MAPS: Concurrent Planktobenthic and Benthic Fauna Samples from Carnarvon Shelf

Australian Ocean Data Network hosts data from a novel sampling method for marine ecology. The Mounted Assembly for Planktobenthic Sampling (MAPS) uses a tri-layered net on an epibenthic sled to concurrently collect benthic and suprabenthic specimens. It was deployed on the Carnarvon Shelf in Western Australia and collected a wide variety of epibenthic, infaunal, and planktobenthic organisms like mysids.

Use Cases

• Study larval ecology based on the collection of smaller fragile larvae mentioned in the description
• Analyze nutrient cycling dynamics based on the concurrent sampling of benthic and planktobenthic biota
• Conduct biogeography research based on the correlated species counts between planktobenthic and benthic samples
• Develop surrogacy models based on the relationship between planktobenthic and benthic taxonomic groups

Strengths

• Describes a novel tri-layered net with a seafloor-triggered mechanism for concurrent sampling
• Successfully collected a broad range of planktobenthic organisms, including smaller fragile specimens
• Method can be modified for use on a wide variety of benthic sleds to target different organisms

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to a single deployment on the Carnarvon Shelf

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Deployment of the Mounted Assembly for Planktobenthic Sampling (MAPS) on an epibenthic sled.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 03:54:27.995456; freshness should be verified

Geography

Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia