This dataset contains species identifications of echinoderms collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a Smith-McIntyre grab and benthic sleds. Echinoderm specimens were lodged at Museum of Victoria on the 12 February 2010 and Ophiuroid samples were lodged on the 19 April 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Tim O'Hara at the Museum of Victoria and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 18 May 2010. 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.

Geoscience Australia carried out a marine survey on Lord Howe Island shelf (NSW) in 2008 (SS06-2008) to map seabed bathymetry and characterise benthic environments through co-located sampling of surface sediments and infauna, rock coring, observation of benthic habitats using underwater towed video, and measurement of ocean tides and wave-generated currents. Sub-bottom profile data was also collected to map sediment thickness and shelf stratigraphy. Data and samples were acquired using the National Facility Research Vessel Southern Surveyor. Bathymetric data from this survey was merged with other pre-existing bathymetric data (including LADS) to generate a grid covering 1034 sq km. As part of a separate Geoscience Australia survey in 2007 (TAN0713), an oceanographic mooring was deployed on the northern edge of Lord Howe Island shelf. The mooring was recovered during the 2008 survey following a 6 month deployment. Sample/species matrix of infaunal taxa derived from Smith McIntyre grab samples taken on the Southern Surveyor cruise SS06/2008 to Lord Howe Island.

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.

This special issue of Continental Shelf Research presents 13 research papers that contain the latest results in the field of benthic marine environment mapping and seabed characterisation. A total of 10 papers in this special issue were presented as papers and posters at GeoHab conferences in 2007 (Noumea, New Caledonia), 2008 (Sitka, Alaska) and 2009 (Trondheim, Norway). The annual GeoHab conference provides a forum in which marine physical and biological scientists, managers, policy makers, and industry representatives can convene to engage in discussions regarding mapping and characterising the seabed. The papers contained in this special issue build on the work published in Greene and Todd (2005): Mapping the Seafloor for Habitat Characterization, a special publication of the Geological Association of Canada.

This study tested the performance of 16 species models in predicting the distribution of sponges on the Australian continental shelf using a common set of environmental variables. The models included traditional regression and more recently developed machine learning models. The results demonstrate that the spatial distributions of sponge as a species group can be successfully predicted. A new method of deriving pseudo-absence data (weighted pseudo-absence) was compared with random pseudo-absence data - the new data were able to improve modelling performance for all the models both in terms of statistics (~10%) and in the predicted spatial distributions. Overall, machine learning models achieved the best prediction performance. The direct variable of bottom water temperature and the resource variables that describe bottom water nutrient status were found to be useful surrogates for sponge distribution at the broad regional scale. This study demonstrates that predictive modelling techniques can enhance our understanding of processes that influence spatial patterns of benthic marine biodiversity. Ecological Informatics

Zooplankton sampling encompasses a range of methods, but these require specialized equipment, cost, and time. Ship-pumped seawater provides an opportunity to broadly quantify zooplankton abundance and richness during surveys with objectives other than zooplankton characterisation. Here, the effectiveness of sampling ship-pumped seawater for zooplankton was evaluated through the identification of established diurnal and biogeographic patterns as well as comparisons between sampling with surface tows and ship-pumped seawater over the Western Australian margin. Only one species was classed as a fouling organism (unknown Y-shaped polyps), and only one group was excluded from sampling via ship-pumped water (chaetognaths). As expected, we found significant diurnal differences in zooplankton abundance, as well as differences between the Houtman sub-basin (~ 100 km offshore) and the Wallaby (Cuvier) Plateau (~500 km offshore). These results suggest that sampling zooplankton with ship-pumped waters can result in useful broad comparisons of the overall abundance and number of taxa among regions but only when comparisons with surface tows are made. Importantly, sampling via ship-pumped water is not an appropriate method from which to characterize zooplankton communities and in no way replaces or negates the need for more traditional and comprehensive sampling of zooplankton.

The Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) (>71,000 km2) is located in the Timor Sea and is part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas of Australia. The Reserve incorporates extensive areas of carbonate banks and terraces that are recognised in the North and North West Marine Region Plans as Key Ecological Features (KEFs). Although poorly studied, these banks and terraces have been identified as potential biodiversity hotspots for the Australian tropical north. As part of the National Environment Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine Science undertook a marine biodiversity survey in 2012 to improve the knowledge of this area and better understand the importance of these KEFs. Amongst the many activities undertaken, continuous high-resolution multibeam mapping, video and still camera observations, and physical seabed sampling of four areas covering 510 km2 within the western side of the CMR was completed. Multibeam imagery reveals a high geomorphic diversity in the Oceanic Shoals CMR, with numerous banks and terraces, elevated 30 to 65 m above the generally flat seabed (~105 m water depth), that provide hard substrate for benthic communities. The surrounding plains are characterised by fields of depressions up to 1 m deep (pockmarks) formed in soft silty sediments that are generally barren of any epibenthos (Fig .1). A distinctive feature of many pockmarks is a linear scour mark that extends several tens of metres (up to 150 m) from pockmark depressions. Previous numerical and flume tank simulations have shown that scouring of pockmarks occurs in the direction of the dominant near-seabed flow. These geomorphic features may therefore serve as a proxy for local-scale bottom currents, which may in turn inform on sediment processes operating in these areas and contribute to the understanding of the distribution of biodiversity. This study focused on characterising these seabed scoured depressions and investigating their potential as an environmental proxy for habitat studies. We used ArcGIS spatial analyst tools to quantify the features and explored their potential relationships with other variables (multibeam backscatter, regional modelled bottom stress, biological abundance and presence/absence) to provide insight into their development, and contribute to a better understanding of the environment surrounding carbonate banks. Preliminary results show a relationship between pockmark types, (i.e. with or without scour mark) and backscatter strength. This relationship suggests some additional shallow sub-surface control, mainly related to the presence of buried carbonate banks. In addition, the results suggest that tidal flows are redirected by the banks, leading to locally varied flow directions and 'shadowing' in the lee of the larger banks. This in turn is likely to have an influence on the observed density and abundance of benthic assemblages.

This dataset contains species identifications of echinoderms collected during survey GA2476 (R.V. Solander, 12 August - 15 September 2008). Animals were collected from the Western Australian Margin with a BODO sediment grab or rock dredge. Specimens were lodged at Museum of Victoria on the 10 March 2009. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Tim O'Hara at the Museum of Victoria and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 24 April 2009. See GA Record 2009/02 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.

This dataset contains species identifications of ophiuroids collected during survey SOL5117 (R.V. Solander, 30 July - 27 August, 2010). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a benthic sled. Specimens were lodged at Museum of Victoria on the 27 August 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Tim O'Hara at the Museum of Victoria and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 23 February 2011. See GA Record 2011/08 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.

This dataset contains species identifications of micro-benthic worms collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a Smith-McIntyre grab. Specimens were lodged at Northern Territory Museum on the 1 February 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Chris Glasby at the Northern Territory Museum and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 7 March 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.