SEA-MES eDNA: Marine Biodiversity Survey of Southeast Australia

Over 180 million raw sequences from environmental DNA samples collected offshore in Southeast Australia. Processed data includes sampling information, sequence read counts, and taxonomy derived from metabarcoding assays, focusing on fish but covering the full tree of life. The dataset was generated by the NESP MaC 4.23 project and is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Assess offshore fish biodiversity based on eDNA metabarcoding data.
• Refine eDNA sampling and laboratory protocols based on technical assessments mentioned in the description.
• Study cross-taxon biodiversity patterns from bacteria to vertebrates using sequence data.
• Benchmark bioinformatics pipelines for processing marine eDNA metabarcoding results.

Strengths

• Includes over 180 million raw sequences available from NCBI BioProject PRJNA1263580.
• Data focuses on fish but includes sequence data from the full tree of life.
• Samples were collected at broadly distributed offshore sites across Southeast Australia.

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 (via data.gov.au), raw sequences at NCBI BioProject PRJNA1263580.

Collection Method

Environmental DNA metabarcoding assays from samples collected on RV Investigator voyages IN2023_V05 and IN2024_V03.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 06:45:20.868605; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Offshore sites across Southeast Australia.