The variables in biota_data.csv describe the contaminant and biological effect data in biota used in the 2016 assessment of the UK's Clean Seas Environment Monitoring Programme and that underpin seven of the indicator assessments in the UK's 2018 MSFD assessment of Descriptor 8. The column headings are:
seriesID
Description: timeseries identifier
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 3753 levels
Notes: 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
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 345 levels
Notes: Monitoring station – links to station information in biota station resource
species
Description: species
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 10 levels
Notes: The included species and their associated Aphia ID's are:
Crassostrea gigas * AphiaID: 140656
*Gadus morhua AphiaID: 126436
Limanda limanda AphiaID: 127139
Merlangius merlangus AphiaID: 126438
Mytilus edulis AphiaID: 140480
Nucella lapillus AphiaID: 140403
Pecten maximus AphiaID: 140712
Platichthys flesus AphiaID: 127141
Pleuronectes platessa AphiaID: 127143
Scomber scombrus AphiaID: 127023
sex
Description: sex
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: F, I, M, X
Notes: See ICES reference codes for SEXCO: http://vocab.ices.dk/?ref=45
year
Description: monitoring year
Discrete/continuous/categorical: discrete
Range or levels: 1999, 2015
Notes: For some data suppliers, monitoring is in winter and e.g. sampling in December 2014 and January 2015 would be regarded as having come from the same monitoring year
date
Description: sampling date
Discrete/continuous/categorical: discrete
Range or levels: 1999-01-01, 2015 07-21
sampleID
Description: sample identifier
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 23798
Notes: Data from different matrices (e.g. LI and MU) in the same fish have different sampleIDs
matrix
Description: sample tissue
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: BI, LI, LIS9, MU, SB
Notes: See ICES reference codes for MATRX: http://vocab.ices.dk/?ref=55
group
Description: contaminant or biological effect group
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: BDE, bioeffect, CB, imposex, metal, PAH.parent
Notes:
BDE = polybrominated diphenyl ethers
bioeffect = biological effects excluding imposex (EROD and bile metabolites)
CB = polychlorinated biphenyls
PAH.parent = parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
determinand
Description: contaminant or biological effect
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 28 levels
Notes: See ICES reference codes for PARAM: http://vocab.ices.dk/?ref=37
Data submitted as CHRTR have been relabelled as CHR
Data submitted as VDSI have been relabelled as VDS
metoa
Description: method of chemical analysis
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: 20 levels
Notes: See ICES reference codes for METOA:http://vocab.ices.dk/?ref=173
concentration
Description: concentration of contaminant or equivalent for biological effects
Units:
μg kg-1 ww (contaminants)
st (VDS)
pmol min-1 mg protein 1 (EROD)
ug ml-1 (PYR1OHEQ)
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0, 38900
Notes: All contaminant concentrations are expressed on a wet weight basis.
qflag
Description: less-than qualifier for the concentration measurement
Discrete/continuous/categorical: categorical
Range or levels: blank or <
Notes:
< indicates a value below the limit of detection
Blank cell 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
Units: as for concentration
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0.002, 2647
Notes: Analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation. Not applicable to VDS measurements
LNMEA
Description: mean length
Units: cm
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0.1, 305
Notes: 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
Units: %
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 2.5, 94.5
Notes: All values are above the limit of detection
DRYWT%.uncertainty
Description: uncertainty in the dry weight measurement
Units: %
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0.04, 12.4
Notes: Analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation.
LIPIDWT%
Description: lipid weight of the sample
Units: %
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0.09, 81.4
Notes: All values are above the limit of detection.
LIPIDWT%.uncertainty
Description: uncertainty in the lipid weight measurement
Units: %
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 0.02, 10.1
Notes: Analytical uncertainty expressed as the standard deviation.
noinp
Description: number of individuals pooled in the sample
Discrete/continuous/categorical: discrete
Range or levels: 1, 260
%FEMALEPOP
Description: % of the sample that are females
Units: %
Discrete/continuous/categorical: continuous
Range or levels: 32.5, 100
Notes: Used to model imposex data when submitted as a pooled sample