Polychaetes of Northern Australia: Species Identifications from 2009-2012 Surveys

Geoscience Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory provide species identifications for polychaetes collected during four marine surveys in northern Australia between 2009 and 2012. Taxonomists Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson identified each specimen to the lowest possible level, using established names and operational taxonomic units. The data is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia and supported by the National Environmental Science Program.

Use Cases

• Analyzing species composition and diversity of polychaete communities based on survey data from northern Australia.
• Mapping the distribution of identified polychaete species and operational taxonomic units across the surveyed regions.
• Studying temporal changes in benthic fauna by comparing data collected across the four survey voyages from 2009 to 2012.
• Validating taxonomic classifications and operational taxonomic units for polychaetes in a specific geographic context.

Strengths

• Data is based on expert taxonomic identification by named specialists Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson.
• Specimens are physically vouchered and lodged at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
• Collection methods (Smith McIntyre grab, boxcore, 500um sieve) are explicitly documented.
• Covers four distinct survey voyages conducted over a time range from August 2009 to October 2012.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific survey voyages and methods used.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Sediment collected with Smith McIntyre grab or boxcore, elutriated over a 500um sieve, sorted at Geoscience Australia, and specimens identified taxonomically.

Time Range

2009-08-27 to 2012-10-06

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 05:45:26.383678; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Australia (specific survey areas for voyages SOL4934, SOL5117, SOL5463, SOL5650).