The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Nubeena region, and its 3 subsites: Cape Raoul, Salters Point and Wedge.

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the South Bruny Island region, and its 3 subsites: Mangana Bluff, Bay of Islands and Cape Conella.

The long spined sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii (Diadematidae) has recently undergone poleward range expansion to eastern Tasmania (southeast Australia). This species is associated with barrens habitat which has been grazed free of macroalgae, and therefore has potentially important consequences for reef structure and biodiversity. This study used urchin removal experiments from barrens patches in eastern Tasmania to monitor the subsequent response of the macroalgae relative to unmanipulated barrens patches. In removal patches, there was a rapid proliferation of canopy-forming macroalgae (Ecklonia radiata and Phyllospora comosa), and within 24 months the algae community structure had converged with that of nearby areas without urchins. Faunal species richness was comparatively low in barrens habitat, with C. rodgersii grazing activity resulting in an estimated minimum net loss of approximately 150 taxa compared with intact macroalgal habitats.

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Recherche region, and its 3 subsites: Eliza Point, Fisher Point and Actaeons.

The data is the quantitative abundance of megafaunal invertebrates derived from underwater visual census methods involving transect counts at rocky reef sites around Tasmania. This data forms part of a larger dataset that also surveyed fish abundance and algal cover for the area. The aggregated dataset allows examination of changes in Tasmanian shallow reef floral and faunal communities over a decadal scale - initial surveys were conducted in 1992-1995, and again at the same sites in 2006-2007. There are plans for ongoing surveys. An additional component was added in the latter study - a boat ramp study looking at the proximity of boat ramps and their effects of fishing. We analysed underwater visual census data on fishes and macroinvertebrates (abalone and rock lobsters) at 133 shallow rocky reef sites around Tasmania that ranged from 0.6 - 131 km from the nearest boat ramp. These sites were not all the same as those used for the comparison of 1994 and 2006 reef communities. The subset of 133 sites examined in this component consisted of only those sites that were characterized by the two major algal (kelp) types (laminarian or fucoid dominated). Sites with atypical algal assemblages were omitted from the 196 sites surveyed in 2006. This study aimed to examine reef community data for changes at the community level, changes in species richness and introduced species populations, and changes that may have resulted from ocean warming and fishing. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. The underwater visual census (UVC) methodology used to survey rocky reef communities was designed to maximise detection of (i) changes in population numbers and size-structure (ii) cascading ecosystem effects associated with disturbances such as fishing, (iii) long term change and variability in reef assemblages.

The Tasman Fracture CMR AUV survey was a pilot study undertaken in 2014/15 as part of the National Marine Biodiversity Hub's National monitoring, evaluation and reporting theme. The aim of this theme is to develop a bluepint for the sustained monitoring of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network. The particular aim of the survey was to contribute to an inventory of the distribution and cover of epibenthic biota in the reserve using IMOS AUV 'Sirius'. Data contained here represents a scored subset of the ~ 18,400 images collected at the Tasman Fracture CMR. Images were scored for proportion cover of visible macrobiota using 25 random points superimposed on each image. Taxon were biologically classified using UTAS morphospecies classification scheme, which can be mapped back to CATAMI (http://catami.org/).

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Wineglass Bay region, and its 3 subsites: Boot, Nuggets and Wineglass.

The recruitment of mussels and microphytobenthic (MPB) algae to 28 experimental artificial reefs supporting different patch sizes and density of kelp (Ecklonia radiata) off Maria Island, Tasmania. The recruitment of mussels was assessed using rope fibre habitats, and the recruitment of MPB algae was assessed using microscope slides, positioned across the artificial reef and collected in November 2015. These data were collected to examine how the patch size and density of kelp influences the establishment of MPB algae and mussels.

The barrens-forming sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii has undergone poleward range extension to eastern Tasmania. This data compares growth, morphology, reproductive investment and gonad indices between individuals inhabiting barrens ('barrens-maintaining' urchins') with those found on kelp beds ('barrens-forming' urchins) in north eastern Tasmania. The data set is comprised of 3 files. The first (Centrostephanus_biometrics_kelp_vs_barrens_urch.xls) compares biometrics of urchins across 3 sites and 2 habitats in eastern Tasmania. The second (Copy_of_Centrostephanus_annual_jaw_growth_increments.xls) compares annual growth increments of urchins in kelp bed and barren habitat including an additional site in south eastern Tasmania (The Lanterns - Tasman Peninsula) to allow comparison of growth across the newly extended range. The third (Jaw_TD_allometery.xlsx) provides a conversion between the allometry of jaw length and test diameter. Ultimately a generalised growth model for the sea urchin in kelp bed habitat was obtained for eastern Tasmania.