SURVEY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE MONTEBELLO ISLANDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND CHRISTMAS ISLAND, INDIAN OCEAN: INTRODUCTION

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 9 years ago

Introduction: Recognising the importance of Western Australian coral reefs and the lack of knowledge about the reef systems, the marine group (now the Department of Aquatic Zoology) at the Western Australian Museum embarked in 1972 on a major program of documenting the fauna of coral reefs in the State. The first coral reef surveys were undertaken as a three-year program in the Dampier Archipelago from 1972 to 1974. Since then a series of expeditions has been made to various parts of the north coast of the State, including North West Cape, Shark Bay, and the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. Later grant funds were made available for offshore work, and there was a series of major expeditions to oceanic atolls: Rowley Shoals (1982); Scott and Seringapatam Reefs (1984); and Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island (1986).