Overview

Ningaloo Marine Park is one of the most beautiful natural areas in Australia.

Stretching 300 kilometres along the Western Australian coast, the park is in a region where tropical and temperate waters mix to create a unique display of marine life. It is home to at least 250 coral, 500 fish and 600 mollusc species.

WAMSI’s partner, the Department of Environment and Conservation, manages 15 collaborative research projects across the park.

More than 100 scientists from seven State and Federal agencies and universities are carrying out those projects which will improve our understanding of the biodiversity in the marine park and develop improved tools for its conservation and management.

This research program is an example of where initial government investment has grown through co-investment and interest by the scientific community into a comprehensive and collaborative research effort offering many future benefits. The integration of research findings from the wide scope of research will also provide a ‘big picture’ view of the marine park, demonstrating the benefits of collaborative effort through institutions such as WAMSI.

Research

The research program is focused on the Ningaloo Marine Park and includes projects on:

• assessing deep water communities and habitats;
• assessing the status of target, subtidal invertebrate species such as octopus and lobster;
• establishing protocols to monitor reef health;
• developing our understanding of shark and ray diversity, abundance and distribution, including the local and regional migratory patterns of whale sharks;
• assessing the ecosystem level impacts of human activities and the effectiveness of current management strategies in conserving the values of the marine park;
• describing the underlying structure of the park including sediments, morphology and growth history of the reef;
• improving our understanding of fish and invertebrate communities, their distribution and response to human pressures;
• assessing the groundwater system and its linkages with Ningaloo Reef;
• describing and modeling how ocean water flows through the marine park;
• developing our understanding of biological oceanic processes including nutrient dynamics across the reef; and
• assisting in the development of a management strategy evaluation model to better understand and assess the implications of pressures on the reef and management actions.

Preliminary findings

• The deep water areas of the marine park have a rich marine biodiversity including large sponge and filter feeder communities.
• GIS referenced maps are being developed for bathymetry, sediments, geomorphology and seabed texture which will be used to characterise benthic habitats and potential biodiversity.
• The acoustic tracking program has led to the assessment of fish, shark and ray local movement patterns and habitat use within the marine park.
• Clear trends have been detected in fish assemblages from north to south in the marine park.
• Abundance and distribution of some target fish and lobster species are related to historical fishing patterns.
• Water movement across the reef and lagoons is generally wave-driven.
• The wind-driven Ningaloo Current and upwelling provide a temperature buffer to the Ningaloo Marine Park, protecting it from warm water bleaching in summer months.

For other Ningaloo information go to our News and Evens page and look at Media releases and News.