Post survey report for the Coral Sea Australian Marine Park 2019

Overview

This post survey report details the data collected within the Coral Sea Australian Marine Park onboard the RV Investigator (IN2019_V04) between the 7th of August and the 3rd of September 2019 associated with the primary voyage Hotspot dynamics in the Coral Sea- connections between the Australian plate and deep Earth’ (Whittaker 2020). The data and preliminary results in this report pertain to ongoing research to examine spatial patterns in deep-water seafloor biodiversity, in particular, how organisms are related to geomorphic features within the Coral Sea Australian Marine Park (AMP). The seafloor biodiversity and associated geomorphic habitats in this AMP are poorly understood, and given the recent release of the AMP rezoning, it is particularly important to understand the spatial variability of seafloor biodiversity and associated habitats to better quantify the biological assets within the AMP.