BRUVS: Fish and Benthic Survey of Townsville-Lizard Great Barrier Reef, 2003

From September 5 to October 12, 2003, this dataset comprises observations of 11,687 individuals from 253 species of fishes, sharks, rays, and sea snakes. It was collected using 275 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) deployed around the Townsville-Lizard region of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts the data, which includes 2,397 images and records habitat classification, species identity, arrival times, behavior, maturity, and relative abundance.

Use Cases

• Modeling species abundance and distribution based on MaxN (maximum number visible) and habitat classification data.
• Analyzing fish behavior patterns based on the eight recorded categories, including feeding on bait.
• Studying population demographics and maturity structure based on adult/juvenile classifications.
• Developing image recognition models for marine species using the associated reference library of approximately 3,500 images.

Strengths

• Contains observations of 11,687 individuals from 253 species, providing a substantial sample size.
• Includes 2,397 images and references a library of approximately 3,500 best images for potential validation.
• Records multiple ecological variables per observation, including behavior, maturity, and habitat classification.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical tasks.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single cruise in 2003.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data gathered using 275 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS).

Time Range

2003-09-05 to 2003-10-12

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 18:45:37.288512; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Townsville-Lizard region, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia