Environmental DNA data from the RV Investigator South-East Australian Marine Ecosystem Survey (SEA-MES) voyages IN2023_V05 and IN2024_V03 (NESP MaC 4.23)

Updated: 2026-05-31

This project generated a set of high-quality eDNA-based biodiversity datasets from samples collected at broadly distributed offshore sites across Southeast Australia. The data consists of processed data from eDNA metabarcoding assays (i.e. tables with sampling information, sequence read counts and taxonomy derived from the sequences). Raw sequence data (over 180 million sequences) is available from NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) under BioProject PRJNA1263580: Environmental DNA measuring offshore marine biodiversity in southeast Australia (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1263580/). The eDNA biodiversity information focussed on fish but includes sequence data from the full tree of life (from bacteria to vertebrates). Part of the purpose of data collection was to assess key technical aspects of eDNA data collection to refine sampling methods and provide guidance for best practices in future offshore eDNA research