IMOS - AusCPR: Zooplankton Abundance in Australian Waters

The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey provides a long-term plankton baseline for Australian waters, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System. Data is collected by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division to map biodiversity and document changes in response to climate change. Results are available through the AODN portal and include binned products suitable for time series analysis, with zeros indicating a species was looked for but not seen.

Use Cases

• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution based on counted species abundance.
• Develop long-term plankton baselines for Australian waters using time-series data.
• Document plankton changes in response to climate change based on survey records.
• Provide indices for fisheries management based on zooplankton community data.
• Detect harmful algal blooms using phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance data.

Strengths

• Data is part of a long-term baseline survey for Australian oceans, funded by the national Integrated Marine Observing System.
• Analysis method is designed for higher accuracy by counting zooplankton off the silk in a bogorov tray.
• Data products account for taxonomic changes over time and distinguish between real absences (0) and unsearched species (-999).
• Project is a joint effort by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division.

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 (AODN) portal, sourced from the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Ships of Opportunity facility.

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:25:05.627622; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian waters