BRUVS Fish and Benthic Survey of Great Barrier Reef Southern Shoals, 2009

18,650 individual fish, sharks, rays, and sea snakes from 298 species were observed using 313 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) in the Great Barrier Reef Southern Shoals from October to November 2009. The dataset includes 3,983 images and records habitat classification, species identity with CAAB codes, arrival times, behavior, maturity, and relative abundance (MaxN). Data was collected and analyzed by AIMS staff using a custom Microsoft Access interface and is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Modeling species abundance and distribution based on MaxN (maximum number visible) and arrival time data.
• Classifying benthic habitat types based on recorded topography, sediment, and benthos information.
• Analyzing fish behavior patterns based on the eight recorded categories, including feeding on bait.
• Training image recognition models using the approximately 3,500 reference library images for species identification.

Strengths

• Substantial observational scale with 18,650 individuals recorded across 298 species.
• Multimodal data combining structured survey records (tabular) with 3,983 supporting images.
• Detailed behavioral and ecological variables, including eight behavior categories and maturity status.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the primary tabular data is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific survey location and period in 2009.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) deployed for observation.

Time Range

2009-10 20 to 2009-11-13

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-22 16:33:18.619531; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef Southern Shoals