Great Barrier Reef Fish Communities: Spatial Interpolation from 1993 to 2008

214 fish species were counted along permanent transects on 46 reefs of the Great Barrier Reef between 1993 and 2008. The dataset, produced by the Australian Institute of Marine Science Long Term Monitoring Program, includes annual visual census data and spatial interpolations mapping species richness and abundance. Survey patterns changed in 2006 to assess the effects of a new marine park zoning plan.

Use Cases

• Modeling spatial and temporal changes in reef fish assemblages based on long-term monitoring data.
• Assessing the impact of marine park zoning on fish biodiversity based on paired reef surveys from the Representative Areas Program.
• Mapping species richness and total fish abundance across the Great Barrier Reef using interpolated spatial data.
• Analyzing trophic group dynamics based on species categorized into different feeding groups.

Strengths

• Long-term data collection spanning 15 years from 1993 to 2008.
• Covers 214 fish species across 46 reefs distributed across the continental shelf and latitude bands.
• Includes spatially interpolated gridded data for the entire Great Barrier Reef via Generalized Additive Models.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Survey design changed in 2006, potentially complicating time-series analysis across the full period.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, Australian Institute of Marine Science Long Term Monitoring Program.

Collection Method

Visual census along permanent transects within a standard habitat; spatial interpolation via Generalized Additive Models.

Time Range

1993 to 2008

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-14 08:14:31.039971; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef, Australia