Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zpc866tpj

Description of the data and file structure

Three complementary sampling methods were used to assess diversity and abundance of mobile creek fauna: minnow trapping, seining, and baited remote underwater videos. Minnow traps were deployed 3 times every other week from early June to early July 2025 during neap tide. BRUV deployments were conducted opportunistically three times per site in the same period. Seining was conducted as a single event at each site from July 14–17, 2025. All of these methods were used in intertidal creeks in four marshes at Elkhorn Slough, California.

Files and variables

Creek_Nekton_Metadata.pdf

• Metadata for the study

Mobile_Creek_Fauna_2025.xlsx

• 5 datasheets
  • Data dictionary, describes the meaning of unfamiliar column names inside the rest of the .xlsx file
  • Mobile_Creek_Fauna_2025_-_Minnow_Trap_Data_CSV.csv, contains all minnow trap data collected during the duration of the study except the traps which were flagged for having problems and subsequently removed from analysis. Cells with no data were left blank.
    • Date: date the trap was deployed (yyyy-mm-dd)
    • Year: year the trap was deployed
    • Month: month the trap was deployed
    • Day: day the trap was deployed
    • Time_Deployed: time the trap was deployed
    • Time_Retrieved: time the trap was retrieved (next day)
    • Inundation time: calculated time the trap was underwater and actively sampling
    • Site: Values can be one of four marshes/sites sampled during the study
    • Creek_Depth: Either shallow or deep defined by elevation above MLLW
    • Trap_Size: the size of the trap opening (small or large)
    • Trap_Number: each site had 9 traps (1-9) this is the trap number
    • Lat: latitude of trap
    • Long: longitude of trap
    • Species: a four letter code used to describe the species which were caught in the traps
    • Origin: describes whether the species caught was native or non-native
    • Resident: describes the residency status of the species caught
    • Trophic_Role: describes the trophic role of the species caught
    • 24xCPUE: number of individuals caught/1hr inundation time (catch per unit effort) times 24 to give catch per 24 hour time period
    • Total: total number of individuals of that species which were caught in that trap
    • Number_F: number of individuals which were female
    • Number_Gravid: number of individuals which were gravid
    • Number_M: number of individuals which were male
    • Number_Unk: number of individuals whose sex was unknown
    • Total_Check: formula that adds up Number_F/M/Unk and is highlighted if the number does not match the number in the 'Total' column to make sure the sex of all individuals was recorded
    • Size_Smallest: smallest individual of that species in that trap
    • Size_Largest: largest individual of that species in that trap
    • Number_Collected: number of individuals of that species from that trap which were collected for a separate study
    • Size_1: size of the first individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_2: size of the second individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_3: size of the third individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_4: size of the fourth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_5: size of the fifth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_6: size of the sixth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Flag: yes if there was a problem
    • Description_Of_Problem: describes the problem flagged in the 'Flag' column
  • Mobile_Creek_Fauna_2025_-_Minnow_Trap_Data_CSV_Including_Failed_Traps.csv, contains all minnow trap data collected during the duration of the study including the traps which were flagged for having problems for transparency
    • Date: date the trap was deployed (yyyy-mm-dd)
    • Year: year the trap was deployed
    • Month: month the trap was deployed
    • Day: day the trap was deployed
    • Time_Deployed: time the trap was deployed
    • Time_Retrieved: time the trap was retrieved (next day)
    • Inundation time: calculated time the trap was underwater and actively sampling
    • Site: Values can be one of four marshes/sites sampled during the study
    • Creek_Depth: Either shallow or deep defined by elevation above MLLW
    • Trap_Size: the size of the trap opening (small or large)
    • Trap_Number: each site had 9 traps (1-9) this is the trap number
    • Lat: latitude of trap
    • Long: longitude of trap
    • Species: a four letter code used to describe the species which were caught in the traps
    • Origin: describes whether the species caught was native or non-native
    • Resident: describes the residency status of the species caught
    • Trophic_Role: describes the trophic role of the species caught
    • 24xCPUE: number of individuals caught/1hr inundation time (catch per unit effort) times 24 to give catch per 24 hour time period
    • Total: total number of individuals of that species which were caught in that trap
    • Number_F: number of individuals which were female
    • Number_Gravid: number of individuals which were gravid
    • Number_M: number of individuals which were male
    • Number_Unk: number of individuals whose sex was unknown
    • Total_Check: formula that adds up Number_F/M/Unk and is highlighted if the number does not match the number in the 'Total' column to make sure the sex of all individuals was recorded
    • Size_Smallest: smallest individual of that species in that trap
    • Size_Largest: largest individual of that species in that trap
    • Number_Collected: number of individuals of that species from that trap which were collected for a separate study
    • Size_1: size of the first individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_2: size of the second individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_3: size of the third individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_4: size of the fourth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_5: size of the fifth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Size_6: size of the sixth individual (mm carapace length or total length)
    • Flag: yes if there was a problem
    • Description_Of_Problem: describes the problem flagged in the 'Flag' column
  • Mobile_Creek_Fauna_2025_-_Seine_Data_CSV.csv, contains all the seining data collected during the duration of the study, cells with no data are left blank
    • Date: date the seine was pulled (yyyy-mm-dd)
    • Year: year the seine was pulled
    • Month: month the seine was pulled
    • Day: day the seine was pulled
    • Lat: latitude of trap
    • Long: longitude of trap
    • Start_Depth: depth in cm where seining started
    • End_Depth: depth in cm where seining ended
    • Avg_Depth: average of the start and end depth
    • Site: Values can be one of four marshes/sites sampled during the study
    • Site_ID: one of five locations seined at each site
    • Species: a four letter code used to describe the species which were caught in the seine
    • Origin: describes whether the species caught was native or non-native
    • Resident: describes the residency status of the species caught
    • Trophic_Role: describes the trophic role of the species caught
    • Total: total number of individuals of that species which were caught in that seine pull
    • Size_1: size of the first individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_2: size of the second individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_3: size of the third individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_4: size of the fourth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_5: size of the fifth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_6: size of the sixth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_7: size of the seventh individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_8: size of the eighth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_9: size of the ninth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_10: size of the tenth individual (mm carapace length or total length) (individuals were haphazardly selected with a goal to have all size classes represented, order is random)
    • Size_Smallest: smallest individual of that species in that seine
    • Size_Largest: largest individual of that species in that seine
    • Percent_Not_YOY: the percentage of individuals of that species in that seine pull which were larger than young-of-year size
    • Flag: yes if there was a problem
    • Description_Of_Problem: describes the problem flagged in the 'Flag' column
  • Mobile_Creek_Fauna_2025_-_BRUVs_Data_CSV.csv, contains all the baited remote underwater video (BRUV) data collected during the duration of the study, cells with no data are left blank.
    • Date: date the video was recorded (yyyy-mm-dd)
    • Year: year the video was recorded
    • Month: month the video was recorded
    • Day: day the video was recorded
    • Start_Time: time the video recording started
    • Deployment: 4 recordings were taken at each site, deployment describes which recording it was (1st, 2nd, 3rd...)
    • Site: Values can be one of four marshes/sites sampled during the study
    • Video_Number: The GoPros split long videos into ~11min segments, the video number describes during which segment the MaxN sighting took place
    • Timestamp: describe the exact timestamp during which the MaxN sighting took place
    • Species: a four letter code used to describe the species which were observed in the video
    • Origin: describes whether the species observed was native or non-native
    • Resident: describes the residency status of the species observed 
    • Trophic_Role: describes the trophic role of the species observed
    • MaxN: describes the maximum number of individuals of a species seen in one frame during the recording 
    • Mins_Analyzed: describes the number of mins of recording which were watched and analyzed
    • OPUE: equals 60*the MaxN/Mins_Analyzed to give the MaxN per hour
    • Depth: All BRUVs were deployed in deeper creeks than seines and traps. Depth is described as deep or semi-deep. In restored and natural sites a water level >/= 1.0m was considered deep. In the degraded sites, all deployments were marked as deep since there is little difference in depths across the site
    • Water_Level: how deep the water was at the center of the creek being recorded midway through recording
    • Tide: tidal stage during recording
    • Flag: yes if there was a problem
    • Description_Of_Problem: describes the problem flagged in the 'Flag' column

Code/software

No software is needed to access the data.

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

• N/A

Data was derived from the following sources:

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