Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder Phytoplankton Abundance Data

Long-term survey data measures phytoplankton communities as a guide to ocean health in Australian waters. The dataset is a joint project of CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System. It provides binned products for time series analysis, including raw species counts and derived indices.

Use Cases

• Analyze changes in phytoplankton species abundance over time to document responses to climate change.
• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution using species-level and genus-level binned data products.
• Develop long-term plankton baselines for Australian waters using the time-series applicable data.
• Provide indices for fisheries management by tracking phytoplankton community composition.
• Detect harmful algal blooms by monitoring specific phytoplankton species abundances flagged in the data.

Strengths

• Data is structured into five distinct binned products for ease of use, including raw, species, genus, higher group, and derived indices.
• Clear data quality flags differentiate between true absences (0) and species not looked for (-999).
• Methodology follows a published standard (Richardson et al. 2006) for consistency.

Limitations

• Taxonomic resolution and analyst identification ability improve over time, potentially causing inconsistency in long-term records.
• Sample size and specific temporal coverage are not provided in the description.
• Geographic coverage is limited to Australian and Southern Ocean waters serviced by the survey.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ships of Opportunity facility, analyzed by CSIRO and Australian Antarctic Division staff.

Collection Method

Phytoplankton captured in situ by Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) mesh and silk, counted directly without washing to prevent cell loss.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Australian waters, Southern Ocean, Tasman Sea, Coral Sea, and surrounding regions.