A dataset describes a novel sampling method for collecting marine organisms from the planktobenthos and benthos concurrently. The Mounted Assembly for Planktobenthic Sampling (MAPS) was deployed on the Carnarvon Shelf in Western Australia, successfully collecting a wide variety of epibenthic, infaunal, and planktobenthic animals. The data was published by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated on 2026-04-30.
Use Cases
- Study correlations between planktobenthic and benthic species diversity based on the described concurrent sampling.
- Analyze the effectiveness of tri-layered nets for collecting fragile larvae and adults based on the method description.
- Model nutrient cycling and ecosystem linkages using data on organisms from the seafloor-water column interface.
- Develop surrogacy models for biodiversity using correlated sample data from different taxonomic groups.
Strengths
- Describes a novel, concurrent sampling method (MAPS) for a previously under-sampled ecological zone.
- Successfully collected a wide variety of epibenthic, infaunal, and planktobenthic organisms, including fragile specimens.
- Method is described as modifiable 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 files are in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Samples collected using the Mounted Assembly for Planktobenthic Sampling (MAPS), a tri-layered net with a seafloor-triggered mechanism attached to an epibenthic sled.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-30 15:12:54.575494; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia