Marine Futures Project - Mount Gardner - biota

The Marine Futures Project was designed to benchmark the current status of key Western Australian marine ecosystems, based on an improved understanding of the relationship between marine habitats, biodiversity and our use of these values. Approximately 1,500 km2 of seafloor were mapped using hydroacoustics (Reson 8101 Multibeam), and expected benthic habitats "ground-truthed" using towed video transects and baited remote underwater video systems. Both sources of information were then combined in a spatial predictive modelling framework to produce fine-scale habitat maps showing the extent of substrate types, biotic formations, etc.Surveys took place across 9 study areas, including Mount Gardner, a site located just off Two People’s Bay, 30km east of the town of Albany. The area is host to a number of human uses, including recreational and commercial fishing, diving, surfing, recreational boat use and shipping and mining. The marine environment at this location is different to the other three study locations on the south coast, in that it encompasses the protected Two Peoples Bay with seagrass and invertebrate communities and the more exposed rocky and macroalgal reefs around the Mt Gardner peninsula itself.

海洋未来项目（Marine Futures Project）旨在基于对海洋栖息地、生物多样性与人类利用此类资源价值间关系的深化认知，对西澳大利亚州关键海洋生态系统的现状开展基准评估。研究团队采用水声测绘技术（hydroacoustics）结合Reson 8101多波束测深系统（Reson 8101 Multibeam），对约1500平方千米的海底完成了制图工作，并通过拖曳视频样带（towed video transects）与诱饵式远程水下视频系统（baited remote underwater video systems）对预期底栖生境开展实地校核。随后将两类数据源整合至空间预测建模框架中，生成可展示底质类型、生物群落等分布范围的精细尺度生境分布图。本次调查覆盖9个研究区域，其中包括加德纳山（Mount Gardner）点位，该区域坐落于奥尔巴尼镇以东30千米的双人民湾（Two People’s Bay）近海海域。该区域承载多种人类活动，涵盖休闲与商业捕捞、潜水、冲浪、休闲游艇运营、航运及矿业开发。该点位的海洋环境与南海岸其余三处研究点位存在显著差异：其既包含分布有海草与无脊椎动物群落的受保护双人民湾海域，也涵盖加德纳山半岛周边受风浪暴露度更高的岩礁与大型藻类礁群。