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.
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:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| CruiseKey | Key of the Cruise table | None | Character | "2021105" | cruise/missiontype/startyear/platform/missionnumber | LocalID |
| Cruise | Unique Cruise identifier | None | Character | "2021105" | Same as CruiseKey. Can be translated. | Same as CruiseKey. Can be translated. |
| Platform | Data collection platform identifier | None | Character | "1019" | platform | Platform |
Station level:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| StationKey | Key of the Station level | None | Character | "1" | station | StationName |
| Station | Unique Station identifier | None | Character | "2021105-1" | CruiseKey-StationKey | CruiseKey-StationKey |
| CatchPlatform | Platform performing the actual sampling (can be different from the data collection platform) | None | Character | "1019" | catchplatform (platform.fishstation for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | Platform |
| DateTime | UTC time at start of the station, stored as POSIXct | ISO8601 | Character | 2020-09-09T01:02:03.456Z | stationstartdate + stationstarttime (startdate.fishstation + starttime.fishstation for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | StartTime |
| Longitude | Longitude at start of the station | degree east | Numeric | 62.5 | longitudestart | StartLongitude |
| Latitude | Latitude at start of the station | degree north | Numeric | 5.1 | latitudestart | StartLatitude |
| BottomDepth | BottomDepth 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 files | m | Numeric | 123.2 | (bottomdepthstart + bottomdepthstop) / 2 | BottomDepth |
Haul level:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| HaulKey | Key of the Haul level | None | Character | "2" | serialnumber (serialno for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | Number |
| Haul | Unique Haul identifier | None | Character | "2021105-1-2" | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey |
| Gear | Identifier of the gear | None | Character | "3270" | gear | Gear |
| TowDistance | Distance between start and end of the haul | nmi | Numeric | 1.5 | distance | Distance / 1852 |
| EffectiveTowDistance | Effective tow distance | nmi | Numeric | 1.5 | Same as TowDistance. Can be translated. | Same as TowDistance. Can be translated. |
| MinHaulDepth | Minimum depth of the haul (trawl headline) | m | Numeric | 65 | fishingdepthmin | MinTrawlDepth |
| MaxHaulDepth | Maximum depth of the haul (trawl headline) | m | Numeric | 35 | fishingdepthmax | MaxTrawlDepth |
| VerticalNetOpening | Vertical span of the net | m | Numeric | 23 | verticaltrawlopening (trawlopening for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | Netopening |
| HorizontalNetOpening | Vertical span of the net | m | Numeric | 105 | wingspread (missing (NA) for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | WingSpread |
| TrawlDoorSpread | Distance between the trawl doors | m | Numeric | 125 | trawldoorspread (doorspread for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | DoorSpread |
SpeciesCategory level:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| SpeciesCategoryKey | Key of the SpeciesCategory level | None | Character | "126417" | commonname/catchcategory/aphia/scientificname (noname/species/aphia/group for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | SpeciesCode |
| SpeciesCategory | The species category | None | Character | "Herring" | Same as SpeciesCategoryKey. Can be translated. | Same as SpeciesCategoryKey. Can be translated. |
Sample level:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| SampleKey | Key of the Sample level | None | Character | "1" | catchsampleid (samplenumber for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | SpeciesCategory |
| Sample | Unique Sample identifier | None | Character | "2021105-1-2-126417-1" | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey |
| CatchFractionWeight | Total weight of the catch SpeciesCategory and sub category (fractions such as juveniles and adults) | kg | Numeric | 49.9 | catchweight (missing (NA) if catchproducttype != 1) (weight (missing (NA) if producttype != 1) for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | SpeciesCategoryWeight (taking WeightUnit into account) |
| CatchFractionNumber | Total number of individuals of the catch SpeciesCategory and sub category (fractions such as juveniles and adults) | individuals | Integer | 295 | catchcount (count for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | SpeciesCategoryNumber |
| SampleWeight | Total weight of the sample for individual measurements | kg | Numeric | 4.6 | lengthsampleweight (missing (NA) if sampleproducttype != 1) | SubsampleWeight (taking WeightUnit into account) |
| SampleNumber | Size of the sample for individual measurements | individuals | Integer | 100 | lengthsamplecount | SubsampledNumber |
Individual level:
| Variable | Description | Unit | Data type | Example | NMDBiotic | ICESBiotic |
| IndividualKey | Key of the Individual level | None | Character | "2" | specimenid (specimenno for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) | FishID |
| Individual | Unique Individual identifier | None | Character | "2021105-1-2-126417-1-2" | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey-IndividualKey | CruiseKey-StationKey-HaulKey-SpeciesCategoryKey-SampleKey-IndividualKey |
| IndividualRoundWeight | Round weight (the whole fish) fo the individual | g | Numeric | 123 | individualweight * 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) |
| IndividualTotalLength | Total length (from snout to end of fin), given as the lower end of the interval of width given by LengthResolution | cm | Numeric | 14.5 | length * 100 (missing (NA) if lengthmeasurement != "E") | LengthClass.Biology (taking LengthCode.Biology into account) |
| LengthResolution | Resolution of IndividualTotalLength | cm | Numeric | 0.5 | lengthresolution (lengthunit for NMDBiotic 1.1 and 1.4) converted to cm | LengthCode.Biology converted to cm |
| WeightMeasurement | Specification of how IndividualRoundWeight was measured; one of "IndividualWeight" and "AverageWeight". For data from NMDBiotic files this is always "IndividualWeight". | None | Character | "IndividualWeight" | "IndividualWeight" | IndividualWeight if IndividualWeight is given, "AverageWeight" if WeightAtLength and NumberAtLength are given |
| IndividualAge | Age of an individual | year | Numeric | 3 | age (located in the agedetermination level) for the preferredagereading | IndividualAge |
| IndividualSex | sex of an individual | F is female, M is male | Character | "F" | "F" if sex = 1, "M" if sex = 2 | IndividualSex |