Four marine surveys conducted on the RV Solander between 2009 and 2012 collected sediment samples from northern Australia. Polychaetes were extracted, taxonomically identified by Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson to species or operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and lodged at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. This dataset is published with permission from Geoscience Australia and supported by the National Environmental Science Program.
Use Cases
- Analyzing species composition and diversity based on taxonomic identifications from sediment grabs.
- Studying temporal changes in polychaete communities across the four survey cruises.
- Mapping species distributions in northern Australian waters based on the survey locations.
- Validating taxonomic classifications by comparing established species names with operational taxonomic units (OTUs).
Strengths
- Data is based on four distinct survey cruises (SOL4934, SOL5117, SOL5463, SOL5650) spanning from 2009 to 2012.
- Identifications were performed by named taxonomic experts (Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson) to the lowest possible level.
- Specimens are physically vouchered at a museum (MAGNT), providing a reference collection.
- Detailed survey methods are documented in referenced Geoscience Australia reports (GA Records 2010/09, 2011/08, 2012/66, 2013/38).
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 analyses.
- Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific survey locations and periods.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network (via data.gov.au), Geoscience Australia.
- Collection Method
- Sediment collected with Smith McIntyre grab or boxcore, elutriated over a 500um sieve, sorted at Geoscience Australia, and polychaetes identified taxonomically.
- Time Range
- 2009-2012 (specific cruises: August-September 2009, July-August 2010, May 2012, September-October 2012).
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-05 04:48:38.907902; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Northern Australia.