All research projects
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Entomology research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is currently undertaking two research projects relating to entomology and insects:
- Systematics and biology of Australian native bees
- Life-histories and ecology of earth-borer beetles (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae, Bolboceratini.)
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Arachnid and myriapod projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is currently undertaking five projects relating to arachnid and myriapod research:
- Systematics of various spider families (e.g. Oonopidae, Lycosidae, Araneidae, Archaeidae, Salticidae, Selenopidae, and various trap-door spiders)
- Systematics of pseudoscorpions
- Systematics of schizomids
- Systematics of millipedes
- Systematics of subterranean fauna.
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Biogeography research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is currently undertaking four research projects relating to biogeography:
- Herpertofaunal Assemblage of Bold Park
- Reptile diversity in the Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago
- Vertebrate biodiversity in Perth’s urban bushlands
- Impact of isolation on evolutionary patterns in vertebrates of tropical Western Australia.
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Subterranean Biology research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is currently undertaking two research projects relating to Subterranean Biology:
- Anchialine systems of NW Shelf coast and Christmas Island
- Subterranean biology of Yilgarn calcretes.
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Ornithology (Birds) research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is currently undertaking nine research projects relating to ornithology:
- Birds of the Pilbara region
- Field guide to the birds of Western Australia
- A guide to the birds of the Perth region
- Cockatoo research program (on three endangered black cockatoos of WA)
- Seabirds of the eastern Indian Ocean
Birds of the Ord River region - Avifauna of Kimberley islands
- Birds of Christmas and Cocos Keeling islands
- Avifauna of eastern Indonesia.
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OZCAM
0 Research Projects | Updated 1 years ago
The Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums (OZCAM) is an online distributed network of Australian faunal databases that contain information about the faunal collections held in Australian museums and other institutions, such as CSIRO. The Western Australian Museum supplies information to OZCAM. www.ozcam.org.au
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Tight Entrance Cave
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
This project is the study of the demise of Australia's Megafauna and the part played by early man. Project in conjunction with Flinders University and headed by Dr. Gavin Prideaux of FU. WA Museum to film and photograph the cave dig for use in the new museum as well as for promotional /media use from possible Nature paper.
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Documentary Unit
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The documentary unit was a Western Australian Museum service run by Clay Bryce within the Aquatic Zoology department. It focused on development of digital media (documentaries, information programs, shorts), which popularised the science of the department and the Museum as a whole for both domestic and international markets. To date over 13 programs have been produced including a 90 minute co-production feature, 60 minute documentaries and shorter programs. Some of the documentaries produced by this unit can be viewed on the video page of this website.
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Marine Futures Biodiversity Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently participating in a research project designed to document the invertebrates and fishes collected by trawling in soft bottom habitats at selected sites along the south Western Australian coastline.
The project was funding via the Natural Heritage Trust to the WA Marine Futures project, University of Western Australia. The partnerships included the University of Western Australia (UWA), the Western Australian Museum, WA Fisheries and many community organisations.
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Kimberley Woodside Collection Project (Woodside 4)
0 Research Projects | Updated 1 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently undertaking a research project that is jointly funded between the Western Australian Museum and Woodside Energy Limited.
This study consists of statistically analysing major data sets to compare various marine faunal groups with habitats of the Kimberley coastal region and documenting their relationships. This project consists of four components:
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CReefs Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently participating in a research project with the aim of sampling coral reef biodiversity at three key Australian reef sites: the Great Barrier Reef’s Heron and Lizard Islands and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.
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Non-marine Molluscs of Western Australia Project (Commercial)
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently undertaking a continual research study where regular contracts with mining companies and environmental consultancies for Environmental Impact Assessment Surveys result in numerous terrestrial mollusc sampled added into the Museum collections. Data and samples, sometimes of previously unknown species, builds on our knowledge of species’ distributional ranges, ecology and biology and provides the basis for future taxonomic research.
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Western Australian Museum Bioresources Library (WAMBL) Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently undertaking a research project to establish the first bioresources library in WA, which will be one of only three marine bioresources libraries in Australia. The aim of this library is to facilitate access to Western Australian marine biodiversity for biodiscovery. This project is funded by the Western Australian Marine Science Institute (WAMSI) in research Node 5 (Marine biodiscovery, biotechnology and aquaculture: the blue farm). This is a collaborative project between WAM and AIMS.
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R.V. Southern Surveyor “Voyage of Discovery” Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently participating in a research project funded by CSIRO Tasmania with the collaboration of various scientific institutions including the Western Australian Museum.
One of the purposes of this project was to document the benthic (the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water) faunal biodiversity in Commonwealth waters. The Western Australian Museum participated in surveying waters off the Western Australian coastline. Two voyages were undertaken:
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Developing long-term indicators for the sub-tidal embayment communities of Cockburn Sound Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Aquatic Zoology department is currently undertaking a research project with the aim of describing the invertebrates and fishes collected by trawling in Cockburn Sound and Owen Anchorage. A list of stations and their latitude and longitude was lodged with the Shared Land Information Platform (SLIP).
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Meteorite projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Earth and Planetary sciences are currently performing research on the following areas referring to minerals:
- Analysis and description of new meteorites found in Western Australia
- Recovery of observed meteorite falls from the Nullarbor Region using the Desert Fireball Camera Network in collaboration with Imperial College, London and the Ondrejov Observatory, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Mineral research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Earth and Planetary sciences are currently performing research on the following areas referring to minerals:
- Dating of secondary minerals from the oxidised zone in WA, using the U–Th–He technique
- Origin of the Speewah fluorite deposit in the north Kimberley region, Western Australia
- Research into the minerals from the Shangri La Mine, Kimberley, Western Australia.
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Double-Dating Techniques
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Staff are part of a consortium of agencies, led by CSIRO, that were successful in obtaining MERIWA funding for the research project “Application of U-Th-Pb-He Double-Dating Techniques to Diamond Exploration” (MERIWA project M405).
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Lamniform Sharks – Cardabiodon ricki
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Earth and Planetary sciences are currently performing a research project examining the growth rate, size at birth and age at death of the 95 million-year-old, giant lamniform shark Cardabiodon ricki. This species is based on material found near Exmouth, Western Australia. The project is a collaboration including researchers from WAM and the Tyrell Museum, Alberta, Canada.
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Lamniform Sharks – Cretoxyrhina vraconensis
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Earth and Planetary sciences are currently performing a research project focusing on the large lamniform shark Cretoxyrhina vraconensis from the Vraconian stage of the Lower Cretaceous. This species is very poorly known and the revision, based on material from Kazakhstan, will expand our knowledge about this apex predator. The project includes palaeontologists from the Western Australian Museum, the Natural History Museum in London, UK, and Lund University, Sweden.
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Archaeology
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Anthropology and Archaeology are currently performing research on the following areas referring to Archaeology:
- Resin on excavated stone tools from the Esperance area
- Traditional maritime economies in the south-west Kimberley
- Old Perth Gaol excavated materials
- Geophysical detection of historic graves
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Indigenous Cultures and the Ancient World
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Anthropology and Archaeology are currently undertaking research on the following areas referring to Indigenous Cultures of the ancient world:
- Pottery from South, Central and North America [traded from the Smithsonian in the early 1900s]
- Papua New Guinea patrol officer collections
- XRF analysis of Egyptian and Sumerian pottery.
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Ancient Egypt
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Anthropology and Archaeology are currently performing research on the following areas referring to Ancient Egypt:
- Honorary Associates – one working at Abydos with the Michigan University ancient cemeteries project and one with Macquarie University at Thebes
- Current collection focus: analysing botanical remains stored in a sycamore box, part of the collections since the 1890s.
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Aboriginal Cultures
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Anthropology and Archaeology are currently performing research on the following areas referring to Aboriginal cultures:
- Aboriginal people and cricket in WA
- Traditional resource use in SW Kimberley coastal communities.
Focus on collections:
- Australian Aboriginal fibre works
- Patricia Vinnicombe Archives
- Repatriation
- Warburton Arts Project.
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Social history collection-based research projects
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The History department's collections-based research projects include:
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Albany Social History
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The History department is currently undertaking research of the social, cultural and environmental history of Albany and the great southern region. This research was used to develop an exhibition redevelopment project opened in 1 July 2010.
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Kalgoorlie Social History
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The History department is currently undertaking research of the social, cultural and environmental history of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder goldfields. This research will be used to create an exhibition redevelopment project due to open in late 2010.
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Fremantle and international ports
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History Department is currently collaborating with the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Greenock, Scotland, UK to perform a research project examining the maritime connections between Western Australian ports and significant international ports.
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Maritime History Artworks
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History department is currently undertaking research projects focusing on maritime history artworks. Specifically, they aim to document the artworks and research the history of the artists.
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Maritime History Oral Histories
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History department is currently undertaking research projects focussing on oral histories, this includes:
- Western Australian fishing industry
- Marine Engineering in Western Australia
- Pearling and Whaling.
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Marine Engine, Science and Technology Research
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History department is currently undertaking research projects focussing on marine engines and technology, including:
- Marine Engineers’ Oral History Program.
- Maritime History and McLean Museum and Art Gallery project looking at connections between Fremantle and Greenock.
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Maritime History Boats and Watercraft Research
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History department is currently undertaking research projects focussing on watercraft, this includes:
- Pearling vessels
- Working craft of Western Australia
- Fishing boats.
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Maritime History Immigration and Migration Research
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime History department is currently undertaking research projects focussing on immigration and migration, this includes:
- Shipping movements associated with Western Australian immigration and migration
- Immigrant and migrant experiences in maritime industries and the maritime history of Western Australia.
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HMA Submarines AEI and AE2
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department has extensively participated in surveying the HMA Submarines AEI and AE2 which were both lost during WWI. The Western Australian Museum has since assisted the nation recover and explore the wrecks of both submarines.
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Albany Town Jetty and Foreshore Redevelopment
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department undertook archaeological survey work on the Albany foreshore for Landcorp in 1994.
This included extensive underwater archaeological surveys, test-pits and excavations underneath and to the east of the Town Jetty. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Authority required a further Environmental Impact Assessment to incorporate the modified foreshore development plan.
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Batavia Shipwreck: Study of the Batavia Ship's Hull Remains
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
In February 2003, a project to study the archaeological hull remains of Batavia (1629) started in collaboration with the Nautical Archaeology Program of Texas A&M University in College Station (USA). This research project would involve painstaking detailed analysis of the Batavia's hull, spike by spike, hole by hole, and timber by timber.
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Batavia Shipwreck: Analyses of Human Skeletal Remains Associated with the Batavia Mutiny of 1629
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department undertook a research project to analyse the human skeletal remains associated with the Batavia mutiny of 1629.
The wrecking of the Batavia and the ensuing massacre is well documented in both Australian non-fiction and scientific literature. The location of the massacre is one of Australia's earliest known European archaeological sites, having occurred well before European colonisation.
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Galle Harbour, Sri Lanka Maritime Archaeological Impact Assessment
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
Following discussions between the Sri Lankan department of Archaeology (SLDA) and department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum (WAM), WAM was engaged as a consultant to undertake a maritime archaeological survey of Galle Harbour as part of an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) process in 2007.
The purpose of the consultancy was to carry out a maritime archaeological survey, and provide a report to the SLDA outlining the impact of the proposed Galle port development on the underwater cultural heritage of Galle Harbour.
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Geographe Bay Remote-Sensing Survey
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
In February 2009, the department of Maritime Archaeology undertook a remote-sensing survey of Geographe Bay in Western Australia. The main objective of this fieldwork was the search for the US whalers Governor Endicott (1840) and Halycon (1844).
No promising sites were found in the search area for these two US whalers; it is believed that modern boat moorings are in the area of the wrecks that would mask any likely targets.
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George Grey's Whalers Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department is involved in a project to examine artefacts believed to originate from the explorer George Grey.
Lead shot as well as a lead fitting was discovered in Kalbarri, Western Australia, in the sand dunes of one of the local beaches. These were believed to be artefacts associated with Grey who was wrecked in the vicinity in 1839. In October 2005, the site was inspected by a staff from the Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum. Two other sites that were in close proximity also contained bone fragments.
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Kimberley Region Historic Shipwrecks and Maritime Heritage Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department is involved in a Commonwealth funded desktop project to identify shipwrecks for the proposed National Heritage Listing of the Kimberley.
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Ningaloo Reef Fieldwork
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
In 2008 the Maritime Archaeology department conducted an expedition to Ningaloo Reef to revisit the sites of the Portuguese despatch vessel Correio da Azia(1816), Croatian barque Stefano (1875), and to inspect other Ningaloo Reef sites including the America China trader Rapid (1815), SS Perth (1887), the abandoned Norwegian Bay whaling station and collapsed Fraser Island lighthouse.
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Private Collections and Their Impact on Australia's Maritime Heritage
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
In 1993, the Australian Government declared a nation-wide amnesty calling for members of the public with any historic shipwreck relic or knowledge of an undiscovered historic wreck to report these without fear of prosecution.
As a result, some 20,000 artefacts were declared and about 30 'new' sites reported across Australia. Western Australia received the highest number of artefacts declared. Some of these were donated to the WA Museum while others were retained in private custody.
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The Dendro-Archaeology of Seventeenth-Century Dutch East Indiaman Vergulde Draak
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
This project commenced in February 2009 as an international research effort to conduct a dendro-archaeological study (study of old timbers) of the hull remains from the Vergulde Draak (1656) ship. The project is a collaboration between the WA Museum with RING, the Dutch Centre for Dendrochronology. The principal investigator is Dr Wendy van Duivenvoorde from the WA Museum.
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HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
The Maritime Archaeology department was deeply involved in the discovery of the HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran. The WA Museum has since launched an online exhibition and educational portal based on the discovery of these wrecks and the story of the battle.
HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran were located in March 2008. Since 1981 the WA Museum has performed an important role in leading Government and the various searchers towards finding the wrecks’ location.
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Whale research - Aerial Survey off Shark Bay, 2008
0 Research Projects | Updated 1 years ago
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Desert Fireball Networking
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 years ago
In September 2010, a team comprising members of the WA Museum’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Department; London’s Natural History Museum, Imperial College London and Germany’s Münster University headed out to the Nullarbor in search of meteorites. This was no ordinary meteorite search, but part of the ongoing cooperative of the “Desert Fireball Network” that utilises a number of cameras spread across the Nullarbor to record meteorite fireballs as they fall to Earth. Once identified by the camera system, field-crews head out to locate the falls.
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Atlas of Living Australia
0 Research Projects | Updated 1 years ago
The Western Australian Museum is a partner in the Atlas of Living Australia project, a collaborative, national project focused on making information about Australia’s biodiversity more accessible and useable online.
About the Atlas of Living Australia
The Atlas of Living Australia is building a better picture of Australia’s animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms for research, taxonomy, management, education and other uses.
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Australian Heritage Shipwreck Protection Project
0 Research Projects | Updated 2 months ago
The WA Museum is a partner in the Australian Historic Shipwrecks ARC linkage grant working on the wreck of the 1850's wooden vessel Clarence in Port Philip.
Ongoing information about this project and documentation of this worked performed can be found on Australian Heritage Shipwreck Protection Project website: http://www.ahspp.org.au/