Surveying an Australian marine frontier

The RV Solander, with 11 scientists on board,undertook a 25 day survey of biodiversity in open waters off north-western Australia. The ship left Broome on 12 September 2012 returned on 6 October.

The survey was undertaken by the Marine Biodiversity Hub to support the Australian Government’s marine bioregional plans and is supported through funding from the National Environmental Research Program (NERP).

This survey of offshore waters in the north-west, including the proposed Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR), is a research collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Geoscience Australia (GA), University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MGNT). The survey forms the main activity for Theme 4 of the NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub – Regional Biodiversity Discovery to Support Marine Bioregional Plans. Data from this survey will be used to support the research goals of the other three themes in the Marine Biodiversity Hub and to support the work programs of the Department of the Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC).

The information gathered in this survey will be used to fill gaps in biodiversity knowledge and patterns of community assembly, associated physical drivers of marine biodiversity and provide a regional context to these patterns and processes.

See the 3 survey grids of the voyage

• Media release
• Visit the Project page - Regional biodiversity discovery to support marine bioregional plans