| Title | Seawater temperature data from a subtidal habitat in Elands Bay, 5 to 30 June 2023 |
|---|---|
| Project | Conservation Physiology Programme |
| Authors |
Tanya Haupt Liesl Janson Lutz Auerswald |
| Publisher | Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2024) |
| Contributors |
Contact Person: Tanya Haupt Project Member: Toufiek Samaai Project Member: Kezia Samuels |
| Abstract | To better understand the physiological effects of climate change and ocean acidification on marine organisms, information on the environmental conditions experienced in their natural habitats is required. Data from long-term monitoring studies capture in situ variability of environmental parameters that are used to relate experimental findings with field conditions. Elands Bay on the west coast of South Africa is a key location for such research and monitoring. It is a popular location for West Coast rock lobster fishing and therefore an important sentinel site for a commercial fishery species and the benthic communities upon which it depends. Low pH conditions exist along the west coast due to effects of upwelling, while cold-bottom waters in Elands Bay often result in low oxygen events responsible for mass walkouts of rock lobster. Additional exposure to extreme stressors associated with climate change can exacerbate impacts on their physiological processes. For example, acute thermal stress experienced during a marine heatwave may cause a rapid deterioration of cellular processes and performances beyond tolerance limits, affecting survival, growth and development. In South Africa, occurrences of marine heatwaves are increasing all along the coastline, and occur on average at least once a year. Data on temperature extremes are therefore important to design experiments and calculate thermal windows. We initiated long-term monitoring of inshore environmental parameters in Elands Bay by deploying temperature loggers in representative habitat types: intertidal rock pools varying in surface area, volume and position along the shore, sun-exposed habitats, and subtidal habitats. The subtidal logger is positioned at an overhang in the same vicinity of the rockpools and housed in a mooring block. Here we present the cleaned up version of temperature measurements from the subtidal from 5 to 30 June 2023. |
| Methods | The details of the subtidal habitat are captured in the 'README' file. The HOBO TidbiT temperature logger was set to record temperature every 5 minutes. The logger is enclosed inside a plastic housing embedded in a cement mooring block. The mooring block is held in place by a chain secured to a ledge. Data were extracted from the loggers using HOBOware Pro software and exported into Excel files. Times are GMT+2. The data available are the raw files (all temperatures even outside of the water) and 'clean' files where only the temperatures recorded once loggers were submerged are provided. Clean data are presented here for the subtidal. To avoid the inclusion of any 'handling' temperatures in the clean datasets, the temperatures extracted are from ten minutes once the logger is deployed, and 10 minutes before it is removed to download data. |
| Data | |
| Temporal extent | 05 Jun 2023 – 30 Jun 2023 |
| Geographic extent |
Elands Bay, South Africa
Lat: -32.31493 |
| Keywords | logger, SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, subtidal, temperature |
| Related resources |
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