Ostracod Occurrences and Ionic Ratios in Australian Saline Lakes

South-eastern Australian saline lakes provide data on ostracod species composition linked to ionic water chemistry. The dataset reports occurrences as physiologically important ionic ratios, analyzing them within the Eugster-Jones-Hardie models of solute evolution and halite recycling. Findings suggest the geochemical processes influencing ostracods are also relevant to other saltwater organisms like zooplankton and diatoms.

Use Cases

• Modeling species tolerance ranges based on Na+/H+, Na+/Ca2+, and alkalinity/Cl- activity ratios.
• Investigating the biological implications of solute evolution pathways in saline lake systems.
• Correlating ostracod community shifts with specific geochemical thresholds, such as an alkalinity/Cl- activity ratio of ~-2.3.
• Comparing biotic responses across different aquatic taxa (e.g., zooplankton, insects) to shared geochemical processes.

Strengths

• Dataset is derived from a formal scientific study with a clear theoretical framework (Eugster-Jones-Hardie models).
• Cross-platform presence on data.gov.au signals curation and importance for Australian environmental data.
• Analysis identifies a specific, physiologically relevant ionic ratio threshold (Alkalinity/Cl- ~ -2.3).

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: column names, row count, file size, and license are not provided.
• The dataset appears to be an external publication reference; the underlying data files may not be directly accessible.
• Update timestamps conflict between entries (2026-06 27 vs 2026-04-10), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely contains field measurements and laboratory analysis from a scientific study.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 19:31:13.117175

Geography

South-eastern Australia (specific mentions of AU-SA and AU-VIC)