Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: fishes

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 7 years ago

ABSTRACT – Museum databases contain vast amounts of information that can help understand species distributions, patterns of biodiversity, taxonomic issues, evolutionary relationships and the effects of anthropogenic changes such as climate change. The marine waters of the Kimberley region in north-west Australia are among the least impacted marine ecosystems in the world, so there is a need to compile the extensive museum records for the region and make them more widely accessible. Here, we synthesise records of shallow water marine fish species in the Kimberley collected between 1880 and 2009. Based on 8,326 specimen-based records and thousands of reliable visual records from some 123 broad localities, a total of 1,475 species from 135 families were identified. Pronounced cross continental shelf differences in the fish communities exist with only 20% of species common to both inshore and offshore locales. Offshore atolls have very high species diversity, typifi ed by wide ranging Indo-West Pacific species. In contrast, inshore reefs have lower diversity but support a much higher proportion of endemic species. The marine communities of the Kimberley face increasing pressure from resource development, fishing and tourism, so continued biodiversity and taxonomic research is essential to inform management decisions.