IMOS Zooplankton Abundance at Nine Australian Coastal Stations

Monthly (or three-monthly at two sites) zooplankton samples collected from nine National Reference Stations around the Australian coastline. The Plankton Ecology Lab analyzes samples for community composition, biomass, and size spectrum, with data available via the AODN portal. Taxonomic resolution has changed over time, requiring users to consult included change logs.

Use Cases

• Modeling zooplankton community composition changes over time based on monthly sampling.
• Analyzing biomass (dry weight) trends in coastal Australian waters.
• Conducting size spectrum analysis of plankton populations using Zooscan data.
• Studying temporal and spatial variability in marine ecosystems based on a nine-station network.

Strengths

• Samples collected monthly from nine stations, providing regular temporal coverage.
• Data includes multiple analysis types: community composition, biomass, and size spectrum.
• Data is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs via IMOS.

Limitations

• Taxonomic resolution has changed over time, requiring careful use of provided change logs.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

CSIRO Marlin Data Catalogue via the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

Collection Method

Samples collected using a drop net with specific design (60 cm diameter, 100 micron mesh) at fixed stations.

Time Range

Time series includes data from at least 2002 onward, with Port Hacking samples from 2002-Jan 2009.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 13:32:00.757487; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Nine reference stations located around the Australian coastline.