ACZISC-AEI: CBU republication of species distribution records from the Bras d'Or Lakes, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. 1.Large epibentic invertebrates

The Bras d'Or “Lakes” are actually a complex estuary occupying the central part of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Measuring 1,200km2 in surface area and 13 km3 in volume, it consists of four basins, running in a northeast-southwest direction, separated by a series of low mountains, and connected by narrow channels, including two that open to the NE Atlantic ocean. Species distribution information associated with a study of epibenthic invertebrates (Tremblay et al. 2005) were digitized, standardized and republished by Cape Breton University (CBU) as part of the Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee (ACZISC) Atlantic Ecosystem Initiative (AEI) funded project “Atlantic Canada’s Biological Data for Ecosystem Planning and Decision-making” and OBIS Canada. This resource contains species presence information associated with two collections: 1) QuadratSamples - epibenthic quadrat sampling during SCUBA transects collected at various locations in the Bras d'Or lakes in September-October 2003; 2) DiveTransects - diving observations recorded at various locations in the Bras d'Or lakes in September-October 2002 and 2003.