Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve - Opportunistic visual surveys of marine megafauna

Opportunistic visual surveys were conducted in transit to, and within, the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) in the Timor Sea during September and October 2012 onboard the RV Solander.

This resource comprises species lists and estimated counts of marine mammals, sea snakes, seabirds, sea turtles and other large wildlife encountered during the voyage.

The Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve survey was undertaken as an activity within the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub and was the key component of Research Theme 4 - Regional Biodiversity Discovery to Support Marine Bioregional Plans. Hub partners involved in the survey included the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Geoscience Australia, the University of Western Australia, Museum Victoria and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Data acquired during the survey included: multibeam sonar bathymetry and acoustic backscatter; sub-bottom acoustic profiles; physical samples of seabed sediments, infauna and epibenthic biota; towed underwater video and still camera observations of seabed habitats; baited video observations of demersal and pelagic fish, and; oceanographic measurements of the water column from CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) casts and from deployment of sea surface drifters. Further information on the survey is available in the post-survey report published as Geoscience Australia Record 2013/38: Nichol, S.L., Howard, F.J.F., Kool, J., Stowar, M., Bouchet, P., Radke, L.,Siwabessy, J., Przeslawski, R., Picard, K., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Colquhoun, J., Letessier, T. & Heyward, A. 2013. Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey: GA0339/SOL5650 - Post Survey Report. Record 2013/38. Geoscience Australia: Canberra. (GEOCAT #76658).

2012年9月至10月，研究团队搭乘“索兰德号”科考船（RV Solander），在往返帝汶海海洋浅滩联邦海洋保护区（CMR）及该保护区范围内开展了偶遇式视觉调查。

本数据集涵盖本次航行中偶遇的海洋哺乳动物、海蛇、海鸟、海龟及其他大型野生动物的物种名录与估算种群数量。

本次海洋浅滩联邦海洋保护区调查系澳大利亚政府国家环境研究计划海洋生物多样性中心（Marine Biodiversity Hub）下设的一项研究活动，同时也是研究主题4——“支撑海洋生物区域规划的区域生物多样性探索”的核心组成部分。参与本次调查的中心合作方包括澳大利亚海洋科学研究所、澳大利亚地球科学局、西澳大利亚大学、维多利亚博物馆以及北领地博物馆与美术馆。

本次调查获取的数据包括：多波束测深声呐与声学背散射数据、海底浅层声学剖面数据、海底沉积物、底内生物及底上生物的实物样本、拖曳式水下视频与静态相机拍摄的海底生境影像、诱饵式视频记录的底栖与中上层鱼类观测数据，以及通过温盐深仪（CTD，conductivity, temperature, depth）投放采集与海面漂流浮标部署获取的水体海洋学测量数据。

有关本次调查的更多详情可参阅澳大利亚地球科学局2013/38号报告发布的事后调查报告：Nichol, S.L.、Howard, F.J.F.、Kool, J.、Stowar, M.、Bouchet, P.、Radke, L.、Siwabessy, J.、Przeslawski, R.、Picard, K.、Alvarez de Glasby, B.、Colquhoun, J.、Letessier, T.与Heyward, A.，2013年。《帝汶海海洋浅滩联邦海洋保护区生物多样性调查：GA0339/SOL5650——事后调查报告》，澳大利亚地球科学局2013/38号报告，堪培拉。（GEOCAT编号#76658）