Sampling Design - Sampling design includes defining the questions to be addressed by the data, defining the units that will be sampled, and developing a sampling design that is cost-effective for answering the defined questions.

Water Column Characteristics - Various parameters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll fluorescence, light attenuation and turbidity. 

Bottom Characteristics - Sediment grain size and disturbance of bottom materials.

Contaminants - Contaminants are chemical (toxicants) and biological (i.e. bacterial and viral pathogens) constituents of the environment capable of producing adverse effects on biological systems.

Meiofauna - Animals passing a 0.5 millimeter mesh sieve but retained on a 0.062 millimeter mesh sieve. This is the size of the smallest grain of sand.

Macrofauna - Animals retained on a 0.5 millimeter mesh sieve.

Nekton -The nekton includes all aquatic animals that actively swim in the water column, such as fish or squid.