The concentration of chlorophyll-a in ocean surface waters is a good indicator of primary productivity. As part of a national-scale analysis of ecosystem processes influencing marine biodiversity, daily MODIS images were processed using NASA's SeaDAS software to generate chlorophyll-a monthly data for the period 2009-2011. Results show that Australian oceans have relatively low surface chlorophyll-a concentrations (average 0.2 mg/m3), with concentrations greater than 0.7 mg/m3 considered to indicate 'high' productivity. On this basis, productivity hotspots are mapped for locations that have 'high' productivity greater than 75% of the time (i.e. 9 out of 12 months). As expected, most productivity hotspots are confined to inner shelf and coastal areas, especially embayments. Key areas include the Great Barrier Reef, Gulf of Carpentaria, Van Diemen Gulf, Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Kimberley coast, Exmouth Gulf and Shark Bay. Seasonally, the period February to June has larger areas of 'high' productivity. Annually, areas of hotspots decrease from 2009 to 2011. Among the 59 existing and proposed Commonwealth Marine Reserves (CMR), nine have hotspots occupying more than 1% of their area; a result consistent with their largely offshore location. In contrast, 47 out of 128 state/territory Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) which lie in inshore waters have more than 1% of area identified as hotspots. In total, chlorophyll-a hotspots occur in more than 20% (by area) of the state/territory MPAs, compared to less than 0.4% of CMRs. Ongoing analysis will relate these patterns to oceanographic models and biodiversity patterns at regional scales, with a focus on northern Australia.

This study presents new information on the regional geochemical characteristics of deep-sea floor sediments (1300 - 2423 m water depth) on the Lord Howe Rise (deep-sea plateau) and Gifford Guyot (seamount/tablemount), remote areas off eastern Australia. The aim was to provide a coherent synthesis for a suite of geochemical data that can be used to make habitat inferences and to develop surrogates of biodiversity. Sediment characteristics analysed were mineralogy, organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotopic compositions, and concentrations of major and trace elements. We also measured parameters that convey information about the reactivity of organic matter and on the bio-availability of bioactive trace elements (e.g. chlorin indices and acid-extractable elements). Surface sediments from the region were calcareous oozes that were carbon-lean (0.26±0.1%) and had moderate to high chlorin indices (0.62 - 0.97)..

This dataset contains identifications of arthropods collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009) and SOL5117 (R.V. Solander 30 July - 27 August, 2010). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a Smith McIntyre grab and identified to operational taxonomic units by an ecologist (Rachel Przeslawski). Specimens were lodged at the Australian Museum on the 27 August 2011. See GA Records 2010/09 2011/08 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. The data files is organised into 3 spreadsheets: - 'arthropod list' presents identifications as they were entered in the laboratory during the identification process. 'Voucher' column refers to those specimens kept at Geoscience Australia as voucher specimens. 'Completion' refers to the order in which specimens and their operational taxonomic units were identified. - 'arthropod matrix' is the species composition matrix to be used for data analysis. Stations are listed as columns; species are listed as rows. - 'stations' includes the location and depth of each station from which grabs were deployed Arthropods were identified only to operational taxonomic unit by a non-taxonomist and so the accuracy of identifications is uncertain. See geocat no 72919 for all taxa identified from grabs from SOL4934 and geocat no 72926 (molluscs) and geocat (worms) from SOL5117.

The Joseph Bonaparte Gulf (JBG) is an offshore area in northern Australia, with active petroleum exploration and infrastructure development. The Van Diemen Rise, an area of raised banks and channels in the northeastern region of the JBG, has been proposed for protection as part of the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve. However, baseline information for much of this area is lacking, including spatial and environmental patterns of biological communities. This study uses still imagery of the sea floor in four study areas across the Van Diemen Rise, collected during two seabed mapping surveys conducted by Geoscience Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, in 2009 and 2010. Based on these analyses benthic communities are characterised, and important species and morphological groups are compared with a number of abiotic variables. In so doing, a preliminary assessment is given as to which abiotic variables make the most appropriate surrogates for characterising benthic communities in the region. A number of variables are found to correlate significantly and strongly with some of the biological groups determined in this study. Pheophytin, Si/Al and mud content correlate with the large habitat forming species Mopsella sp., Ianthella sp. and Xestospongia sp. respectively. Backscatter signals from multibeam sonar surveys correlate very strongly with depth and also to some degree with a number of the functional growth forms of sponges. Based on the positive results of this preliminary data investigation, it is recommended that non-linear modelling and robust multivariate analyses be applied to the data set to investigate more complex relationship. This study provides baseline information on the ecology and morphology of key habitat-forming organisms in the northeastern Joseph Bonaparte Gulf which will be facilitate marine monitoring programs for reserve management and environmental impact assessments for industry activity.

This dataset contains species identifications of molluscs collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a benthic sled. Specimens were lodged at Northern Territory Museum on the 3 May 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Richard Willan at the Northern Territory Museum and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 5 May 2010 (leg 1 only). See GA Record 2010/09 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications.

As part of Geoscience Australia's commitment towards the National Environmental Programme's Marine Biodiversity Hub, we have developed a fully four-dimensional (3D x time) biophysical dispersal model to simulate the movement of marine larvae over large, topographically complex areas. The model uses parallel processing on Australia's national supercomputer to handle large numbers of simulated larvae (on the order of several billion), and saves positional information as points within a relational database management system RDBMS). The model was used to study Australia's northwest marine region, with specific attention given to connectivity patterns among Australia's north-western Commonwealth Marine Reserves and Key Ecological Features (KEFs). These KEFs include carbonate terraces, banks and reefs on the shelf that support diverse benthic assemblages of sponges and corals, and canyons that extend from the shelf edge to the continental slope and are potential biodiversity hotspots. We will show animations of larval movement near canyons within the Gascoyne CMR; larval dispersal probability clouds partitioned by depth and time; as well as matrices of connectivity values among features of interest. We demonstrate how the data can be used to identify connectivity corridors in marine environments, and how the matrices can be analysed to identify key connections within the network. Information from the model can be used to inform priorities for monitoring the performance of reserves through examining net contributions of different reserves (i.e. are they sources or sinks), and studying changes in connectivity structure through adding and removing reserve areas.

Marine benthic biodiversity can be quantified using a range of sampling methods, including benthic sleds or trawls, grabs, and imaging systems, each of which targets a particular community or habitat. Research studies often incorporate only one of these sampling methods in published results, and the generality of marine biodiversity patterns identified among different sampling methods remains unknown. In this study we use three biological collections obtained during a collaborative survey between Geoscience Australian and the Australian Institute of Marine Science to the Van Diemen Rise in northern Australia: 1) Infauna sampled from a Smith-McIntyre grab, 2) Epifauna sampled from a benthic sled, and 3) Biological communities identified from video. For each dataset, we investigated potential patterns of species richness and community structure in relation to depth, geomorphology, and study area, as well as the relationships between datasets. No gear type yielded data that was strongly correlated with depth, but different patterns were evident among gear types based on study area and geomorphology. Comparisons among datasets indicate that species richness from sleds and grabs are more strongly correlated with each other than with richness from video. Further research is planned to incorporate datasets from other regions and habitats in order to provide a general assessment of sampling methods used in the quantification of benthic marine biodiversity in Australasia.

Biophysical dispersal models are rapidly developing into a powerful and sophisticated means of investigating the interface between oceanographic and biological processes. By coupling ocean physics with larval behaviour, it becomes possible to study expected dispersal patterns, assess the potential impact of rare and/or catastrophic events, evaluate the sensitivity of the system to changes in larval characteristics or behaviour, and project these impacts over time. Potential applications include: examining the influence of vertical movement, studying the effects of different navigational strategies, analysing the effects of a defined reproductive season, and assessing the consequences of applying different survivorship functions. The development and implementation of these types of models will be addressed, and examples from Southeast Asia and Australia will be provided.

Infauna are rarely considered in biodiversity assessments of coral reefs and surrounding areas despite their importance in these ecosystems regarding nutrient cycling, bioerosion, and other ecological processes. We surveyed infaunal assemblages in three areas (Mandu, Point Cloates, Gnaraloo) along the Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia, a region that supports Ningaloo Reef, a relatively pristine coral reef protected by the Ningaloo Marine Park and new proposed Commonwealth marine reserve. Infauna were sampled with a Smith-McIntyre grab and sieved through 500 µm. Environmental data were collected (depth, seabed reflectance, sediment characteristics (grain-size, carbonate, kurtosis, sorting)) so that abiotic factors associated with infaunal assemblages could be identified. A total of 423 species and 4036 individuals were recorded from 145 grabs, with a large percentage (41.7%) represented by rare species (<2 individuals per species). Assemblages were dominated by arthropods, annelids, and molluscs (92.2% of species, 90.2% individuals) and scavengers, suspension feeders, and deposit feeders (25.3% of species, 51.2% of individuals). Assemblages were significantly different among all three areas, but the most distinct assemblages were recorded from the southernmost area of Gnaraloo. Infauna varied significantly with depth and sediment composition (mud and gravel), although these relationships were weak, possibly due to a combination of the assemblage diversity and the high numbers of rare species. Results from the current study broadly quantify infaunal diversity in the region and identify potential spatial and environmental patterns which will help inform future marine management plans, including providing baseline information about communities that can be used to assess potential future impacts and efficacy of protected areas in soft sediment habitats adjacent to coral reefs.

This dataset contains species identifications of sponges collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a benthic sled. Specimens were lodged at Northern Territory Museum on the 26 September 2009. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Belinda Glasby at the Northern Territory Museum and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 23 February 2011. See GA Record 2010/09 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications.