Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine and estuarine bivalve reefs and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the New York/New Jersey Metro Area, Hudson River, and South Long Island region. Vector polygons in this data set represent eelgrass, widgeon grass, water celery, macroalgae, and oyster reef distribution. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in associated data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set is a portion of the ESI data for the NY/NJ Metro Area, Hudson River, and South Long Island region. As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

Process Steps:

• 2015-11-01 00:00:00 - Benthic habitats were mapped using available digital data for Barnegat Bay, the Hudson River estuary, and the South Shore of Long Island. Benthic habitats mapped in this atlas consist of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and bivalve reefs. Benthic habitat was given the mapping qualifier of .High Ecological Value. as it provides spawning, nursery, and foraging habitat for fish and shellfish, habitat for macroinvertebrates, and food for waterfowl, fish, and mammals. The Hudson River estuary and Barnegat Bay have data sets for SAV inventories conducted in multiple years. In these cases, SAV in the most recent year for each area was mapped with a concentration value of .Present. while SAV from prior years was given the concentration value of .Potential.. SAV may eventually recover or be restored in areas where it has been lost, and it was recommended by the data providers that these areas be included in the atlas. Hudson River SAV was mapped using the combined Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)/New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) vector digital data from 1997, 2002, and 2007. The most recently mapped year (2007) was used to differentiate SAV classified as .Present. from the past or .Potential. distribution. The dominant species in the Hudson River estuary SAV community is water celery (Vallisneria americana). The dominant seagrass in Barnegat Bay and the South Shore estuary is eelgrass (Zostera marina), with widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) occurring in shallower areas with lower salinity. Barnegat Bay SAV was mapped with 1979, 2003, and 2009 data, with 2009 SAV mapped as .Present.. Long Island.s South Shore estuary benthic habitats were mapped using the 2002 New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) benthic habitat data set and supplemented with Fire Island SAV data. Fire Island SAV data was included only in areas where it did not overlap with the NYSDOS data. The only bivalve reefs mapped in this AOI were in South Oyster Bay. In addition to seagrass and reefs, areas with macroalgae (seaweed) are shown in the South Shore estuary. The above digital sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the BENTHIC data layer. Depending on the type of source data, two general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the ESI base map features (ESIP, HYDROP, ESIL) 2) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled and digitized using ESI base map features. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the BENTHIC data layer are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts and digital data are created.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).