Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
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Responding to COVID-19 - Australian fisheries and aquaculture key stakeholder interview data 2022-23
The resource contains summary data from 30 interviews undertaken of key stakeholders in Australia's fisheries and aquaculture sectors in 2022-23. Participants included officers in management agencies, sector representative bodies, research agencies as well as operators of small and large seafood firms involved in production and/or post-harvest or retailing of Australian-produced seafood. Participants are not identified. Interview topics covered the experiences of those interviewed on the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions it caused their sectors of Australia's fisheries and aquaculture, as well as their observations of what are barriers and enablers of better preparedness to future disruptions. Topics included: Types of disruptions experienced (B); Responses (C); and Barriers and enablers to better future preparedness. The interview data was summarised using Microsoft Co-pilot using prompts to summarise responses to an individual question. The research was undertaken under University of Tasmania’s Human Research Ethics Committee approval (ref. H27649). The full research project report is available here: https://www.frdc.com.au/project/2021-042.
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The Denman Marine Voyage (DMV) brought together researchers from the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP – AAS4631, Chief Investigator Dr Laura Herraiz-Borreguero), the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS – AAS4630, Chief Investigator Prof. Matthew King), Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF – AAS4628, Chief Investigator Prof. Steven Chown), and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD – AAS4636 and 4556 Chief Investigators Dr So Kawaguchi and Dr Leonie Suter), on a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary research voyage aboard RSV Nuyina to the Denman Glacier region and Shackleton Ice Shelf. The voyage was the first dedicated marine science voyage for RSV Nuyina and represented a significant milestone for the Australian Antarctic Program. This voyage report provides information for the voyage including: - Voyage summary and itinerary - Weather conditions during DMV - Participant list (science team, technicians, media team, medical team, ship crew) - High level science objectives for each of the parties onboard (AAD, AAPP, ACEAS, SAEF) - Individual reports for each scientific working group onboard (background, objectives, methods, report on activities, preliminary results (where relevant)), data management plans, acknowledgements, references) - Media program - ACEAS Outreach - Appendix, with Supplementary Material to be separate to the main report.
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The demersal fish assemblages on the Kerguelen Plateau has changed through time. This study aimed to detect, quantify, and map these changes. This study uses existing data collected from the Random Stratified Trawl Survey (RSTS) program administered through the Australian Antarctic Divisions (AAD). Raw RSTS data between 2000 and 2016 was extracted from the AAD database. The RSTS data contains information on the abundance (catch per unit effort, CPUE) on fish. RSTS data were paired with environmental data to be modelled. Hierarchical models of species communities (HMSC) were used to make inferences and predictions in the changes of demersal fish distribution. This record contains all the environmental data, R code, and outputs from this project. Raw RSTS data needs to be requested from the AAD under the authorization of AFMA.
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This dataset is presented as an Excel spreadsheet containing data that were collected and analysed for the project "𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀: 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀” published in 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 by Hurd, CL, Lush H, Gannon T and Britton (2027). Data were collected between May 2025 and July 2025 from published studies on the uptake kinetics of nitrate (NO₃⁻) and ammonium (NH₄⁺) by marine macroalgae from the phyla Chlorophyta, Heterokontophyta and Rhodophyta. Articles were identified through searches on Google Scholar and ISI Web of Science. Each study contained data obtained from laboratory experiments on the rate of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) uptake rate at a range of DIN concentrations. A total of 82 published studies were located, with 532 distinct data entries. Values of the Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants maximum uptake rate (Vmax) and the half saturation constant (Ks) were extracted from studies that reported saturating uptake, and cases where the pattern of uptake with concentration was linear or biphasic were also recorded. For each study, metadata was extracted and recorded that included: taxonomic information (phylum, order, genus and species), functional group using Steneck and Dethier (1994), the experimental subject (species and algal tissue used e.g. apical, basal), habitat of origin (subtidal, intertidal, or cultured), season of collection, and geographic coordinates of the study location (latitude and longitude). Each of the 82 studies in this dataset includes the full reference (author and year) and a functional DOI where available (as of November 2025).
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This dataset is derived from a comparative study evaluating six DNA extraction methods for their efficiency in recovering diatom sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from Antarctic marine sediments. Sediment samples were collected from two sites: U1536C (Scotia Sea, West Antarctica) and KC02 (Sabrina Coast, Totten Glacier Region, East Antarctica). Each of the six extraction methods was applied to the same set of samples. Following shotgun metagenomic sequencing, the methods were assessed based on metrics such as diatom DNA recovery, average fragment length, and taxonomic diversity. The purpose of the study was to identify the optimal extraction approach for maximizing the yield and quality of diatom sedaDNA, thereby improving its utility for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
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The Maugean Skate Zearaja maugeana is a micro-endemic species known from only two isolated estuaries, Bathurst and Macquarie Harbours in southwestern/western Tasmania. This constitutes one of the most limited distributions of any known extant elasmobranch. As a result, the species is listed as ‘Endangered’ under the Threatened Species Protection Act (Tasmania) and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (Commonwealth). Even though it was first discovered in Bathurst Harbour, most of what is known about the species comes from the Macquarie Harbour population. Only four individuals have ever been reported in Bathurst Harbour, with the last known sighting occurring in 1992. This study used environmental DNA (eDNA) to determine the presence/absence of the Maugean skate in Bathurst Harbour on the southwest coast of Tasmania. Water samples were collected from the seafloor in Bathurst Harbour in November 2021 and February 2022, and in Macquarie Harbour (control samples) in December 2021. Samples were filtered using a self-preserving eDNA sampling system. Following each survey DNA from the samples was extracted and analysed through qPCR amplification. Mitochondrial primer pairs from two gene regions were used to detect the presence of Maugean skate DNA in the samples. Where possible, positive detections were sequenced, and their identity verified.
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Sustainable finfish aquaculture is dependent on a benthic environment that can assimilate and process farm particulate wastes. In Macquarie Harbour, bottom and mid water Dissolved Oxygen levels have reached very low levels, which is associated with an increase in the presence of bacterial mats and a significant decline in the abundance and diversity of benthic fauna. Dissolved Oxygen levels are a major determinant of the response of benthic communities in the harbour over timescales of months to years. This dataset consists of data collected by the real-time dissolved oxygen (DO) monitoring system deployed at three locations in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. Loggers were originally established under the Sense-T program, continued under FRDC project 2016-067, and deployed and maintained by IMAS. The system consists of 3 strings of acoustically telemetered, optical fluorescence DO, temperature and depth sensors (VEMCO, Bedford, Canada) which measure DO (% saturation) and temperature (°C) across a depth gradient. Data collected from 01-01-2017 to 19-04-2017 consists of data was collected using the first generation of sensors, while data subsequent to 03-06-2017 was collected using a new generation of tags which contain a tilt instead of a depth sensor.
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Dataset collected at Cape Evans, Antarctica, November 2023 as part of a long-term NIWA benthic monitoring program under the Antarctica New Zealand event number K882A. The dataset includes multiple sea-ice and seafloor hyperspectral imaging transects (10-40 meters long) coupled with normal red, green, and blue (RGB) imagery from a dual camera machine vision system. The data were acquired using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) HIcyBot system, funded by the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Research (ACEAS). A GNSS-integrated USBL transponder equipped onto the ROV allowed every frame of the high frequency hyperspectral imager to be timestamped via GPS clock to acoustically provided underwater position and attitude. The dataset also includes hyperspectral imaging scans of sampled/retrieved organisms found at the seafloor, to support habitat mapping algorithm development (e.g., algae, urchins, sea-stars, etc.). The ROV was tested as part of an ACEAS Program 2 subcomponent that involved the design of the new under-ice hyperspectral imaging and photogrammetric payload mounted onto the HIcyBot ROV. The overarching goal of the systems was to be able to acquire information of under the sea-ice sympagic and benthic communities (e.g., biomass and photophysiology) and deliver a multi-scale array of biophysical data that can be assimilated with known information in the region and monitor fine-scale change. Through the analysis of new and existing bio-optical under-ice data, the dataset aims to ultimately envisions the delivery of new monitoring tools and algorithms that can provide support for modelling efforts and reveal complex biophysical processes under a changing Antarctic Sea ice. ***NOTE: Data processing is still underway (April 2025). Please contact Emiliano.Cimoli@utas.edu.au for access to data.***
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Climate change is already influencing the worlds oceans. The Kerguelen Plateau as been identified as a climate change hotspot. This study aimed to predict and map how climate change will impact the distribution of demersal fishes. This study uses the published modeled (see https://doi.org/10.25959/4GVK-RM21) to take in predicted oceanographic variables under various IPCC climate change predictions. The oceanographic variables are provided by the FESOM model. Hierarchical models of species communities (HMSC) were used to make predictions in the demersal fish distribution for the 2020s, 2030s, 2040s, and 2050s. Predictions were mapped to explore the regions of change. This record contains all the environmental data, R code, and outputs from this project. Raw RSTS data needs to be requested from the AAD under the authorization of AFMA.
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These data were collected in 2024 for a PhD project, including the dissolved trace metal data and particulate trace metal data from the diatom-Antarctic krill experiment. The particulate trace metal data were collected from diatom culture grown in the lab and Antarctic krill culture sourced from AAD.
IMAS Metadata Catalogue