Australian Larval Fish Abundances from Monitoring Stations and Voyages (1983-2021)

IMOS Larval Fish Sub-Facility data includes larval fish abundances collected from 12 voyages around Australia since 1983 and from five Integrated Marine Observing Systems National Reference Stations between 2014 and 2021. The dataset provides raw counts for 228 taxonomic groups, with associated metadata including location, temperature, salinity, net type, and tow volume. It is managed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and serves as a repository for larval fish assemblage surveys.

Use Cases

• Analyze marine ecosystem state and change based on larval fish abundance as a metric mentioned in the description
• Study species-specific phenology patterns based on taxonomic group counts
• Support fisheries management needs based on information on larval distribution and spawning
• Integrate biological data with oceanic measurements based on association with long-term monitoring sites

Strengths

• Long temporal coverage spanning from 1983 to 2021
• Includes data from five long-term monitoring stations and 12 research voyages
• Taxonomic detail with 228 identified groups classified to Family, Genus, or Species level

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• The IMOS Sub-facility ceased operations in June 2022, limiting future updates

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Sampling from voyages and Integrated Marine Observing Systems National Reference Stations

Time Range

1983 - 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 13:43:01.809196; freshness should be verified

Geography

Australian temperate and subtropical waters