The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder (AusCPR) survey is a joint project of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

and the Australian Antarctic Division, DEWHA, to monitor plankton communities as a guide to the health of Australia's oceans. Plankton respond rapidly to changes in the ocean environment compared to other marine animals such as fish, birds and mammals, which makes them ideal biological indicators of ecosystem change. AusCPR was initiated in 2007 and funding has been secured initially for four years, although it is envisaged that the survey will continue well into the future. The aims of the AusCPR survey are to: * map plankton biodiversity and distribution * develop the first long-term

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

and zooplankton baseline for Australian waters * document plankton changes in response to climate change * provide indices for fisheries management * detect

harmful algal blooms A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are sometimes ...

* validate satellite remote sensing * initialise and test

ecosystem models An ecosystem model is an abstract, usually mathematical, representation of an ecological system (ranging in scale from an individual population, to an ecological community, or even an entire biome), which is studied to better understand the re ...

The AusCPR survey uses the

Continuous Plankton Recorder The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey is one of the longest running marine biological monitoring programmes in the world. Started in 1931 by Sir Alister Hardy and Sir Cyril Lucas, the Survey provides marine scientists and policy-makers w ...

(CPR), a device developed by pioneering British marine biologist Sir Alister Hardy. In 1931, this device formed the basis of the ongoing CPR survey of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. This survey is one of the longest running marine biological surveys in the world, and many climate related changes in the plankton have been observed over the past 70 years. The design of the CPR has remained fundamentally unchanged over time as the simple yet robust design is a key to its success as an effective plankton sampler. The key to its success as a frequent basin-scale sampler is that the device is towed behind ships of opportunity (SOOPs) unaccompanied by scientists or research staff, making it a cost-effective sampling platform. The CPR is towed at about 10 metres below the surface and for about 450 nautical miles (830 km) per ‘tow’. The plankton enters a small opening in the device and is trapped and preserved between two layers of silk mesh. In the laboratory the silk is unrolled and phytoplankton and zooplankton are counted and identified. Data generated by the survey will be made freely available according to the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)] data policy and will provide researchers and policy makers with environmental and climatic indicators on harmful algal blooms, eutrophication, pollution, climate change and fisheries. The AusCPR survey will collaborate with sister surveys, the SCAR Southern Ocean Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey and the

in the North Atlantic.

Notes

References

* Reid, PC., Colebrook, JM., Matthews, JBL., Aiken, J. and Continuous Plankton Recorder Team. (2003) The continuous plankton recorder: concepts and history, from plankton indicator to undulating recorders, Progress in Oceanography, 58, 117-173. * Richardson, AJ. (2008) In hot water - Zooplankton and climate change. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65, 279-295. * Richardson, AJ., Walne, AW., John, AWG., Jonas, TD., Lindley, JA., Sims, DW. and Witt, M. (2006) Using Continuous Plankton Recorder Data. Progress in Oceanography 68: 27-7
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External links

Southern Ocean Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey

Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science
{{Plankton Planktology Geography of the Southern Ocean