IMOS National Reference Station Zooplankton Biomass from Nine Australian Coastal Sites

Nine stations around the Australian coastline provide regular monthly zooplankton biomass samples. The dataset includes community composition, biomass as dry weight, and size spectrum analysis, with data planned to be interoperable through IMOS infrastructure. Data is freely available via the Australian Ocean Data Network portal.

Use Cases

• Modeling zooplankton biomass trends based on monthly sampling at nine reference stations.
• Analyzing community composition shifts based on taxonomic data per cubic meter.
• Conducting time-series analysis of marine ecosystem health based on long-term sampling data.
• Integrating biomass data with other oceanographic variables for ecosystem modeling based on planned IMOS interoperability.

Strengths

• Samples collected from nine stations regularly around the Australian coastline.
• Three zooplankton samples are taken each month, with two fixed for analysis.
• Sampling methodology is described, including net specifications and sampling depth.

Limitations

• This dataset has been superseded by a newer collection as of December 2021.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Integrated Marine Observing Systems (IMOS) National Mooring Network - National Reference Station field sampling.

Collection Method

Monthly sampling using a drop net at nine coastal stations, with samples analyzed for composition, biomass, and size spectrum.

Time Range

Time series includes Port Hacking 4 samples from 2002 to January 2009, with ongoing sampling at other stations.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 18:19:11.468712; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Nine reference stations around the Australian coastline.