Technical report – NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub (July 2015 to June 2021)

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Langlois T, Monk J, Giraldo A, Gibbons B, Adams K, Barrett N, Sims H, Leplastrier H, Boyd, M, Siwabessy J, Nichol S (2021) South-West Corner Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub. The University of Western Australia.

Overview

The South-west Corner Marine Park survey used standardised methods to characterise seabed habitats and fish populations to support the ongoing monitoring of the marine park. Several small isolated high-profile reefs exist in depths of ~30-50 m in the south-east of the National Park Zone, with the majority of mid-shelf habitat consisting of flat pavement reefs interspersed with sand sediments. Both reef types supported diverse assemblages of macroalgae, seagrass, soft corals and sponges. Further offshore, ledge features at ~100 m depth support diverse filter feeders dominated by hard bryozoans, hydroids, black and octocorals and sponges. Dense filter feeding assemblages on the edge of the shelf break down to 250 m depth were populated by aggregations of hapuka (Polyprion oxygeneios). A potential aggregation site for grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) within the National Park Zone was also found. Additional image annotation and analysis aims to provide further details on assemblages.

Type of publication Technical report
Year of publication 2021
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