The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Project (FRDC) No. 2001/060 characterised and identified the distribution of the different benthic habitats of the Recherche Archipelago and identified the distribution of assemblages of fish, mobile invertebrates, filter feeding communities and seagrasses and the patterns and processes which structure them.

Two surveys were carried out within the environs of the Navy Pier at Exmouth to ascertain the biodiversity of the fish and coral assemblages resident within. This pier is a very popular dive site renowned for the quality (and quantity) of the fish life. The first survey (9 - 11 March 1996) was of species presence/absence while the second survey (2 - 6 April 2001) included abundance estimates of the fish assemblage. The sampling regime for each survey was the same. Two transects were videoed for each pylon included in the survey. Video footage was taken swimming from the surface to the bottom of the pylon on one side and whilst returning to the surface on the opposite side. A total of 17 pylons were surveyed using this technique. General video footage was also taken of the surrounding habitat to help with identification of fish and benthic organisms. The video tapes were analysed using AVTAS - a quantitative benthic analysis package developed by AIMS. A comprehensive list of the fish fauna associated with the pier, dolphins, and immediate surrounds, was obtained through visual census whilst using SCUBA. For the 2001 survey fish numbers were estimated using Log5 abundance categories.

A major marine biodiversity survey of the Rowley Shoals, led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science in collaboration with the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation, was undertaken from 1-17 December 2007. The multidisciplinary survey aimed to collect data that could directly inform management of the Rowley Shoals Marine Park and the Mermaid Reef National Marine Nature Reserve. Three major research projects: * quantitative estimate/description of the condition of benthic communities of the Rowley Shoals by resurveying long-term benthic monitoring sites, and by quantifying the reefs' algal and soft coral biodiversity. * Quantitative survey of stocks of commercially important invertebrates holothurians, Trochus and giant clams. * Reef shark habitat use through acoustic tagging.

Data on benthic cover and fish abundance at a number of coastal reefs along the Adelaide coast, Fleurieu Peninsula and Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Surveyed in 2005 and a subset in 2007.

Sponge reefs are constructed by hexactinellid (glass) sponges of the Order Hexactinosida. The sponges trap fine sediments, and over centuries of sponge growth and sediment trapping, form large bioherms or reef mounds. Glass sponge reefs are unique habitats found along the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States and they have significant historic, ecological, and economic value. They link benthic and pelagic environments by playing important roles in filtration and carbon and nitrogen processing, and acting as silica sinks. They also form habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates and fish, including those of economic importance. Thus, accurate and up-to-date information on the location and spatial extent of sponge reefs is important to the management and conservation of many of Canada’s Pacific marine species. We generated a map of known sponge reefs, derived from two source shape files: 1) Sponge_Reef_West_Coast, mapped by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), 2) Howesound_Nine_reef_polygons and 3) HoweSound_Five_reef_polygons, which were mapped by DFO and NRCan. The resultant polygon shapefile is published on the GIS hub as a file geodatabase feature class.

Study on the major marine habitats of the proposed Dampier Archipelago/Cape Preston marine conservation reserve.

Cockburn Sound Management Council (CSMC) coordinates and undertakes irregular monitoring programs in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. For example, it coordinates toxicants in sediment, toxicants in water, benthic habitat mapping and contaminant analysis of beach sediments monitoring programs conducted irregularly by other parties in the greater Cockburn Sound. All data is collected and assessed against statutory Environmental Quality Criteria and Standard Operating Procedures and analysis plans. CSMC collates and ensures QA/QC processes are in place for the data. Please refer to the Environmental Quality Monitoring Program - Regular monitoring programs link (http://portal.environment.wa.gov.au/portal/page?_pageid=513,999170&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL) for more information about this data set.

Despite the major marine bioregions being broadly identified in north western Australia, there has been limited observation and documentation of the marine biodiversity present. The Oceanic Shoals bioregion, which includes numerous shelf edge reef systems, has been identified as a biodiversity hotspot for at least some major taxa, such as sponges, but past research has largely focused on the emergent reef systems at the western end of the bioregion. However, the most common reef types in the Oceanic Shoals bioregion do not reach the sea surface. These submerged reefs, which are biogenic in nature and rise out of deep water to between 10-50m below the sea surface, are very poorly understood and remain mostly to be explored and characterised. As mini seamounts, these reefs may well be areas of both biodiversity and biomass accumulation. The initial task for biodiversity surveys will be a census of submerged reefs to characterise the biodiversity, including its spatial pattern of habitats within reefs, then develop a regional model for habitat types and the location of any diversity hotspots. Integration with data on chemistry, oceanography and geology will be a feature of the Timor Sea study and will permit targeted multidisciplinary projects seeking to understand the processes that sustain the biota of the region. To this end, the distribution of shelf edge upwelling phenomena and natural hydrocarbon seeps, both potentially significant attributes of the bioregion, will be investigated and integrated with data on biodiversity patterns. This report summarises the deployment of 2 instrumented moorings in 50 and 100m water depth near Karmt Shoals in the Oceanic Shoals Bioregion of the Timor Sea. Moorings were set in January 2004, recovered and redeployed in April 2004, and finally recovered in December 2004.

The Planning for an Environmental Response (PIER) initiative falls under the umbrella of the Government of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), whose goal is preserving marine ecosystems vulnerable to increased transportation and the development of the marine industry. The PIERs’ main mandate is to acquire and update biological sensitivity data under its jurisdiction for preparation and response purposes in the event of an oil spill. This dataset contains all observations of marine organisms noted during the analysis of 2959 underwater images sampled over a large extent of the coastal zone (≤10 m) of the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Quebec region). The dataset includes 21 490 occurrences of 150 taxa and informal categories including macroalgae, invertebrates and fish. Underwater images were collected between 2017 and 2021 according to a directed sampling protocol whose primary goal was to map large seaweed and eelgrass beds. Images were normally recorded as videos using a GoPro Hero camera installed on a pole and placed near the seabed from a small boat. The collected data served primarily as ground-truth data to validate coasting zone mapping based on aerial photographs within the framework of the PIER's initiative. The two files provided (DarwinCore format) are complementary and are linked by the "eventID" key. The "event_information" file includes generic event information, including date and location. The "taxon_occurrence" file includes the original identifiers of the observed organisms (verbatimIdentification field), identification remarks and their taxonomy. Taxonomic names were verified on the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to match recognized standards. The WoRMS match has been put in the scientificNameID field in the occurrence file. Data quality control was performed using the R packages obistools and worrms. All sampling locations were plotted on a map to perform a visual check confirming that the latitude and longitude coordinates were within the described sampling area. A visual dictionary was developed as an identification aid and accompanies this dataset (unilingual french only, the English version will be published soon). More data, including a visibility index, estimated macroalgae and eelgrass cover, substrate type and dominant macroalgae and animals were recorded but not included in this dataset. These data may be made available upon request. Credits Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L., Pitre, L.D., Grégoire, B. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Cartographie des macrophytes estuariens et marins du Québec. Rapp. Tech. Can. Sci. halieut. Aquat. 3617 : v + 99 p. Grégoire, B., Pitre, L.D., Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Distribution d’organismes marins de la zone côtière peu profonde du Québec recensés par imagerie sous-marine de 2017 à 2021. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 3616 : v + 78 p.

Identification of ecological and biological significant areas (EBSA) in the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence according to six groups of the food chain : primary production (Lavoie et al, 2007), secondary production (Plourde et McQuinn, 2010), meroplankton (Ouellet, 2007), benthic invertebrates (Chabot et al, 2007), demersal fishes (Castonguay et Valois, 2007) and pelagic fishes (McQuinn et al, 2012). The distribution area of each group has been evaluated using five criteria in order to determine the EBSA (DFO, 2004): 1. Uniqueness: Ranked from areas whose characteristics are unique, rare, distinct, and for which alternatives do not exist to areas whose characteristics are widespread with many areas which are similar. 2. Aggregation: Ranked from areas where most individuals of a species are aggregated to areas where individuals of the species are widespread 3. Fitness consequence: Ranked from areas where the life history activity(ies) undertaken make a major contribution to the fitness of the population or species present to areas where the life history activity(ies) undertaken make only marginal contributions to fitness. 4. Resilience: Ranked from areas where the habitat structures or species are highly sensitive, easily perturbed, and slow to recover to areas where the habitat structures or species are robust, resistant to perturbation, or readily return to the pre-perturbation state. 5. Naturalness: Ranked from areas which are pristine and characterized by native species to areas which are highly perturbed by anthropogenic activities and/or with high abundances of introduced or cultured species. Castonguay, M. and Valois, S. 2007. Zones d’importance écologique et biologique pour les poissons démersaux dans le nord du Golfe du Saint-Laurent. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/014. iii + 34 p. Chabot, D., Rondeau A., Sainte-Marie B., Savard L., Surette T. et Archambault P. 2007. Distribution des invertébrés benthiques dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/018. iii + 118 p. DFO, 2004. Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Ecosystem Status Rep. 2004/006. Lavoie, D., Starr, M., Zakardjian, B. and Larouche, P. 2007. Identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSA) in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence: Primary production. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/079. iii + 29 p. McQuinn, I.H., Bourassa, M-N., Tournois, C., Grégoire, F., and Baril, D. 2012. Ecologically and biologically significant areas in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence: small pelagic fishes. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/087. iii + 76 p. Ouellet P. 2007. Contribution à l’identification de zones d’importance écologique et biologique (ZIEB) pour l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent : La couche des oeufs et des larves de poissons et de crustacés décapodes. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2007/011. iii + 76 p. (Mise à jour novembre 2010) Plourde, S. et McQuinn, I.A. 2010. Zones d’importance écologique et biologique dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent : zooplancton et production secondaire. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/104. iv + 27 p.