261 voucher specimens were collected during a 9-day marine survey transit between Darwin and Cairns in October 2012. The program, led by Geoscience Australia, used an ROV and benthic sled to sample 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
- Analyze benthic community composition based on specimen counts and biomass data for sponges and cnidarians.
- Identify potential sources of marine natural products based on the collection of specimens for cancer and HIV compound screening.
- Study habitat distribution of sessile invertebrates like sponges and hard corals across different seabed features (bank, terrace, deep hole).
Strengths
- Includes specific biomass and specimen counts for major taxonomic groups (e.g., ~139 kg of sponges).
- Survey targeted specific, previously mapped geographic features (a bank and a terrace/hole).
- Specimens are designated for concrete research pipelines (biodiversity studies and bioactivity screening).
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Primary data files are in report formats (HTML, DOCX, PDF), which may require extraction for analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Collected using an ROV and benthic sled during the R.V. Southern Surveyor transit.
- Time Range
- 15-24 October 2012
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-25 19:18:12.684222; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Marine areas between Darwin and Cairns, Northern Australia, including a bank (Area I) and a terrace/hole within the proposed Wessel Islands CMR (Area II).