Photo Archive of In Situ Benthic Imagery from the Gully Marine Protected Area ...

• Main Author: Lirette, Camille
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Mendeley Data 2023
• Subjects: Marine Biodiversity; Marine Benthic Organisms; Image Database; Marine Protected Area; Benthic Ecology; Canada; The Gully; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17632/z3v6jdnwh6.1; https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/z3v6jdnwh6/1

The Gully is located approximately 200 kilometres off Nova Scotia, Canada to the east of Sable Island where it incises the edge of the Scotian Shelf. Over 65 km long and 15 km wide, the Gully is the largest underwater canyon in the western North Atlantic. In May, 2004 Canada created a marine protected area (MPA) of 2,363 km2 with four conservation objectives: 1. Minimize harmful impacts from human activities on cetacean populations and their habitats; 2. Minimize the disturbance of seafloor habitat and associated benthic communities caused by human activities; 3. Maintain and monitor the quality of water and sediments of the Gully; and 4. Manage human activities to minimize impacts on other commercial and non-commercial living resources. The Gully ecosystem encompasses shallow sandy banks, a deep-water canyon environment, and portions of the continental slope and abyssal plain, providing habitat for a wide diversity of species. The Gully’s size, shape, and location have an effect on currents and local ...