Zooplankton sample inventory for Northeast U.S. Shelf Long Term Ecological Research (NES-LTER) Transect cruises, ongoing since 2017

This dataset lists the inventory of physical samples from zooplankton net tows conducted on Northeast U.S. Shelf Long-Term Ecological Research (NES-LTER) Transect cruises, ongoing since 2017. The NES-LTER transect lies south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Dedicated NES-LTER cruises target summer and winter seasons, with samples collected in oblique tows with a bongo net fitted with 150 and 335 micron mesh nets, as well as a ring net with a 20 micron mesh net. Additional cruises along the NES-LTER Transect, including spring and fall cruises with the Ocean Observatories Initiative, collect samples in vertical tows using a ring net with 150 micron mesh net. Samples are shared with different labs for purposes including DNA metabarcoding, stable isotopes, and morphological identification.