Marine Plankton Data to Support Sustainable Ocean Management

Celebrating the 88th Anniversary of its first CPR tow in September, the Marine Biological Association (MBA) has released the historical data sets from its world-famous Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey to an online portal for visualisation and download. This initial release of data contains taxa that have been consistently recorded since 1958 and also includes other taxa or counting methods that have changed during the time period, (such as the inclusion of coccolithophores, speciation of Dinophysis), as new scientific questions have arisen. To facilitate ease of use, these taxa are currently not included in the data release, but are available upon request.

By contributing the CPR dataset to regional and global initiatives such as EMODnet and OBIS, the MBA is helping to provide the best available evidence base to support effective governance of the world’s oceans.  Dan Lear, Head of Data, Information & Technology at the MBA said “Open data are the driving force of science and innovation.  By releasing high quality, scientifically robust data the MBA and CPR Survey are directly contributing to the efforts to sustainably manage our interactions with the ocean.  These data have been collected and analysed for over 60 years and give a unique insight into the patterns and changes we have witnessed in this period.”

David Johns, Head of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey at the MBA said “This is an exciting development for the Survey, whilst we have always encouraged open data access and collaboration, we felt it was time to modernise and streamline this process. We are actively encouraging users to collaborate with our team, so we can work together and produce the best quality science – the longevity and consistency of the CPR dataset is unique and as such presents an unparalleled potential to investigate changes in our oceans.”

Operating since 1931, the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey is recognised as the longest sustained and geographically most extensive marine biological survey in the world. The dataset comprises a uniquely large record of marine biodiversity covering ~800 taxa over multi-decadal periods.

More information at www.data.cprsurvey.org