Reef Life Survey Assessment of Coral Reef Biodiversity in the North -west Marine Parks Network Graham Edgar, Camille Mellin, Emre Turak, Rick Stuart- Smith, Antonia Cooper, Dani Ceccarelli Report to Parks Australia, Department of the Environment 2020 Citation Edgar GJ, Mellin C, Turak E, Stuart-Smith RD, Cooper AT, Ceccarelli DM (2020) Reef Life Survey Assessment of Coral Reef Biodiversity in the North-west Marine Parks Network. Reef Life Survey Foundation Incorporated. Copyright and disclaimer © 2020 RLSF 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 The Reef Life Survey Foundation. Important disclaimer The RLSF advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, The RLSF (including its volunteers and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. Images Cover: RLS diver and Tridacna gigas at Imperieuse Reef by Andrew Green Remaining images: Page ii: Graham Edgar, Western Australia; Page iv: Graham Edgar, Pomacentrus pavo Ashmore Reef; Page viii: Graham Edgar Drone image Clerke Reef, Rowley Shoals; Page 2: Graham Edgar, Ecsenius lividinalis, Ashmore Reef; Page 33: Graham Edgar, Amphiprion ocellaris, Kimberley; Page 35: Graham Edgar, Tridacna gigas, Imperieuse Reef; Page 39 Graham Edgar, Hermit crab, Kimberley; Rear cover: Andrew Green, RLS diver at Mermaid Reef 1 Contents Executive summary .......................................................... vi 1 Introduction ............................................................... 1 2 Methods .................................................................... 3 3 Results ....................................................................... 8 4 Discussion ................................................................31 5 Recommendations ...................................................34 6 Acknowledgements .................................................34 7 References ...............................................................36 Appendices ......................................................................40 Reef Life Survey Assessment of Coral Reef Biodiversity in the North-west Marine Parks Network| iii Figures Figure 1. Stylised representation of method 1 survey technique ..................................................................................................... 4 Figure 2. Stylised representation of method 2 survey technique ..................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Map of the Northwest sites surveyed from 2009-2019. Most dots have multiple overlapping sites. ............................... 7 Figure 4. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) plot of reef fish biomass across all sites surveyed in 2018-2019, performed on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix of the square-root transformed data, showing (A) site scores and (B) species scores (stress = 0.14). For clarity, species labels are shown for the most abundant species only. ...................................................................................... 9 Figure 5. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) plot of reef fish biomass across all sites surveyed in 2013 vs 2018, either coded by AMP status (A) or reefs (B), and performed on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix of the square-root transformed data (stress = 0.21). Species scores are shown in C). For clarity, labels are shown for the most abundant taxa only. ......................................... 10 Figure 6. Biomass in kg and species richness of reef fishes per 500 m2 transect at Ashmore Reef Marine Park, Mermaid Reef Marine Park and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. .......................................................................... 11 Figure 7. Biomass in kg of functional group of reef fishes per 500 m2 transect at Ashmore Reef Marine Park, Mermaid Reef Marine Park and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. .......................................................................... 13 Figure 8. Biomass in kg per 500 m2 transect of large (>20cm TL) reef fishes at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion for 2013 and 2018 (top) and all sites surveyed in 2018 (bottom). Error Bars = 1 SE. NTZs are no take zones within multi-zoned parks (distinct from NT, which are stand-alone no-take zones). .. 14 Figure 9. Functional richness of reef fishes and CTI at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ...................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 10. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) plot of major benthic categories across Ashmore and Mermaid Reef AMPs and their reference sites, performed on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix of the square-root transformed data (stress = 0.20). Sites are shown by A) AMP categories and B) individual reefs. Species scores are shown in C). For clarity, labels are shown for the most abundant benthic categories only. ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 11. Percent cover of key benthic categories at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. a) Total live cover, b) number of benthic categories, c) live hard coral cover, d) turf cover, e) crustose coralline algae, and f) macroalgae. Error Bars = 1 SE. ...................................................................................................... 19 Figure 12. Percent cover of most abundant coral genera at Ashmore Reef CMR, Mermaid Reef CMR and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 13. Percent cover of most abundant coral taxa at Ashmore Reef CMR, Mermaid Reef CMR and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Figure 14. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) plot of invertebrate abundance across all sites surveyed in 2018, coded by reefs (A), and performed on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix of the square-root transformed data (stress = 0.10). Species scores are shown in C). For clarity, labels are shown for the most abundant taxa only. ................................................................................. 23 Figure 15. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) plot of mobile invertebrate abundance across all sites surveyed in 2013 vs 2018, either coded by AMP status (A) or reefs (B), and performed on the Bray-Curtis similarity matrix of the square-root transformed data (stress = 0.21). Species scores are shown in C). For clarity, labels are shown for the most abundant taxa only. .................. 25 Figure 16. Abundance and species richness of mobile macroinvertebrates per 500 m2 transect at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ................................................ 26 Figure 17. Abundance of each phylum of mobile macroinvertebrates per 500 m2 transect at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ................................................ 28 Figure 18. Abundance and species richness of cryptic fishes per 500 m2 transect at Ashmore Reef Marine Parks, Mermaid Reef Marine Parks and reference sites in the North-west bioregion. Error Bars = 1 SE. ........................................................................ 30 iv | Reef Life Survey Assessment of Coral Reef Biodiversity in the North-west Marine Parks Network Tables Table 1. Permanova test of fish community changes between 2013 and 2018, between reef systems (Mermaid vs. Ashmore), and “IUCN Status” (compares IUCN I-II vs. IUCN IV vs. Reference: Hibernia and Scott Reefs for Ashmore, Clerke and Imperieuse for Mermaid). ................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Table 2. ANOVA testing differences in the degree of change in fish biomass and species richness from 2013 to 2018 between reef systems (Mermaid vs. Ashmore), and “IUCN Status” (compares IUCN I-II vs. IUCN IV vs. Reference: Hibernia and Scott Reefs for Ashmore, Clerke and Imperieuse for Mermaid). ...................................................................................................................... 12 Table 3. ANOVA testing differences