Benthic Habitats and Biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks
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CSIRO OCEANS & ATMOSPHERE Benthic habitats and biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks Edited by: John Keesing, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Research March 2019 ISBN 978-1-4863-1225-2 Print 978-1-4863-1226-9 On-line Contributors The following people contributed to this study. Affiliation is CSIRO unless otherwise stated. WAM = Western Australia Museum, MV = Museum of Victoria, DPIRD = Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Study design and operational execution: John Keesing, Nick Mortimer, Stephen Newman (DPIRD), Roland Pitcher, Keith Sainsbury (SainsSolutions), Joanna Strzelecki, Corey Wakefield (DPIRD), John Wakeford (Fishing Untangled), Alan Williams Field work: Belinda Alvarez, Dion Boddington (DPIRD), Monika Bryce, Susan Cheers, Brett Chrisafulli (DPIRD), Frances Cooke, Frank Coman, Christopher Dowling (DPIRD), Gary Fry, Cristiano Giordani (Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia), Alastair Graham, Mark Green, Qingxi Han (Ningbo University, China), John Keesing, Peter Karuso (Macquarie University), Matt Lansdell, Maylene Loo, Hector Lozano‐Montes, Huabin Mao (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Margaret Miller, Nick Mortimer, James McLaughlin, Amy Nau, Kate Naughton (MV), Tracee Nguyen, Camilla Novaglio, John Pogonoski, Keith Sainsbury (SainsSolutions), Craig Skepper (DPIRD), Joanna Strzelecki, Tonya Van Der Velde, Alan Williams Taxonomy and contributions to Chapter 4: Belinda Alvarez, Sharon Appleyard, Monika Bryce, Alastair Graham, Qingxi Han (Ningbo University, China), Glad Hansen (WAM), Ana Hara (WAM), Andrew Hosie (WAM), John Huisman (WA Herbarium), Lisa Kirkendale (WAM), Margaret Miller, Hugh Morrison (WAM), Kate Naughton (MV), Tim O’Hara (MV), John Pogonoski, Keith Sainsbury (SainsSolutions), Corey Whisson (WAM), Nerida Wilson (WAM) Data analysis, contributions to other chapters and report preparation: Belinda Alvarez, Monika Bryce, Norm Campbell, Frances Cooke, John Keesing, Margaret Miller, Nick Mortimer, James McLaughlin, Amy Nau, John Pogonoski, Dirk Slawinski, Joanna Strzelecki, Melanie Trapon, Emma Westlake Citation for this report Keesing, J.K. (Ed.) 2019. Benthic habitats and biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks. Report for the Director of National Parks. CSIRO, Australia. Individual sections of Chapter 4 maybe cited as in the following example: Hosie, A. and Hara, A. 2019. Crustaceans, pp 135‐147, in Keesing, J.K. (Ed.) 2019. Benthic habitats and biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks. Report for the Director of National Parks. CSIRO, Australia. Copyright © Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2019. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of CSIRO. Important disclaimer CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. 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Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... 14 Executive summary ....................................................................................................................... 15 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 20 1.1 Voyage summary, survey design and research methods .................................... 20 1.2 Operations undertaken ....................................................................................... 22 2 Habitat assessment: bathymetry, sub‐bottom profiling and acoustic backscatter ......... 24 2.1 Bathymetry .......................................................................................................... 24 2.2 Acoustic backscatter and sub‐bottom profiling .................................................. 34 2.3 Water column sampling ...................................................................................... 48 3 Habitat assessment: benthic substrate and biota ............................................................ 53 3.1 Data sources ........................................................................................................ 53 3.2 Benthic substrate and topography ...................................................................... 57 3.3 Benthic Biota ....................................................................................................... 67 4 Biodiversity assessment .................................................................................................... 91 4.1 Overview .............................................................................................................. 91 4.2 Fishes ................................................................................................................... 91 4.3 Corals (Octocorallia, Hexacorallia, Ceriantipatharia) ........................................ 111 4.4 Sponges.............................................................................................................. 120 4.5 Crustaceans ....................................................................................................... 136 4.6 Molluscs ............................................................................................................. 149 4.7 Echinoderms ...................................................................................................... 160 4.8 Sea snakes ......................................................................................................... 171 4.9 Turtles ................................................................................................................ 171 4.10 Algae and seagrass ............................................................................................ 171 4.11 Other taxa .......................................................................................................... 174 5 Comparison of Montebello MP with the adjacent Pilbara Fish Trawl Fishery Area 1 .... 177 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 177 5.2 Habitat and benthic biota comparisons ............................................................ 180 5.3 Comparison of fish communities: species assemblages and diversity .............. 187 5.4 Comparison of fish communities: biomass ....................................................... 196 Benthic habitats and biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks | 1 5.5 Comparison of soft coral diversity..................................................................... 203 5.6 Association of demersal fish assemblages and benthic filter feeder communities ................................................................................................................... 204 Appendix A Detailed description of survey design and methodology ................................. 208 Appendix B Detailed list of operations by date, site and gear type taken in the Dampier and Montebello Marine Parks ........................................................................................................... 217 Appendix C Full Species list of fish caught on the NWS on the RV Investigator voyage in 2017 (INV2017_05) 219 Appendix D Data tables giving site locations referred to in this report ............................... 227 Appendix E Tables giving sponge and soft coral abundance and biomass data referred to in Chapter 5 230 References 237 2 | Benthic habitats and biodiversity of the Dampier and Montebello Australian Marine Parks Figures Figure 1. Map of survey area showing survey stations and vessel track (continuous swathing) and location of Commonwealth and State MPAs. ........................................................................ 21 Figure 2. Location of sites surveyed and swath mapping carried out within the Dampier MP. .. 22 Figure 3. Location of sites surveyed and swath mapping carried out within the Montebello MP. ................................................................................................................................................ 23 Figure 4. Location, zoning and bathymetry of Dampier MP. From the North‐west Marine Parks Network Management Plan 2018 ................................................................................................. 25 Figure 5. Gridded bathymetry of broader area around Dampier MP (Geosciences Australia 2009 gridded product) overlain with the swath lines from INV2017_05 (sites W4, W6, W8) plus previous voyages in the area which can be seen to the north