Australian Zooplankton Abundance from Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys

Zooplankton abundance data from the Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder (AusCPR) survey, a joint project by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere and the Australian Antarctic Division. It is used to map plankton biodiversity, develop long-term baselines, and document changes in response to climate change in Australian waters.

Use Cases

• Map plankton biodiversity and distribution across Australian waters using taxonomic abundance data.
• Analyze zooplankton changes in response to climate change by examining temporal trends in abundance.
• Develop indices for fisheries management based on plankton community composition and abundance.
• Detect harmful algal blooms by monitoring shifts in phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance data.

Strengths

• Data collection is part of a long-term monitoring project funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).
• Analysis method involves counting zooplankton off the silk in a Bogorov tray for more accurate identification.
• Data is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through IMOS infrastructure.

Limitations

• Taxonomic resolution of the data has changed over time, requiring users to consult change log tables for validity.
• Classification fields (e.g., genus, species) may be blank depending on the identification level achieved for each taxon.
• Specific data volume metrics such as row count, column count, and temporal coverage are not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

CSIRO Marlin Data Catalogue, via the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) portal.

Collection Method

Samples collected by Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) units deployed on Ships of Opportunity; zooplankton counted off silk in a Bogorov tray under a dissecting scope.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Australian waters.