Marine survey specialists Fugro Survey Pty Ltd (FUGRO) were contracted to conduct a habitat mapping hydro acoustic survey in three distinct regions of the Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP); Osprey, Boat Passage and Mandu.The multi beam survey was conducted using a Reson Seabat 8101. This survey provides detailed seafloor raster imagery of both bathymetry (shape) and backscatter (texture) to enable the preparation of high resolution habitat maps of the areas surveyed. The Reson Seabat 8101 was configured to output snippet backscatter data, which permits a geo-referenced textured map to be generated across the survey area.Complete coverage was achieved in the Osprey and Boat Passage regions, however due to time and safety constraints only the near shore portions of the Mandu region were surveyed. This survey was undertaken to provide a tool for the identification of areas of bathymetric and topographical interest in areas with different levels of protection within the Marine Park.The multi-beam data will allow the characterization and classification of the seafloor in terms relevant to the distribution of benthic habitats and help understand the spatial and temporal distribution of the deep water marine environment of NMP. The combination of topography and textural surfaces provide an excellent reference dataset for research and management of the NMP.

The ROV was used in four different locations and communities of the marine park to gather more detailed video data of different benthic communities. Two locations were in the northern section of the park, North West Cape and Point Murat and two in the southern part, Red Bluff and Warroora. Four 50m ROV video transects originating from a centre weight at four different bearings (90, 180, 270, 360 degrees) were conducted at each location. Each transect was analysed using AVTAS software to investigate in more detail the diversity and composition of different communities in the marine park. The ROV was used in four different locations and communities of the marine park to gather more detailed video data of different benthic communities, previously identified from towed video. Due to its stability and manoeuvrability the ROV was also used to gather 'in situ' video footage of individual sponges, soft corals, gorgonians and other benthic species making up each community. The data will assist the WA Museum with the taxonomy of different species. The AIMS LBV Seabotix Remote Operated Vehicle is a small observation class ROV. It is portable and has capabilities of capturing high quality video footage down to 300m. The ROV has dual video camera operation and is remotely operated from a console.

Towed Video transects + Digital StillsCTDSBRUVS ARP7 Shoals Trip 6183To characterise the status of and natural temporal variability in sessile benthic biota and associated fish communities, across the plateau areas on the two named shoals in the Browse Basin closest to the Prelude/Ichthys operational wells. The project will provide a reference dataset, updated annually, for the status of key biodiversity indicators habitats at Echuca and Heywood Shoals.

In June 2005, the Southern Surveyor Research Vessel commenced a trip to the Timor Sea region. This dataset contains 9 sediment cores and grab samples analysis collected on this voyage. This dataset relates to the objectives (as outlined in the Voyage Summary SS06/2005): 1. Discover seeps of methane, oil, and brines on the seafloor, using wheelhouse sounder showing bubble plumes, seismic transects, swath mapping, surface and near bottom water sampling, and sediment coring tools. Gas chromatographic measurements of methane in water will be done in the ship laboratory. 2. Obtain sediment cores from soft and hard bottom seafloor, and subsample the cores carefully for hydrocarbon and inorganic chemical measurements, and preserve samples for analyses in our home laboratories. 3. Obtain samples of relict and living biota from the seafloor in association with submarine seeps, using sled dredges, rock dredges, Smith-MacIntyre Grab, and near-bottom water samples. Chemical analysis for organic and inorganic carbon, N P and other elements were undertaken to estimate the rate of sediment accumulation, trace elements, geochemical composition of sediment and burial rate of organic and carbonate carbon. Further information and data regarding this voyage have been archived within the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Data Centre, including data from ADCP deployments, CTD Profiles, Hydrology, Underway and Multibeam echosounder data. A link to the CSIRO Data Protal is availalbe in the Related Information section below.

In April and December 2004, CTD casts were made at both the Karmt 50 and Karmt 100 moorings. This study was undertaken to investigate the distribution of shelf edge upwelling phenomena, a potentially significant attribute of the Oceanic Shoals bioregion. This study was a component of the project "Biodiversity and the factors controlling it, for selected habitats in the Timor Sea region", which seeks to integrate data from biodiversity surveys, chemistry, oceanography and geology to understand the processes that sustain the biota of the region.

The AIMS Bioresources Library contained almost 20,000 entities, including extracts from over 7,600 samples of marine micro-organisms, frozen material and over 9,000 cryopreserved marine-derived micro-organisms. Biodiscovery is the sourcing of native biological material including plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms to identify bioactive compounds genes, enzymes and other proteins that may be used for commercial purposes such as pharmaceuticals and insecticides. AIMS has been involved in biodiscovery for 15 years and has explored Australia's mega-marine biodiversity for attributes with commercial application. The cornerstone of AIMS' biodiscovery effort is its substantial marine Bioresources Library. This collection has been sourced from over 1,500 sites across Australia. An Oracle database for the AIMS Bioresources Library was developed to contain information of taxonomy, housekeeping (location and nature of samples including taxonomic vouchers, extracts, fractions, pure compounds, frozen cultures), and biodiscovery research history (e.g. screening and structure elucidation results, dispatches to various external parties, etc). The database includes images most organisms and records the results of an array of bioassay tests which have varied over time with different programs and collaborators, and include anti-cancer, AIDS, anti-biotic and enzyme inhibition assays. The taxonomic data is available for release as long as the master sample numbers are not used as unique sample identifiers, e.g. OBIS. Requests for selected data release will be considered on a case by case basis as some information is commercial in confidence and may be subject to contract conditions. The database aimed to: -collate taxonomic and biogeographic details -link taxonomy and biogeography with bioactivity, and facilitate data mining -track the use of samples in their various forms -ensure compliance with contracts and access/benefit sharing agreements and permits -generate reports to regulatory authorities and jurisdictions of origin, on the use of material A subset of the data has been provided to the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS, http://iobis.org/explore/#/dataset/123l).

Pandora Reef, Rib Reef and Myrmidon Reef, located 16.6 km, 57.6 km and 116.9 km from the coastline respectively, were chosen for a year long series of cross-shelf coral recruitment experiments, commencing in January 1981. Settling plates approximately 15 mm thick and 300-400 cm² in total surface area (sum of upper and lower surfaces) were cut from natural, uncleaned heads of the massive corals Porites and Goniastrea spp. Plates were attached to each of four pins on a galvanized steel support rack at an angle of 37-45°. Racks were then secured on the reef by attaching them to two solid steel reinforcement bars driven into the reef. On each reef, racks were placed on the exposed, windward E-SE forereef slope, with plates facing into the wave surge. To investigate natural recruitment, two racks of plates (four plates per rack) were deployed at both 3m and between 14 and 18m on each reef. One rack at each depth was retrieved after 6 months and the second after 12 months. A third rack was deployed at each depth at the end of the first 6 months and retrieved 6 months later. Transplant experiments were carried out to investigate survival of coral recruits when moved to a new environment. Two additional racks of plates (three per rack) were deployed at each depth, at each reef in January 1981. After 6 months the racks were redeployed to make all possible combinations of transplants between reefs, while maintaining original depths. A further rack of plates was deployed at each depth, at each reef in January 1981, as a control for handling. Racks were retrieved after 6 months, held onboard ship for one to several days and replaced at the same site. All transplant and control plates were retrieved within 12 months of the initiation of the experiment.After retrieval, all plates were stored frozen at -20°C until analysed. In the laboratory, plates were thawed, cleaned of sediment and debris and dried in an oven at -45°C. Each plate was then cleaned of algae and examined using a dissecting microscope. Taxonomic identification was based primarily on calical structure. Juveniles were usually identified to family, often to genus, and occasionally to species, with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and taxonomic guides available for corals of this region. Coral spat were assessed for post-settlement mortality as follows: skeleton intact with at least remnants of tissue; coral overgrown and damaged; and complete colony mortality. Only the last category was utilized in estimating post-settlement mortality frequencies, which were calculated simply as the proportion in this state within a given taxon.Intra- and interspecific competition for space involving corals and other sessile epibiota was also assessed from the coral's perspective. Associates within 8 mm of the juvenile colony were recorded and examined for interactions and a static observation of overgrowth was taken as evidence of competition for space. A competition parameter was defined as the number of competitive wins over the total number of encounters within a taxon. Placement of settled corals or relative exposure was also assessed by differentiating between juvenile corals found on upper surfaces of the plate and those settling cryptically on the lateral or lower surface. An exposure parameter was calculated as the proportion of those juveniles in the latter state. This study was initiated to examine patterns of coral recruitment across the continental shelf in central Great Barrier Reef. The study makes use of settlement plates to look at differences in species composition of recruits, post-settlement mortality, intra- and interspecific competition for space and the placement of settled corals on the plates. An additional transplant experiment was carried out to determine the probability of survival of coral larvae if they had been transported to another location and settled successfully. During this project a taxonomic key for juvenile corals was constructed using juveniles from this and previous studies.

Major aggregations of nesting green turtles (Chelonia mydas) occur in the northern Red Sea, although little is known about the reproductive ecology of this endangered species in the region. To address this issue, we satellite-tracked 30 female green turtles to document their movements and to identify factors driving habitat use at two major rookeries in the Red Sea, Jazirat Mashabah (Mashabah Island) and Ras Al Baridi in Saudi Arabia. Between successive nesting events, turtles displayed high fidelity to nesting beaches and adjacent in-water habitats (inter-nesting habitats). Using generalized linear mixed models, we estimated the mean probability of nesting per beach emergence (nesting success rate) to be 0.628, and the mean duration between a successful nesting event and the successive emergence onto the beach (re-nesting interval) to be 10.8 days at each site. The nesting success rate was relatively high (>0.8) when the preceding daytime land surface temperature (LST) was lower than 37°C but decreased with elevated daytime LST (47°C). Re-nesting interval was longer at lower water temperatures and towards the end of the nesting season of individuals. Our study improves the robustness of abundance estimates from census data (e.g., track counts) and shows that the protection of nesting and inter-nesting habitats during a breeding season would be an effective conservation strategy for the species. We discuss how global warming could increase energy expenditure due to lowered nesting success, ultimately compromising the reproductive fitness of these populations.

The CReefs Australia project is a collection of a variety of taxa from three locations: Ningaloo Reefs in Western Australia, and Heron and Lizard Islands off the coast of Queensland (separate metadata records are kept for each location) between 2008 and 2010. Sampling was conducted by scuba, snorkel and beach collection.In 2008, Lizard Island collections were carried out during 2-22 April.In 2009, Lizard Island collections were carried out 6-27 February.Variables in the dataset are: longitude and latitude, date, identifications (to genus species where possible), depth, coral reef zone, and other habitat indicators.Species collected come from the following taxonomic groups:Algae and seagrasses (phyla Chlorophyta, Ochrophyta, Rhodophyta, Magnoliophyta and Cyanobacteria)Arthropoda - Amphipods (Order: Amphipoda), Isopods (Order: Isopoda), Tanaids (Order: Tanaidacea), (Order: Decapoda)CrustaceaBryozoans (Order Cheilostomata)Cnideria (Class: Anthozoa, Hydrozoa)Echinoderms (Phylum: Echinodermata)Mollusca (Class: Gastropoda, Scaphopoda, Neograstropoda, Polyplacophora)Polychates (Phylum: Annelida)SipunculaCollection was mainly by hand; some samples were obtained by traps, grabs, sediment pumps, hook and line, speargun. To conduct a taxonomic survey of Ningaloo Reef as part of the CReefs Australia project to better refine understanding of the marine biodiversity on the coral reefs of the east and west coasts of Australia. A subset of the data has been provided to the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS, http://iobis.org/OBISWEB/DisplayMetaData.jsp?content=maps_and_metadata/1468.html).Identifications were made as follows:Algae and seagrasses, phyla Chlorophyta, Ochrophyta, Rhodophyta, Magnoliophyta (Fred Gurgel, Rainbo Rita Mae Dixon, John Huisman)Arthropoda, Order Isopoda (Neil Bruce)Arthropoda, Order Tanaidacea (Magdalena Blazewicz-Paskowycz)Bryozoa, Order Cheilostomata (Phil Bock)Echinodermata (Ashley Miskelly)Polychaeta, Phylum Annelida (Chris Glasby, Charlotte Watson )

Presence information for sharks and fish fitted with acoustic transmitters on Heron Island and One Tree Island reefs and Sykes Reef. Transmitter life ranges from 12-30 months. Transmitters report depth data to indicate position of the animal in the water column.To date transmitters have been deployed in: grey reef, blacktip reef, whitetip reef, tiger, hammerhead and weasel sharks and common coral trout, red throat emperor, spangled emperor and red emperor in this region. To monitor the presence and movement of fish and elasmobranch species within and between reefs in the Capricorn Bunker Group of reefs. These data are collected in conjunction with the AATAMS facility within IMOS and as such are part of a broader national framework. Data from this research is also housed in the AATAMS data repository and publicly available on line.