Sediment organic and inorganic matter within intertidal eelgrass beds in Southeast Alaska

Sediment cores were collected from 21 sites along western Prince of Wales Island and the surrounding archipelago in Southeast Alaska. The cores were collected to quantify the amount of organic and inorganic material within intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in each site. The cores were 5 cm in diameter and were divided into 2-cm layers for analysis; the deepest core reached a maximum of 70 cm in sediment depth. Both organic and inorganic material were determined via loss-on-ignition (LOI) methods, consistent with the majority of existing literature. These data were collected to compliment a larger, interdisciplinary project called APECS (Apex predators, Ecosystems, and Community Sustainability), the focus of which investigated the role that sea otters have on seagrass habitats, their ecological function, and influences on traditional and subsistence harvest of specified marine organisms.

本研究于阿拉斯加东南部威尔士王子岛西岸及其周边群岛的21个采样点采集沉积物岩芯。本次采样旨在量化各采样点潮间带鳗草（Zostera marina）床内的有机物质与无机物质总量。沉积物岩芯直径为5厘米，被切割为2厘米厚的分层以开展分析；最深岩芯的沉积物埋藏深度最大可达70厘米。有机与无机物质的含量均通过烧失量法（loss-on-ignition, LOI）测定，该方法契合当前绝大多数相关研究的通用范式。本数据集采集的数据旨在支撑一项名为APECS（Apex predators, Ecosystems, and Community Sustainability）的大型跨学科研究项目，该项目的核心研究方向为海獭对海草生境的作用、海草生境的生态功能，以及海獭对特定海洋生物的传统捕捞与自给性捕捞产生的影响。