Regular monthly zooplankton samples are undertaken at the stations as part of a larger water sampling program by the National Reference Stations. In total nine stations are sampled regularly around the Australian coastline. Sampling is conducted monthly (Esperance and Ningaloo 3 monthly) off small vessels at each of the nine reference stations. The sampling is conducted using a drop net (as per the design of Heron) which has a 60 cm diameter, 100 micron mesh and is weighted to fall at 1 m/s. The net is designed to pull closed at the end of its fall so that it samples on the way down and does not sample on the way up. The depth of the sample varies at each station. 3 zooplankton samples are taken each month. 2 are fixed in formalin and will be analysed as described below. The unfixed sample is concentrated and frozen (-80oC)and will be used for molecular analysis in the future. The Port Hacking 4 (PH4) samples (2002 - Jan 2009) were sampled using a smaller net, 20 cm diameter, which sampled on the way up and down. The PH4 site is very close to the Port Hacking national reference station (PHB) where samples are now taken to build up and enhance the time series. The plankton ecology lab (based in Queensland) will analyse the samples collected for: 1. Community composition (Taxon/m3) 2. Biomass (dry weight in mg/m3) 3. Size spectrum analysis using zooscan (in progress). Data storage and access is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through the IMOS Infrastructure. Station metadata can be found through this resource. Data is available freely via the AODN portal: https://portal.aodn.org.au. Station metadata can be found through this resource.

These data are IMOS AusCPR datasets comprising combined phytoplankton and zooplankton records, which are supplied to the Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys (GACs - http://www.globalcpr.org ). See: IMOS - AusCPR: Phytoplankton Abundance http://www.marlin.csiro.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/search#!c1344979-f701-0916-e044-00144f7bc0f4 IMOS - AusCPR: Zooplankton Abundance http://www.marlin.csiro.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/search#!c1344e70-480e-0993-e044-00144f7bc0f4 These data consist of the combined Phytoplankton and Zooplankton data, and are distributed to the Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys (GACs - http://www.globalcpr.org). Data are distributed using the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT), and are comprised of three related datasets: Metadata: AusCPR_METADATA Event Data: AusCPR_EVENTDATA Occurrence Data: AusCPR_OCCURRENCEDATA ---- Context: Phytoplankton and Zooplankton abundance records: The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder (AusCPR) survey is a joint project between CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) to measure plankton communities as a guide to the health of Australia's oceans. Details on how phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance data were analysed are described in the metadata links above. It is advised that anyone using the data should first read this methodology or contact the project contact person. The aims of the AusCPR survey are to: * map plankton biodiversity and distribution * develop the first long-term plankton baseline for Australian waters * document plankton changes in response to climate change * provide indices for fisheries management * detect harmful algal blooms * validate satellite remote sensing * initialise and test ecosystem models. Servicing and maintenance of the CPRs and analysis of the samples for the AusCPR survey will be carried out by staff based at the CSIRO O&A laboratories in Queensland and Tasmania, and at the AAD in Hobart. The project was funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and falls with the Ships of Opportunity facility. Data storage and access is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through the IMOS Infrastructure. Results from the AusCPR survey are available through the AODN portal: https://portal.aodn.org.au. For information on using the data please refer to the Richardson et al. 2006. As the taxonomic resolution of the data has changed over time, due to continual training, it is important that users refer to the change log tables included in your data download. These will provide information on the validity of the taxa, from what date we have been identifying certain taxa etc. Classification fields may be blank depending on the level to which that taxa has been identified, i.e. if only identified to family, genus and species will be blank. This data is freely available but please acknowledge all relevant parties, as detailed in acknowledgement section.

AusCPR: Phytoplankton Abundance. The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder (AusCPR) survey is a joint project between CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) to measure plankton communities as a guide to the health of Australia's oceans. The phytoplankton abundance data are analysed as per Richardson et al 2006. Phytoplankton are usually counted from water samples after settling but in the CPR analysis we count the phytoplankton in situ. With CPR samples, the phytoplankton is captured by the mesh and are caught by the silk strands, by phytoplankton mucilage, and/or by other organisms on the silk. It is thus possible to see the phytoplankton cells directly on the mesh. In essence, the phytoplankton is already concentrated. Washing the phytoplankton off the silks to count in the standard manner may result in loss of or damage to cells before analysis. It is advised that anyone using the data should first read this methodology or contact the project contact person. The aims of the AusCPR survey are to: * map plankton biodiversity and distribution * develop the first long-term plankton baseline for Australian waters * document plankton changes in response to climate change * provide indices for fisheries management * detect harmful algal blooms * validate satellite remote sensing * initialise and test ecosystem models. Servicing and maintenance of the CPRs and analysis of the samples for the AusCPR survey will be carried out by staff based at the O&A laboratories in Queensland and at the AAD in Hobart. The project was funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and falls with the Ships of Opportunity facility. Data storage and access is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through the IMOS Infrastructure. Results from the AusCPR survey are available through the AODN portal: https://portal.aodn.org.au. For information on using the data please refer to the Richardson et al. 2006. As the taxonomic resolution of the data has changed over time, due to continual training, it is important that users refer to the change log tables included in your data download. These will provide information on the validity of the taxa, from what date we have been identifying certain taxa etc. Classification fields may be blank depending on the level to which that taxa has been identified, i.e. if only identified to family, genus and species will be blank. This data is freely available but please acknowledge all relevant parties, as detailed in acknowledgement section.

Regular monthly water sampling is undertaken at the nine National Reference Stations, part of the Australian National Mooring Network, around the Australian coastline. The main goals of the project are to: 1. Provide a record of physical, chemical and biological (plankton) changes in Australian coastal waters. 2. Record data as part of a larger comprehensive national dataset, comprising both continuous in-situ sampling and analysis of discrete physical, chemical and biological samples collected monthly. The project was funded by the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and falls within the Coastal Monitoring Network Facility. Data storage and access is planned to be interoperable with other national and international programs through the IMOS Infrastructure. Data is available freely via the AODN portal: https://portal.aodn.org.au. Station metadata can be found through this resource. National Reference Station details are available at: IMOS National Reference Station - Station Details .. MarLIN Record Number: 9011 People using these data should also consider historical data available from three of the National Reference Station sites: Maria Island Coastal Station Data 1944-2008 .. MarLIN Record Number: 4849 Port Hacking 100m Coastal Station Data 1953-2010 .. MarLIN Record Number: 5301 Rottnest Island Coastal Station Data 1951-2009 .. MarLIN Record Number: 4877