IMOS AusCPR: Zooplankton Abundance in Australian Waters

Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey data measuring zooplankton communities as a guide to ocean health. The project is a joint effort between CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System. Data is available in binned products suitable for time series analysis, with specific codes for species absences.

Use Cases

• Mapping plankton biodiversity and distribution based on counted species abundance.
• Documenting plankton changes in response to climate change using long-term time series data.
• Developing indices for fisheries management based on plankton community composition.
• Detecting harmful algal blooms from phytoplankton and zooplankton counts.
• Validating satellite remote sensing data with in-situ plankton observations.

Strengths

• Data products account for taxonomic changes and analyst skill improvements over time.
• Specific codes differentiate between species absence (0) and species not looked for (-999).
• Data is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through IMOS Infrastructure.

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

Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Australian Antarctic Division.

Collection Method

Samples collected via Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) on Ships of Opportunity, with zooplankton counted off silk in a Bogorov tray.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-04 10 21:36:02.288247; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian waters.