The StoxBiotic data format is defined by StoX as a common format to which data from different biotic sampling formats are converted, guaranteeing consistent interpretation and documentation of all its variables.

Details

The StoxBiotic format is defined according to the general sampling hierarchy of StoX which is used as a basis for both the StoxcBiotic and StoxAcoustic format. The variables of the StoxBiotic format are given by the tables below, where the columns NMDBiotic and ICESBiotic show the origin of variable in BioticData read from NMDBiotic https://www.imr.no/formats/nmdbiotic/ and ICESBiotic https://www.ices.dk/data/data-portals/Pages/acoustic.aspx files, respectively (see BioticData). Variables with non-unique names across tables of the BioticData are written as variableName.tableName, and "-" and "/" denotes concatenation for character type variables with "-" and "/" as separation character, respectively. Units are given with shortname of the StoxUnits:

Cruise level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
CruiseKeyKey of the Cruise tableNoneCharacter"2021105"cruise/missiontype/startyear/platform/missionnumberLocalID
CruiseUnique Cruise identifierNoneCharacter"2021105"Same as CruiseKey. Can be translated.Same as CruiseKey. Can be translated.
PlatformData collection platform identifierNoneCharacter"1019"platformPlatform

Station level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
StationKeyKey of the Station levelNoneCharacter"1"stationStationName
StationUnique Station identifierNoneCharacter"2021105-1"CruiseKey-StationKeyCruiseKey-StationKey
CatchPlatformPlatform performing the actual sampling (can be different from the data collection platform)NoneCharacter"1019"catchplatform (platform.fishstation for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)Platform
DateTimeUTC time at start of the station, stored as POSIXctISO8601Character2020-09-09T01:02:03.456Zstationstartdate + stationstarttime (startdate.fishstation + starttime.fishstation for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)StartTime
LongitudeLongitude at start of the stationdegree eastNumeric62.5longitudestartStartLongitude
LatitudeLatitude at start of the stationdegree northNumeric5.1latitudestartStartLatitude
BottomDepthBottomDepth at the station, given directly in ICESBitoic files and calculated as the average of bottom depth at start and end of the station in NMDBiotic filesmNumeric123.2(bottomdepthstart + bottomdepthstop) / 2BottomDepth

Haul level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
HaulKeyKey of the Haul levelNoneCharacter"2"serialnumber (serialno for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)Number
HaulUnique Haul identifierNoneCharacter"2021105-1-2"CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKeyCruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey
GearIdentifier of the gearNoneCharacter"3270"gearGear
TowDistanceDistance between start and end of the haulnmiNumeric1.5distanceDistance / 1852
EffectiveTowDistanceEffective tow distancenmiNumeric1.5Same as TowDistance. Can be translated.Same as TowDistance. Can be translated.
MinHaulDepthMinimum depth of the haul (trawl headline)mNumeric65fishingdepthminMinTrawlDepth
MaxHaulDepthMaximum depth of the haul (trawl headline)mNumeric35fishingdepthmaxMaxTrawlDepth
VerticalNetOpeningVertical span of the netmNumeric23verticaltrawlopening (trawlopening for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)Netopening
HorizontalNetOpeningVertical span of the netmNumeric105wingspread (missing (NA) for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)WingSpread
TrawlDoorSpreadDistance between the trawl doorsmNumeric125trawldoorspread (doorspread for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)DoorSpread

SpeciesCategory level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
SpeciesCategoryKeyKey of the SpeciesCategory levelNoneCharacter"sild'G03/161722.G03/126417/Clupea harengus"commonname/catchcategory/aphia/scientificname (noname/species/aphia/group for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)SpeciesCode
SpeciesCategoryThe species categoryNoneCharacter"Herring"Same as SpeciesCategoryKey. Can be translated.Same as SpeciesCategoryKey. Can be translated.

Sample level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
SampleKeyKey of the Sample levelNoneCharacter"1"catchsampleid (samplenumber for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)SpeciesCategory
SampleUnique Sample identifierNoneCharacter"2021105-1-2-sild'G03/161722.G03/126417/Clupea harengus-1"CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKeyCruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey
CatchFractionWeightTotal weight of the catch for the SpeciesCategory and sub category (e.g., fractions such as juveniles and adults)kgNumeric49.9catchweight (missing (NA) if catchproducttype != 1) (weight (missing (NA) if producttype != 1) for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)SpeciesCategoryWeight (taking WeightUnit into account)
CatchFractionNumberTotal number of individuals of the catch for the SpeciesCategory and sub category (e.g., fractions such as juveniles and adults)individualsInteger295catchcount (count for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)SpeciesCategoryNumber
SampleWeightTotal weight of the sample for individual measurementskgNumeric4.6lengthsampleweight (missing (NA) if sampleproducttype != 1)SubsampleWeight (taking WeightUnit into account)
SampleNumberSize of the sample for individual measurementsindividualsInteger100lengthsamplecountSubsampledNumber

Individual level:

VariableDescriptionUnitData typeExampleNMDBioticICESBiotic
IndividualKeyKey of the Individual levelNoneCharacter"2"specimenid (specimenno for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)FishID
IndividualUnique Individual identifierNoneCharacter"2021105-1-2-sild'G03/161722.G03/126417/Clupea harengus-1-2"CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey-IndividualKeyCruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey-IndividualKey
IndividualRoundWeightRound weight (the whole fish) fo the individualgNumeric123individualweight * 1000 (missing (NA) if individualproducttype != 1) (weight.individual (missing (NA) if producttype.individual != 1) for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4)IndividualWeight (taking WeightUnit.Biology into account)
IndividualTotalLengthTotal length (from snout to end of fin), given as the lower end of the interval of width given by LengthResolutioncmNumeric14.5length * 100 (missing (NA) if lengthmeasurement != "E")LengthClass.Biology (taking LengthCode.Biology into account)
LengthResolutionResolution of IndividualTotalLengthcmNumeric0.5lengthresolution (lengthunit for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) converted to cmLengthCode.Biology converted to cm
WeightMeasurementSpecification of how IndividualRoundWeight was measured; one of "IndividualWeight" and "AverageWeight". For data from NMDBiotic files this is always "IndividualWeight".NoneCharacter"IndividualWeight""IndividualWeight"IndividualWeight if IndividualWeight is given, "AverageWeight" if WeightAtLength and NumberAtLength are given
IndividualAgeAge of an individualyearNumeric3age (located in the agedetermination level) for the preferredagereadingIndividualAge
IndividualSexsex of an individualF is female, M is maleCharacter"F""F" if sex = 1, "M" if sex = 2IndividualSex