Field Manuals for Marine Sampling in Australian Waters, Version 2.

Abstract

The Marine Biodiversity Hub has developed a suite of field manuals to ensure that data collected by marine sampling platforms at different times and places across Australia are directly comparable.

The Marine Sampling Field Manuals for Monitoring Australia’s Marine Waters support the national-scale monitoring and observing of Australia’s marine environment while also connecting to global initiatives through the Ocean Best Practices System. With more than 136 contributors from 53 agencies, the manuals include information on marine survey design, pre-survey planning, gear deployment and retrieval, and data management. They provide consistent, defensible methods for collecting data that can be compared with other regional and national collections and are endorsed by researchers, managers, and technicians from multiple agencies with a variety of experience and subject-matter expertise.

There are eight field manuals for marine sampling platforms (multibeam, autonomous underwater vehicle, baited remote underwater video (benthic and pelagic), towed imagery, benthic sleds and trawls, grabs and box corers, and remotely operated vehicles). In addition, the package includes an introductory chapter and a manual on survey design.