Capture records of abyssal megafauna captured using submersibles and ROVs at Station ALOHA off Hawaii and Station M off California from 2019 to 2020

Abstract

This dataset includes the capture records for the abyssal megafauna captured as part of this food web project. Megafauna were captured using submersibles and ROVs at Station ALOHA off Hawaii and Station M off California from 2019 to 2020. These animals were captured as representatives of their abyssal food webs for an isotopic investigation of their original particulate nutritional sources (different sized particles). Each organism was identified, measured, most weighed using a motion compensated scale, and frozen for later drying and isotope analysis. For larger organisms such as holothurians or fishes, samples of tissues were taken and often the whole animal was preserved for later confirmation of taxonomic identification.

For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/922718