Seabed biodiversity on the continental shelf of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (CRC-Reef Task Number: C1.1.2)

This project was undertaken in collaboration with CRC Reefs partners the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries (QDPI&F), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Queensland Museum (QM).

The GBR Seabed Biodiversity Project aimed to map seafloor habitats and characterised their associated fauna and flora at more than 1,500 locations in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). The research provided new information on the biodiversity of inter-reefal communities in the GBRWHA that provided important imput into management plans. The development of a bioregional scale understanding of the significant large marine ecosystems in Australia's tropical waters contributed to the use and protection of Australia's marine resources.

This collection includes:

Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVs), single-beam acoustics, epibenthic sled, scientific trawl, sample processing at sea, laboratory processing and identification, transect substratum and biohabitat for analysis including:

Substratum: soft mud, silt(sandy-mud), sand, coarse sand, sand waves/dunes, rubble(5-50mm), stones(50-250mm), rocks(>250mm), bedrock/reef.

Biohabitat: no biohabitat, bioturbated, percentage of coverage of Alcyonarians, Whip, Gorgonian, Sponge, Hard Coral, Live Reef Corals, Flora, Algae, Halimeda, Caulerpa, Seagrass, Bivalve Shell Beds, Squid Eggs, Tube Polychaete Beds.

1.5m epibenthic sled tow sampled biota for records, preserved on vessel, and retained for lab sorting. Sample taxa identified to alpha taxonomy, species name if identified. Most samples added to the collections of the Queensland Museum.

Sediment sampling included analysis processed by Geoscience of percentage of carbonate, gravel grainsize fraction, sand grainsize fraction mud grainsize fraction.

Echogram data was collected along the vessel tracks.

Please note: as other parties were involved in the collection of the data, that additional permission may be required for its use and/or distribution.