Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region

Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region Sponge reefs are constructed by hexactinellid (glass) sponges of the Order Hexactinosida. The sponges trap fine sediments, and over centuries of sponge growth and sediment trapping, form large bioherms or reef mounds. Glass sponge reefs are unique habitats found along the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States and they have significant historic, ecological, and economic value. They link benthic and pelagic environments by playing important roles in filtration and carbon and nitrogen processing, and acting as silica sinks. They also form habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates and fish, including those of economic importance. Thus, accurate and up-to-date information on the location and spatial extent of sponge reefs is important to the management and conservation of many of Canada’s Pacific marine species. We generated a map of known sponge reefs, derived from two source shape files: 1) Sponge_Reef_West_Coast, mapped by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2) Howesound_Nine_reef_polygons and 3) HoweSound_Five_reef_polygons, which were mapped by DFO and NRCan. The resultant polygon shapefile is published on the GIS hub as a file geodatabase feature class. 2023-07-11 Fisheries and Oceans Canada anya.dunham@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Nature and EnvironmentBritish ColumbiaHowe SoundStrait of GeorgiaHecate StraitQueen Charlotte SoundGeorgia BasinQueen Charlotte BasinHoloceneBCSponge reefsReefsSensitive benthic areasBenthosMarine geologyEcologically and Biologically Significant AreasEBSAAquatic wildlifeBiogenic habitatProtected areasAphrocallistes vastusFarrea occaHeterochone calyxConservationAquatic ecosystemsOcean floorOceansHabitats Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific RegionESRI REST https://gisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/FGP/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/MapServer Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region - GeodatabaseFGDB/GDB https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/sponge_reefs.gdb.zip Data DictionaryHTML https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/data_dictionary_EN_FR_sponge_reefs_pacific.htm Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region - GeoJSONGEOJSON https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/sponge_reefs_geojson.zip Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region - ShapefileSHP https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/sponge_reefs_shapefile.zip ReferencesPDF https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/references_EN_FR_sponge_reefs_pacific.pdf Data DictionaryCSV https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/data_dictionary_EN_FR_sponge_reefs_pacific.csv Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region - GIS Hub MetadataPDF https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/GISHub_metadata_EN_sponge_reefs_pacific.pdf Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific Region - GIS Hub MetadataPDF https://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/FGPPublic/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/GISHub_metadata_FR_sponge_reefs_pacific.pdf Sponge Reef Areas of the Pacific RegionESRI REST https://gisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/FGP/Sponge_Reef_Areas_of_the_Pacific_Region/MapServer

Sponge reefs are constructed by hexactinellid (glass) sponges of the Order Hexactinosida. The sponges trap fine sediments, and over centuries of sponge growth and sediment trapping, form large bioherms or reef mounds. Glass sponge reefs are unique habitats found along the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States and they have significant historic, ecological, and economic value. They link benthic and pelagic environments by playing important roles in filtration and carbon and nitrogen processing, and acting as silica sinks. They also form habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates and fish, including those of economic importance. Thus, accurate and up-to-date information on the location and spatial extent of sponge reefs is important to the management and conservation of many of Canada’s Pacific marine species. We generated a map of known sponge reefs, derived from two source shape files: 1) Sponge_Reef_West_Coast, mapped by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2) Howesound_Nine_reef_polygons and 3) HoweSound_Five_reef_polygons, which were mapped by DFO and NRCan. The resultant polygon shapefile is published on the GIS hub as a file geodatabase feature class.

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Contact Information

Delivery Point: Pacific Biological Station 3190 Hammond Bay Road

City: Nanaimo

Administrative Area: British Columbia

Postal Code: V9T 6N7

Country: Canada

Electronic Mail Address: anya.dunham@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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