Pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) harvested from wild stocks are experiencing high levels of infestation of bioeroding sponges (Cliona spp.) imposing a multi-million dollar cost to the industry. Scientists of the Department are work closely with Dr Jane Fromont (WA Museum) who is an expert in sponge taxonomy and ecology. Preliminary samples have been collected during the 2004 and 2005 season to develop sampling and screening techniques. More comprehensive sampling is planned for the following two seasons. Samples are initially screened for the presence of Cliona spiculae and than further processed using histology. This project aims to * Develop a field guide to identify bioeroding sponges in pearl oyster samples * Develop sampling techniques for estimating the biomass and reproductive capacity of bioeroding sponges in pearl oyster shells and benthic substrates. * Estimate the effect of size/ age and location on infection rate of bioeroding sponges in the wild stocks of pearl oysters. * Establish a sponge infestation database, including both oysters and habitat. Time : ends 2007

Sixty animals were collected from each of Bass Pt, New South Wales (lat 34°35' S, long 150°54' E; August 2000); south side of East Cove, Deal Is, Bass St. (lat 39°28.4' S, long 147°18.4' E; June 2000) and Fortescue Bay, Tasmania (lat 43°8.5' S, long 148°0.0' E; October 2000 and April 2001). To examine the genetic relationship between the three site populations of Centrostephanus rodgersii, allelic diversity and heterozygosity among the three sites was compared using BIOSYS.

Roi-Namur is located at the northernmost tip of Kwajalein Atoll, approximately 64 kilometers north of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) central command post on Kwajalein Islet. Roi-Namur has a single sewage outfall, which is located at the northwestern corner of the islet. Originally, the outfall extended from shore to a point about halfway across the reef flat where the pipe ended abruptly as an upturned, uncapped elbow. Raw sewage was pumped through the pipe in pulses approximately every 15-20 minutes. Waves and shallow currents across the reef flat carried at least some of the effluent back toward shore and the lagoon, creating a potentially unhealthy situation. In order to correct this problem, USAKA implemented a plan to extend the original outfall all the way across the reef flat and into the open ocean where the predominant current flow would carry effluent-mixed waters away from the islet. Ultimately, the extended outfall was to be connected to a new sewage treatment facility that would discharge primarily treated effluent. Because of a concern that this discharge might adversely impact the coral-reef community surrounding the end of the new outfall, a baseline marine biological survey was to be conducted prior to start-up of the new sewage treatment facility. As planned, the results of this survey would provide a baseline against which the results of future surveys could be compared in order to determine whether a balanced community of indigenous species had been maintained at the site during operation of the facility. If not, conversion to secondary treatment at the facility would need to be considered. The first resurvey was planned to occur one year after start-up of the new sewage treatment facility with subsequent resurveys planned for every five years thereafter. In August 1997, biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted the baseline marine biological survey in the vicinity of the Roi-Namur outfall. For the National Oceanographic Data Center, interest in the report focuses on the marine element. Data tables from marine surveys of reef fishes, corals, other macroinvertebrates, and algae that exist in those habitats are provided.

The potential for unobserved mortality of crabs encountering bottom trawls, but not captured, has long been a concern in the management of Bering Sea fisheries. We evaluated how many such crabs die, including snow, Tanner and red king crabs, and demonstrated changes to trawl gear that substantially improved crab survival.

The data consist of counts of sea urchins in quadrats from over 600 nearshore rocky bottom sites that were sampled by scuba between 1987 and 2021. The sites are from 38 locations on the north Pacific Rim ranging from Bering Island, along the Aleutian Island chain and the Alaska Peninsula to Southeast Alaska. At each site, divers counted and collected sea urchins from quadrats placed at random distances mostly along a 20-25-foot depth contour. At a subset of sites, 40-foot depths were targeted. Urchins were counted until either 20 quadrats were sampled or about 200 urchins were collected. Quadrat size is specified in the data table but was 0.25 m2 at almost all sites. At the same sites where urchins were counted, divers counted kelps and estimated percent cover of fleshy red algae, other benthic algal cover, and non-motile invertebrates in 20 quadrats along the same depth profile. Sites were plotted at random from along the coasts of islands or areas designated. Hard substrate was targeted. Sites included here are at Adak Island, Agattu Island, Akutan Island, Alaid Island, Amchitka Island, Anangula Island, Atka Island, Attu Island, Bering Island, Chiachi Island, Chuginadak Island, Hawadax (formerly Rat) Island, Kiska Island, Kodiak Island, Mitrofania Island, Nizki Island, Ogliuga Island, Sanak Island, Seguam Island, the Semidi Islands, Shemya Island, Sitkalidak Island, Skagul Island, Tanaga Island, Umnak Island, Unalaska Island, Unga Island, Yunaska Island; Amalik Bay, Kukak Bay, and Pavlov Bay on the Alaska Peninsula; Kachemak Bay on the Kenai Peninsula; and Torch Bay, Surge Bay, and Sitka Sound in southeast Alaska. Sea urchin size data, kelp counts and bottom cover data, and site locations are presented in other tables.

This dataset shows the effects of the insecticide imidacloprid on larval development of the hermit crab Coenobita variabilis. Experiments were conducted in 2017. The aim of this project was to apply a standard ecotoxicology protocol to determine the effects of the insecticide imidacloprid (that has been detected in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area (O'Brien et al., 2016)), on larval development (6-d exposures) of the hermit crab Coenobita variabilis. These toxicity data will enable improved assessment of the risks posed to marine crustaceans for both regulatory purposes and for comparison with other taxa. Methods: Imidacloprid (CAS 138261-41-3) stock solutions were prepared using PESTANAL (Merck) analytical grade product (purity greater than or equal to 99.9%). Stock solutions (100 – 1,000 mg L-1) were prepared by dissolving aliquots of the pure compound in ultrapure water using clean, acid-washed (5% nitric acid) glass screw-top containers. Acetone was used to dissolve the imidacloprid (less than or equal to 0.01 % (v/v) in exposure solutions). Stock solutions were stored refrigerated and in the dark. Tests were conducted as previously described (in van Dam et al, 2018). Broodstock crabs were collected from the Nightcliff seashore (Darwin, Australia – 12°23'8.70"S, 130°50'34.59"E) and maintained in custom-built, flat-bottomed enclosures. Spawning was left to occur naturally and toxicity tests initiated immediately following collection of larvae. Transparent polystyrene cell culture plates (Nunc; Thermo Scientific) were employed as test chambers. Each replicate plate contained six wells with a volume of 13 mL each. Exposures were conducted in a high-precision environmental chamber maintained at 29 ± 1°C, under 80 – 100 µmol quanta m-2s-1 PAR irradiance and a 12h:12h diurnal light:dark cycle. Zoeae were exposed to increasing concentrations of imidacloprid and tested against control (no toxicant) larvae. Zoeae were allocated individually to a well as larvae became cannibalistic once transitioned to megalopae. Five wells within a discrete plate contained analogous treatment solutions. Per test, a total of 18 plates were employed for 5 treatment concentrations and a control group, allowing for 3 replicate plates per treatment. Ten mL of exposure media was added to individual wells before the tests were started by randomly placing a larva from the common pool into each well. Larvae were transferred every 48 h to fresh exposure solutions in clean plates. After 6 d exposure, tests were terminated and individuals scored under a stereo microscope. Quality control criteria (> 70% survival in control group) for test acceptability were met for each test. Treatment effects were quantified by the percentage successful transition to megalopae in treatment groups relative to controls. Following prescribed statistical procedures (OECD, 2006), the R package DRC (R project., 2015, Ritz and Stribig., 2005) was used to model the test data and calculate toxicity estimates. Regression models evaluated included log-logistic and Weibull models of different levels of parametrisation. Model comparisons were conducted using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and models that best described the data were applied to approximate pesticide concentrations eliciting 10 and 50% inhibition of successful transition relative to control animals (EC10 and EC50, respectively). The associated 95% confidence limits were estimated using the delta method. Format: The dataset is summarised in one file named ‘Coenobita variabilis pesticide toxicity data_eAtlas.xlsx’ Data Dictionary: The excel spreadsheet has one tab for each pesticide. The last tab of the dataset shows the measured (start and end of test) water quality (WQ) parameters (pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature) for each test. For the ‘Imidacloprid_Development tab: Nominal (µg/L) = nominal herbicide concentrations used in the bioassays Measured (µg/L) = measured concentrations analysed by