Sponges of the Recherche Archipelago , Western Australia (2003-2004)

The Recherche Archipelago is a chain of approximately 105 islands and 1500 islets extending over 470 km of coastline (230 km linear distance) in temperate southern Western Australia with a wide variety of benthic habitats (Seagrass, Reef, Rhodoliths and Sand). Prior to this study knowledge of the sponge fauna of the southwest was from a limited number of papers, most of which were published more than half a century ago. A total of 644 individual Demosponges, from 11 out of 15 orders, were collected from 250 quadrats at 10 sites along the Recherche Archipelago. Across all sites Middle Island had the greatest number of sponges, however species richness was higher at Black, Frederick and Long Islands and diversity was higher at Thomas and Mondrain. Data and report sourced from https://data.pawsey.org.au/public/?path=/WA%20Node%20Ocean%20Data%20Network/AODN/FRDC_Recherche and https://www.frdc.com.au/project/2001-060 respectively.