Science legacy for Ningaloo

19 August 2010

Four scientists with more than 100 years’ experience at Ningaloo leave tomorrow to work on their final project in the region.

The four – Dr Anne Brearley, Associate Professor Bob Black, Dr Jane Prince and Professor Mike Johnson – are from The University of Western Australia and have made research trips to Ningaloo Marine Park since the 1970s.

Their latest work is to monitor large clams on rocky, intertidal platforms, part of a Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) project now in its fourth year.

Pictured: A giant clam, a larger relative of the intertidal clams being studied.

Ningaloo Marine Park’s clams live on rocky platforms and share the habitat with more than 200 other species of macroinvertebrates, most of which have also been studied by the team.

“Clams are one of the big, conspicuous species on the reef platform – up to 26 cm long, often brightly coloured and up to 35 years old,” said Associate Professor Black. They are an iconic species within the Ningaloo Marine Park, making it important to understand how their numbers fluctuate throughout the length of the park.

Dr Black and his colleagues are collecting information from 20 sites between North West Cape and Gnaraloo Station at low tide early in the morning and during the evening.

“By mapping the locations of individual clams we can find and remeasure them six to 12 months later to get information about their survival and growth, and subsequently estimate the size-specific rates of survival and their ages,” he said.

Large clams are sometimes taken for food or bait, so it is also important to assess the effect of protection within sanctuary zones on their growth and survival.

The team’s latest field trips are the final chapter in their long-term project to find the best ways to monitor the differences in marine life populations inside and outside sanctuary zones.

For more information contact:
• WAMSI - Sue McKenna on 0424 196 771 or (08) 6488 4574
• UWA - Janine Macdonald on 0432 637 716 or (08) 6488 5563

WAMSI’s Ningaloo research projects are being led by the WA Department of Environment and Conservation with work being undertaken by UWA, CSIRO, The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Curtin University, the WA Museum, Edith Cowan University and the WA Department of Fisheries.