samples for Chl a analysis by fluorometry or spectrophotometry. For HPLC analysis, the approach is to collect as much material as possible to provide high resolution of all the algal groups present and facilitate the confirmation of pigment identities by comparisons with absorption spectra for authentic standards. The basic filtration steps are as follows: 1. Collect water (2 gallons for IBYC, Nelson, Station 24, Station 22 and 1 gallon for Stations 20, 18, 16, 12, 8, 4, 0) in a clean container. Keep the water cool and in the dark during transport and short-term storage (an insulated cooler with a little ice works well). The time from collection to filtration should be less than 3 hours. There will be a whole water sample filtered as described below, need 2 replicates or 2 filters per station. There will also be a < 20 um sample which is whole water prescreened through 20 um nitex where the filtrate will then be filtered as described below, need 2 replicates or 2 filters per station. 2. Using square-ended forceps (to prevent poking a hole in the filter), place a single Whatman GF/F filter (2.5cm) onto a Gelman filter funnel. Make sure the funnel forms a tight seal with the base. 3. The filter funnel should be attached to a vacuum system. We use a home-made PVC manifold that holds several funnels, and each funnel has a valve to open/close the vacuum. The manifold is attached to heavy-walled tygon tubing and a large vacuum flask (5 gallon glass water bottle). A second hose runs from the carboy to the vacuum pump. Use a moderate vacuum for the filtrations (ca. 100 to 200 mm Hg, or <7 in. Hg vac). 4. Open the vacuum and pour in a pre-measured amount (using a clean graduated cylinder) of sample water. This is the tricky part. You may have to use trial and error to determine how much water you can filter before the filter clogs. Samples closer to the mouth of Plum Island Sound will require larger volumes (500-1000ml) than samples up the Parker River (150-700ml) depending upon season and discharge. Filter water samples in duplicate, then pool the two filters for HPLC analyses. Be sure to record the total volume of water filtered for each duplicate sample. 5. Using square-tipped forceps, gently fold the filter in half, with the side containing the sample on the inside of the fold. Remove the filter, keeping it folded, and place the filter between two sheets of tissue paper (we use paper towels). Gently press the filter with your thumb to remove excess water from the filter. (Excess water in the filter reduces the extraction efficiency of the acetone solvent). 6. Label the outside of a small piece of aluminum foil (a square piece with dimensions of 5 x 5 cm) with the sample identification number. Use a black sharpie pen and make sure the ink dries (sharpie ink will destroy the pigment analysis….and the filters are magnets for sharpie ink!) 7. Place the duplicate filters together (keeping them folded in half) onto the foil and fold the foil so that the label appears on the outside. Make sure the filter is completely covered by the foil wrapper. Bend the edges of the foil to make sure the filter is sealed within the foil. Place the foil in a freezer (the colder the better). Transport to MBL in small ChemTax cooler box with ice pack. Keep the sample completely frozen and in the dark until you are ready to conduct the HPLC analysis. Samples can be stored for as long as 1 year at -80 C. 8. Fill out ChemTax Transect data sheet with information about samples. 9. For shipping, the samples should be sent Express Overnight in a styrofoam cooler filled with dry ice. Fill any empty space with newspaper. Please let us know when you are shipping so that we can be on the lookout for the shipment.

Data Table

Variable Name	Variable Description	Units	Measurement Scale	Code Information	Number Type	DateTime Format	Missing Value Code	Missing Value Code Explanation
Date	date of sampling (dd-mmm-yyyy)		datetime			dd-mmm-yyyy		blank cell
Station	name of station sampled		nominal					blank cell
Distance	distance upstream from the mouth of the estuary	kilometer	interval		real			blank cell
Sampletype	either whole water or < 20 um size fraction		nominal					blank cell
Volume	total volume of water filtered for analysis	milliliter	ratio		real			blank cell
Temp	temperature (oC)	celsius	interval		real			blank cell
Salinity	salinity (ppt)	partsPerThousand	interval		real			blank cell
Cyanobacteria	Chlorophyll a concentration associated with cyanobacteria	microgramsPerLiter	ratio		real			blank cell
Chlorophytes	Chlorophyll a concentration associated with chlorophytes	microgramsPerLiter	ratio		real			blank cell
Dinoflagellates	Chlorophyll a concentration associated with dinoflagellates	microgramsPerLiter	ratio		real			blank cell
Cryptophytes	Chlorophyll a concentration associated with cryptophytes	microgramsPerLiter	ratio		real			blank cell
Diatoms	Chlorophyll a concentration associated with diatoms	microgramsPerLiter	ratio		real			blank cell