Scooter Assisted Large Area Diver-based (SALAD) surveys to assess size and abundance of cr

Scooter Assisted Large Area Diver-based (SALAD) surveys of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) in the northern Great Barrier Reef from 2019 to 2025. The dataset comprises two inter-related tables recording survey track data and individual starfish measurements. Surveys were supported by multiple funding programs including LIRS, CCIP, and NESP.

Use Cases

• Modeling starfish population density and detectability based on recorded and inferred density metrics.
• Analyzing the relationship between starfish size, depth, and exposure based on individual CoTS measurements.
• Assessing spatial and temporal trends in CoTS outbreaks across different regions of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of diver-assisted scooter survey methods for cryptic species detection.

Strengths

• Multi-year time series from 2019 to 2025, providing longitudinal data.
• Data from two inter-related tables allows for linked analysis at both survey and individual organism levels.
• Surveys cover multiple regions (Cairns, Lizard, Charlotte, Grenville, Townsville) within the Great Barrier Reef.
• Methodology description explains data collection and potential positional discrepancies.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• GPS coordinates have a noted discrepancy due to towed GPS tethers, limiting precise geolocation of individual starfish.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Scooter Assisted Large Area Diver-based (SALAD) surveys.

Time Range

2019 - 2025

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-04 23:33:40.306956; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Great Barrier Reef (Regions: Cairns, Lizard, Charlotte, Grenville, Townsville)