Lipofuscin density in Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas) brain tissue was estimated through fluorescent microscopy. The intent was to relate lipofuscin to crab age. Some known age specimens were included in the sample, these were reared from larvae.

Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii) that are about to moult or have recently moulted have reduced market value due to higher mortality in live transport, higher cannibalism and lower meat recovery. Limiting the landing of softer shelled lobsters is desirable to maintain product quality. The effects of several factors on durometer readings were evaluated: sex, temperature (ambient plus elevated 3°C), location (from around the coast), and size (carapace length). Individuals were collected across two regions South Australia and Tasmania.

Database includes data on abalone size at maturity, collected from sites around Tasmania from 1988.

Conducted a series of laboratory experiments to investigate the effect of temperature on swimming behaviour and development. Swimming behavioural responses were monitored for the first two zoeal stages, while larvae in development trials were reared through all five zoeal stages to the megalopa stage.

To test if the carapace length of lobsters changes during cooking, 21 legal-sized southern rock lobsters were collected in pots from Alum Cliffs, south-eastern Tasmania, Australia in October 1999 (42.95±S 147.35±E). The sample consisted of 7 female and 14 male lobsters ranging in carapace length from 106 mm to 153 mm (mean 120 mm). Each animal was abdominally tagged using individually marked t-bar tags (Hallprint T-bar anchor tag, TBA1; Hallprint Pty Ltd, 27 Jacobsen Crescent, Holden Hill, SA 5088, Australia). The carapace length of all lobsters were measured five times to the nearest 0.1 mm in a random manner, before and after processing. This repeated measurement of all specimens in random order was intended to evaluate measurement error. Processing was typical of that used commercially and involved killing the lobsters in fresh water before cooking in pre-boiling salted water for 12 minutes.

The data is the quantitative abundance of megafaunal invertebrates derived from underwater visual census methods involving transect counts at rocky reef sites around Tasmania. This data forms part of a larger dataset that also surveyed fish abundance and algal cover for the area. The aggregated dataset allows examination of changes in Tasmanian shallow reef floral and faunal communities over a decadal scale - initial surveys were conducted in 1992-1995, and again at the same sites in 2006-2007. There are plans for ongoing surveys. An additional component was added in the latter study - a boat ramp study looking at the proximity of boat ramps and their effects of fishing. We analysed underwater visual census data on fishes and macroinvertebrates (abalone and rock lobsters) at 133 shallow rocky reef sites around Tasmania that ranged from 0.6 - 131 km from the nearest boat ramp. These sites were not all the same as those used for the comparison of 1994 and 2006 reef communities. The subset of 133 sites examined in this component consisted of only those sites that were characterized by the two major algal (kelp) types (laminarian or fucoid dominated). Sites with atypical algal assemblages were omitted from the 196 sites surveyed in 2006. This study aimed to examine reef community data for changes at the community level, changes in species richness and introduced species populations, and changes that may have resulted from ocean warming and fishing. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. The underwater visual census (UVC) methodology used to survey rocky reef communities was designed to maximise detection of (i) changes in population numbers and size-structure (ii) cascading ecosystem effects associated with disturbances such as fishing, (iii) long term change and variability in reef assemblages.

Zooplankton samples were collected at ten stations within the Derwent River estuary, in south eastern Tasmania, between the years 1973 and 1974. Temperature and salinity data was collected at the same time.