Australian Ocean Data Network provides data on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from marine sediment cores inshore and offshore Maria Island, Tasmania, covering up to 9,000 years before present. The dataset documents species abundances, including Protoceratium reticulatum, Spiniferites spp., and cysts of the Alexandrium tamarense complex, to infer past oceanographic conditions. It was last updated on 2026-07-22.
Use Cases
- Reconstructing past sea surface temperatures and water mass history based on the presence/absence of warm-water cyst taxa like Lingulodinium machaerophorum.
- Tracking the long-term endemic presence or recent bloom events of harmful algal bloom species based on cyst records for Alexandrium tamarense and Gymnodinium catenatum.
- Analyzing shifts in coastal versus deep-water habitats over time based on the distribution of taxa like Impagidinium spp. and Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthus.
- Comparing community responses to climate change between different microfossil groups based on the mention of previously studied coccolithophores in the same cores.
Strengths
- Covers a long temporal scale of up to 9,000 years before present.
- Provides specific abundance percentages for key species, such as Spiniferites spp. up to 61% inshore and Protoceratium reticulatum up to 80% offshore.
- Identifies distinct species compositions between inshore and offshore sites, offering comparative spatial context.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Analysis of cyst assemblages from marine sediment cores.
- Time Range
- Up to 9,000 years before present, with specific mentions of the past 140 years and 50 years for certain species.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-07-22 02:57:04.963469; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- East coast of Tasmania, southeast Australia, specifically waters inshore and offshore Maria Island.