AusCPR: Zooplankton Abundance in Australian Waters

The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey provides a long-term baseline for plankton communities in Australian waters. It is a joint project between CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division, funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System. Data is made available in binned products suitable for time series analysis, with zero values indicating a species was looked for but not seen.

Use Cases

• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution based on the survey's stated aims.
• Document plankton changes in response to climate change based on the survey's stated aims.
• Provide indices for fisheries management based on the survey's stated aims.
• Detect harmful algal blooms based on the survey's stated aims.
• Validate satellite remote sensing data based on the survey's stated aims.

Strengths

• Data is part of a project aiming to develop the first long-term plankton baseline for Australian waters.
• Analysis method is designed to provide a more accurate count of zooplankton than previous methods.
• Data products account for taxonomic changes over time and distinguish between real absences and unexamined samples.

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

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Plankton samples collected via Continuous Plankton Recorder, rinsed and counted off silk in a Bogorov tray.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 02:00:18.733511; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian waters.