Casey Station Marine Sediment Macrofauna Counts from 1997 to 2014

Data from core and grab samples of marine sediments collected around Casey station and Windmill Islands between 1997 and 2014. Samples were taken in multiple summer seasons and one winter, using a spatially nested design across 19 locations, sites, and plots. The data is structured as an Excel spreadsheet with samples as rows and species as columns, with GPS coordinates provided separately.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in macrofaunal community composition based on sampling from 1997 to 2014
• Model spatial distribution of invertebrate species based on the nested sampling design across locations, sites, and plots
• Assess the impact of different sampling methods (cores vs. grabs) on recorded species counts
• Study biodiversity patterns across depths from 5 to 30 meters mentioned in the description

Strengths

• Samples span 17 years across multiple summer seasons and one winter, providing long-term ecological context
• Uses a spatially nested sampling design with 19 locations, sites within locations, and plots within sites
• Macrofauna were identified to species level or morphospecies, indicating taxonomic resolution

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing on the Casey station area

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Samples collected by divers using cores and van veen or eckman grabs from marine sediments.

Time Range

1997 to 2014, with specific sampling in summers of 1996/97, 97/98, 98/99, 2002/03, 03/04, 04/05, 06/07, 2014/15 and winter 1998.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 01:56:29.249473; freshness should be verified

Geography

Marine sediments around Casey station and Windmill Islands, Antarctica.