The sections below provide the results of all of the elements of the Phase II area Long Island Sound Cable Fund Habitat Mapping initiative.  Each provides a link to the respective chapters from the LISMaRC Phase II Final Report to provide information on the background, data acquisition, data analyses, results and discussion of findings.  There are also links to the most pertinent spatial data for each of the elements along with the attendant metadata that provides the data attributes, collection and processing information.

Blocks identified for acoustic mapping in the Phase II area

The first step in benthic habitat mapping has typically been the collection and analysis of high-resolution acoustic bathymetric and backscatter data that reveal seabed features, sedimentary processes, and sediment distribution patterns.  The LIS Cable Fund teams  identified 30 areas in the Phase II area requiring additional acoustic mapping, particularly in shallow water.

Citation: Babb, I and Arbige, D. (2021).  “Shallow Water Acoustic Mapping” p. 16-31 in “The Long Island Sound Habitat Mapping Initiative Phase II – Eastern Long Island Sound – Final Report” (Unpublished project report).

Click here to access the spatial data and associated metadata.

 

Map of sediment type distribution in the Phase II area

Sediment characterization is a critical component of habitat mapping and includes the shape, size, and spatial arrangement of sediment particles.  Sediment grain size directly influences the species that can inhabit a particular area,  so gravel, sand, silt and clay and various mixtures of these major grain size classes are relevant attributes for classifying benthic habitats.

Citation: Ackerman, S. & Babb, I. (2021). Sediment Texture and Grain Size Distribution. p. 32-46 in: “Seafloor Mapping of Long Island Sound – Final Report: Phase II Project.”

Click here to access the spatial data and associated metadata.

 

Map of acoustic patch types classified in the Phase II area

 

Total abundance of infauna in the LIS Phase II study Area

Ecological characterization is, arguably, one of the most important aspects of benthic habitat mapping, as it provides the detailed information about the living resources living in an area that potentially are impacted by human activities.  The infauna, or those organisms that live in the seafloor sediments, are important components of the Sound's ecosystem, either as food sources for other  commercially and ecologically important species, or as bio-engineers structuring the seafloor.  Similarly, the epifauna, those organisms that live on the seafloor, are also important food sources and provide physical structure that other species use as habitat.

Citation: Zajac, R.N., Auster, P.J., Conroy, C.N., Walton, O., Schneeberger, C., Govert, N.M. (2021).  “Ecological Characterization” p. 66-238 in The Long Island Sound Habitat Mapping Initiative Phase II – Eastern Long Island Sound – Final Report. (Unpublished project report).

Click here to access the spatial data and associated metadata.

 

Map of bottom stress due to tides in the Phase II area

The physical oceanographic environment impacts all of the other attributes of the seafloor habitat mapping initiative.  The LISMaRC team employed multiple observations of the physical oceanography of the Phase II area using shipboard sampling systems and seafloor observatories.  These data were integrated into the LIS FVCOM model to produce predictive maps of bottom temperature, salinity, bottom stress and tidal and subtidal currents, all of these parameters greatly influence the distribution of benthic fauna.

Citation: O’Donnell, J., McCardell, G., Howard-Strobel, M.M. (2021). “Physical Oceanographic Characterization” p. 239-261 in “The Long Island Sound Habitat Mapping Initiative Phase II – Eastern Long Island Sound – Final Report” (Unpublished project report).

Click here to access the spatial data and associated metadata.