The Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve in northern Australia is the focus of this species-level inventory. Approximately 750 sponge specimens were collected and assigned to 348 species, with data used to analyze biodiversity patterns across carbonate banks and terraces. The study was published in 2015 by researchers including Przeslawski and Alvarez.
Use Cases
- Identifying biodiversity hotspots based on sponge species richness and assemblage data.
- Modeling relationships between sponge communities and environmental variables like depth, substrate hardness, and slope.
- Comparing community structure across different geomorphic features within a marine reserve.
- Informing spatial management and monitoring strategies for marine protected areas.
Strengths
- Includes a species-level inventory of approximately 750 sponge specimens.
- Data covers 348 sponge species from a defined marine reserve.
- Analysis links biodiversity patterns to specific environmental variables like depth and backscatter.
Limitations
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Compiled from three marine surveys to the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-30 14:23:06.905183; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve, northern Australia (Sahul Shelf and Van Diemen Rise).