AusCPR: Zooplankton Abundance in Australian Waters

The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey measures plankton communities to assess ocean health. The dataset, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System, is available through the Australian Ocean Data Network portal and includes binned products suitable for time series analysis. Data collection and analysis are conducted by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division.

Use Cases

• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution based on species abundance data.
• Document plankton changes in response to climate change using time-series binned products.
• Develop fisheries management indices based on plankton community data.
• Detect harmful algal blooms using plankton abundance and identification records.
• Validate satellite remote sensing data with in-situ plankton measurements.

Strengths

• Data includes explicit absence indicators (0 for looked-for and not seen, -999 for not looked-for), enhancing analysis clarity.
• Binned products are designed for time series analysis, accounting for taxonomic changes over time.
• Project is a joint effort by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division, suggesting institutional rigor.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-04-18 18:31:06.054240; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ships of Opportunity facility, Australian Ocean Data Network portal.

Collection Method

Plankton samples collected via Continuous Plankton Recorder, with zooplankton counted off silk in a Bogorov tray after rinsing and straining through a 10-micron mesh sieve.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 18:31:06.054240

Geography

Australian waters