The variables in biota_data.csv describe the contaminant and biological effect data in biota used to construct the National Performance Framework Clean Seas Indicator 2017. The data are also used to make regional assessments of status and trends in Scottish waters for selected contaminant and biological effect groups in biota. The column headers are:
seriesID
Description: timeseries identifier
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 1570
Note: identifies the data (typically a station / contaminant / species combination) that were grouped together into a timeseries and modelled to assess status and trends
station
Description: station identifier
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 111
Note: monitoring station – links to station information in biota_stations.csv
species
Description: species
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 6
Note:
Gadus morhua: AphiaID = 126436
Limanda limanda: AphiaID = 127139
Mytilus edulis: AphiaID = 140480
Nucella lapillus: AphiaID = 140403
Platichthys flesus: AphiaID = 127141
Pleuronectes platessa: AphiaID = 127143
sex
Description: sex
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: F, I, M, X
Note: see ICES reference codes for SEXCO
year
Description: monitoring year
Unit:
Type: discrete
Range: 1999, 2016
Note: for some data suppliers, monitoring is in winter and e.g. sampling in December 2015 and January 2016 would be regarded as having come from the same monitoring year
date
Description: sampling date
Unit:
Type: discrete
Range: 1999-01-17, 2016-02-09
Note:
sampleID
Description: sample identifier
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 8188
Note: data from different matrices (e.g. LI and MU) in the same fish have different sampleIDs
matrix
Description: sample matrix
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: BI, LI, LIS9, MU, SB
Note: see ICES reference codes for MATRX
group
Description: contaminant group
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: BDE, bioeffect, CB, imposex, metal, PAH.parent
Note:
BDE = polybrominated diphenyl ethers
bioeffect = biological effects
CB = polychlorinated biphenyls
PAH.parent = parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
determinand
Description: contaminant
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 28
Note: see ICES reference codes for PARAM; data submitted as CHRTR and VDSI have been relabelled as CHR and VDS respectively
metoa
Description: method of chemical analysis
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: 17
Note: see ICES reference codes for METOA
concentration
Description: concentration of contaminant or equivalent for biological effects
Unit: ug/kg ww (contaminants), ug/ml (PYR1OHEQ), pmol/min/mg protein (EROD), st (VDS)
Type: continuous
Range: 0, 38900
Note: all contaminant concentrations are expressed on a wet weight basis
qflag
Description: less-than qualifier for the concentration measurement
Unit:
Type: categorical
Levels: "", "<"
Note:
“<” indicates a value below the limit of detection
"” indicates a value above the limit of detection or where there is no limit of detection (e.g. VDS measurements)
uncertainty
Description: uncertainty in the concentration measurement
Unit: as for concentration
Type: continuous
Range: 0.0025, 2647
Note: analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation; not applicable to some biological effects measurements
LNMEA
Description: mean length
Unit: cm
Type: continuous
Range: 0.42, 305
Note: mean length of monitoring organism in pool; there are unit errors in these data, so the data should be used with caution
DRYWT
Description: dry weight of the sample
Unit: %
Type: continuous
Range: 6.83, 43.6
Note: all values are above the limit of detection
DRYWT.uncertainty
Description: uncertainty in the dry weight measurement
Unit: %
Type: continuous
Range: 0.66, 1.57
Note: analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation
LIPIDWT
Description: lipid weight of the sample
Unit: %
Type: continuous
Range: 0.1, 56.2
Note: all values are above the limit of detection
LIPIDWT.uncertainty
Description: uncertainty in the lipid weight measurement
Unit: %
Type: continuous
Range: 0.016, 5.95
Note: analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation
noinp
Description: number of individuals pooled in the sample
Unit: nr
Type: discrete
Range: 1, 159
Note:
FEMALEPOP
Description: % of the sample that are females
Unit: %
Type: continuous
Range: 32.5, 100
Note: Used to model imposex data when submitted as a pooled sample