Scientists and researchers led by a team from the Western Australian Museum have made a series of surprising and exciting discoveries in waters nearly 350 kilometres off the Kimberley coast.

Among them were previously undocumented fauna, species recorded for the first time in Western Australia and, in some cases, Australia.

The data and specimens collected are being analysed and documented in the Museum’s Welshpool laboratories.

The finds were made at Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs, in waters off the far north-west coast of Western Australia, during a 17 day fieldtrip jointly funded by the WA Museum and Woodside Energy Limited.

It was the third major research expedition in the Woodside Collection Project (Kimberley) partnership, which has been running since 2008.

Five multi-agency expeditions (2009 to 2013) have now been completed. A sixth and final field trip is planned for September this year.

The joint venture between the Museum and Woodside Energy has resulted in more than 6,000 species of marine life being recorded to date.

“The work is increasing our understanding of the biodiversity and biogeography of targeted marine life in Australia’s north-western waters,” said Clay Bryce, a senior project officer with the WA Museum.

“This trip, we looked at the reefs 344 kilometres off the Kimberley, including three isolated mid-shelf shoals which, to the Museum’s knowledge, have never been dived before,” Mr Bryce said.

Exciting finds by the team of 14 scientists and researchers at 26 completed stations included:

• The first extensive collections of microscopic molluscs from the survey sites, which are previously undocumented fauna.
• New records of species, some recorded in WA for the first time and some even recorded in Australia for the first time.
• A large 1.02 metre giant clam was subsampled for genetic studies.
• Sea cucumber symbionts – the team found a Pearl Fish that emerged from the anus of a sea cucumber. This species specialises in living in the orifices of sea cucumbers; and a swimming crab was found living in the mouth of another sea cucumber.
• A rare species of red algae, which mimics branching hard coral in an apparent effort to avoid predation.
• Many algae previously only known from the Great Barrier Reef.

“These finds highlight the critical importance of our enduring partnership with Woodside,” Mr Bryce said.

“From that first survey of the Dampier Archipelago in 2008, the growing body of knowledge of the waters of north-western Australia that we are putting together is invaluable.”

Videos of the team’s work on this latest expedition can be found at the Museum’s website.

Paul Jenkins,
Western Australian Museum,
6552 7805
paul.jenkins@museum.wa.gov.au