Western Rock Lobster Diet and Nutrition from Patch Reefs, Australia 2005

Stable isotope and gut content data from 8 shallow patch-reef sites on Australia's lower west coast, collected in April and October 2005, assess the diet of the western rock lobster Panulirus cygnus. A distance-based linear model found the surrounding benthic habitat explained 52.7% and 7.0% of variation in isotope signatures and gut contents, respectively. The dataset was provided by Parks Australia and originates from research relevant to Australian Marine Parks.

Use Cases

• Modeling the contribution of different food sources to lobster nutrition based on stable isotope mixing models described in the study.
• Analyzing the influence of seagrass versus macroalgae/sand habitats on lobster diet composition using gut content data.
• Investigating spatial variation in the consumption of sessile filter feeders like sponges and ascidians across different reef sites.
• Assessing the potential nutritional role of bait from lobster potting activities, which may contribute up to ~30% to muscle nutrition.

Strengths

• Data from 8 distinct sampling sites provides spatial comparison.
• Includes both stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and gut content analysis for cross-validation.
• Sampling occurred in two months (April and October 2005) to capture potential seasonal variation.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Data is from 2005; ecological conditions may have changed.
• The dataset description is detailed but the actual data structure and file contents require manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Parks Australia, referencing original source publication.

Collection Method

Field collection of lobsters with subsequent stable isotope and gut content analysis.

Time Range

2005 (specifically April and October).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 23:19:31.012907; freshness should be verified.

Geography

8 shallow patch-reef sites on the lower west coast of Australia.