A Preliminary Assessment of Fish and Coral Communities on Reefs of the Dampier Archipelago

During the initial AIMS survey of coral and fish communities within the Dampier Archipelago, 24 sites, chosen to be represenatative of the diverse range of habitats in the region, were visited. At each site, fish and coral communities were quantitatively sampled using standardised techniques used widely in the Great Barrier Reef and in the Ningaloo Reef survey. Visual surves at the sites indicate that many sites had been subjected to significant recent storm damage. Large massive coral colonies were overturned and previously luxuriant Acropora beds were reduced to rubble banks.