Australia's Census of Antarctic Marine Life project - IYGPT Data collected on the CEAMARC cruise 2007/08

Keywords: BIOTA, R/V AA &gt; R/V Aurora Australis, SHIPS, TRAWL, BIOSPHERE &gt; ECOSYSTEMS &gt; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, OCEANS, Occurrence, biodiversity, BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION &gt; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES &gt; FISH, CAML, R/V UM &gt; R/V UMITAKA MARU, BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION &gt; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, R/V L'ASTRO &gt; R/V L'ASTROLABE
Temporal coverage: 2008/2008

Australia's Census of Antarctic Marine Life project.

This project is a part of the international "Census of Antarctic Marine Life" (CAML) which was conducted during the International Polar Year. It was a collaborative contribution by Australia and France to understand the biodiversity of the oceans surrounding Antarctica, with particular emphasis on the fishes of the eastern part of the Australian Antarctic Territory. The biodiversity data, when added to that obtained by all other nations participating in the CAML, serves as a robust reference for future examinations of the health of the Southern Ocean, and assists in the conservation and management of the region.

Field sampling for this project was undertaken in the 2007/08 season, commencing in December and finishing in February 2008.  Three ships surveyed the area with a range of traditional and modern sampling gear, including IYGPT (International Young Gadoid Pelagic Trawl (marine science equipment)) gear.
Quality: Field work:
All field work for CEAMARC was completed.
Aurora Australis - 20 on-site ship days during the 42-day V3/CEAMARC CASO Voyage between 139 degrees and 145 degrees E and 67 degrees and 65 degrees 20' S. Sampling was conducted with AAD beam trawl (AADBT) (mounted with either video or still camera), Agassiz beam trawl, box corer the Geoscience Australia's remotely operated video and CTD, with occasional samples using an epibenthic sledge. 88 sites were sampled.

Umitaka Maru - 15 on-site ship days between 140 degrees and 145 degrees E and south of 62 degrees S. Sampling was conducted at various fixed depths between the surface and 2,000 m using WP2, Norpac, and salp plankton nets, multinet, RMT1+8 midwater trawl, IYGPT midwater trawl, as well as a video plankton profiler and CTDs. This produced more than 300 plankton/fish net samples at 24 sites. 31 CTD casts were made with phytoplankton and water samples collected at set depths at each site for 264 phytoplankton samples.

L'Astrolabe - 10 on-site ship days between 140 degrees and 145 degrees 40'E and south of 65 degrees 50'S. Sampling was conducted with WP2 and bongo plankton nets, and CTD and bottles for phytoplankton. This produced 36 zooplankton samples and 112 phytoplankton samples at 20 stations.

Laboratory activity/analysis:
All demersal fish and benthic samples for taxonomic analysis were sent directly to the National Natural History Museum (MNHN) in Paris. Samples were distributed to taxonomic experts within and without the museum in Europe. WP2 net samples collected on Umitaka Maru, and the WP2 and bongo net samples, were analysed at the University of Liege STARESO Marine Station, Corsica. The IYGPT fish samples from Umitaka Maru were processed at the University of Paris VI - Zoology Station at Villefranche-sur-mer. The remaining plankton and fish samples from Umitaka Maru were processed at TUMSAT and AAD laboratories.