Polychaete Species Inventory from Northern Australia Oceanic Shoals, 2009-2012

2561 individual polychaetes were collected from 266 sediment samples in the Oceanic Shoals Australian Marine Park between 2009 and 2012. The dataset, published by Geoscience Australia in 2019, includes 368 species and 43 families, providing a species-level inventory. It was used to examine variation in assemblages, relationships with environmental factors, and patterns across taxonomic and functional groups.

Use Cases

• Analyzing polychaete community structure variation across surveys based on the species-level inventory.
• Modeling relationships between polychaete assemblages and environmental variables or geomorphology.
• Comparing ecological patterns at different taxonomic resolutions (species vs. family) and functional groups (feeding, habitat, mobility).
• Establishing biodiversity baselines for small macrofauna to inform marine management strategies.

Strengths

• Includes 2561 individual specimens and 368 identified species, providing a substantial species-level inventory.
• Covers 266 samples from four distinct marine surveys conducted between 2009 and 2012.
• Contains new species, genera, and family records for Australia (Iospilidae, Lacydoniidae), indicating novel findings.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical tasks.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Sediment samples were elutriated (500 μm) to separate macrofauna from four marine surveys.

Time Range

2009 to 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 01:40:18.224473; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Oceanic Shoals Australian Marine Park, northern Australia