Benthic Biota of Northern Australia: Specimens from 2012 Survey

261 voucher specimens were collected during a marine survey transit between Darwin and Cairns from 15-24 October 2012. The program, led by Geoscience Australia, used an ROV and benthic sled to gather sessile invertebrates like sponges and octocorals for biodiversity and biodiscovery research. Sponges were the most abundant group, with ~139 kg of biomass and 93 voucher specimens collected.

Use Cases

• Cataloging benthic biodiversity based on voucher specimen counts and biomass data
• Identifying potential sources of marine natural products based on collected sponge and cnidarian samples
• Studying habitat structure and community composition based on descriptions of bank and terrace features
• Screening for active compounds against cancer and HIV based on samples sent to the NCI

Strengths

• Includes specific biomass figures (~139 kg of sponges) and voucher specimen counts (261 total)
• Describes a focused sampling effort over a defined time period (15-24 October 2012)
• Specifies intended downstream research use, including sample lodgment at the ABL and NCI

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Biological data acquisition program using an ROV and benthic sled during a ship transit.

Time Range

15-24 October 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 05:11:33.715813; freshness should be verified

Geography

Northern Australia, specifically the transit route between Darwin and Cairns, including a bank (Area I) and terrace/hole feature within the proposed Wessel Islands CMR (Area II).