Lord Howe Island Benthic Feeding Guild Counts From 2008 Survey

Lord Howe Island shelf data provides feeding guild counts aggregated from species-level infauna samples collected during a 2008 marine survey. The dataset was created by Geoscience Australia and aggregated by the Australian Ocean Data Network from a 2010 species file. It originates from seabed sampling conducted from the research vessel Southern Surveyor.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution of different feeding guilds (e.g., deposit feeders, filter feeders) across sampling locations to map trophic zones.
• Correlate feeding guild counts with other survey data like sediment type or bathymetry to model benthic community drivers.
• Use guild counts as a baseline for monitoring changes in benthic ecosystem function over time.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a systematic government survey covering 1034 sq km of the Lord Howe Island shelf.
• Aggregation from species-level data provides a validated trophic structure summary.

Limitations

• The underlying species data is from 2010, and the survey was in 2008, making the biological records over a decade old.
• Sample size and specific column details (e.g., guild names, count values) are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Aggregated from species-level infauna data collected via seabed sampling during a 2008 marine survey.

Time Range

Primary survey conducted in 2008; species data file dated October 2010.

Freshness

null

Geography

Lord Howe Island shelf, New South Wales, Australia.