[Coral-List] Kimberley Marine Research Station
Ali McCarthy
research at cygnetbaypearls.com.au
Wed Jul 27 18:17:34 EDT 2011
Western Australias Kimberley region is considered the planets last
great tropical marine wilderness and, alongside the polar Arctic and
Antarctic, falls within the remaining 3.7% of the worlds oceans
least affected by human impacts. It is a vast, remote, pristine
region characterised by 13,500km of dynamic and intricate coastline,
2,633 near-shore islands and a unique wealth of marine biodiversity.
Due to the complex and isolated nature of the Kimberley coast, the
regions marine environments remain largely untouched but also
unchartered and unstudied. In the face of this knowledge gap,
pressure from climate change and broad-scale development of tourism
and natural resource sectors poses significant impact risks to the
natural integrity and ecosystem function of the Kimberleys marine
environments. This is a critical time for the Kimberley, and the
need for the science to bridge this void is imperative.
Based on preliminary surveys, between 250 and 280 species of hard
corals and 140 species of sponge have been identified to date in
Kimberley waters. With 11m tides- the second largest on the planet-
these are the most diverse coral reefs in Western Australia and face
the largest tidal amplitude of any tropical reef systems on Earth.
Kimberley coral reef systems, including the spectacular
300km² Montgomery Reef, are now believed to rival the reefs of the
Red Sea in terms of extent and are described by prominent Kimberley
coral geoscientist Dr Barry Wilson as the Serengeti of the marine world.
Perched on the tip of the Kimberleys iconic Dampier Peninsula, the
Kimberley Marine Research Station (KMRS) is the first and only
fully operational marine research facility in the region.
Established in 2009, KMRS is located on Australias oldest entirely
family-owned pearl farm, Cygnet Bay Pearls, which continues to
operate as one of Australias longest running aquaculture ventures
from the same remote mainland site as it has done since 1946. Today,
KMRS offers our pearl farm base, vessels, infrastructure, personnel
and 65 years worth of local knowledge to the science community. In
doing so, our aim is to provide the services and support required to
help install a greater independent research effort in the Kimberley.
We invite the science community to help us achieve the 4 research
priorities we have identified for the region, which include establishing:
· Broad-scale biodiversity baselines of the range of marine and
coastal ecosystems
· Human-use and socioeconomic surveys of the coastline
· Long-term oceanographic monitoring programs
· Monitoring systems to gauge the rate and impacts of climate
change on local marine environments.
Research opportunity: New and exciting information is revealed
almost every time a scientific survey is undertaken in the wild and
remote Kimberley region with new fish, sponges, coral reef species
and other marine wildlife being recorded in recent years
-WA Gov DEC & Marine Parks & Reserves Authority, Proposed Camden
Sound Marine Park Indicative Management Plan 2010
Please give us a call; we look forward to hearing from you.
The Kimberley Marine Research Station
research at cygnetbaypearls.com.au
www.kimberleymarineresearchstation.com.au
Cygnet Bay Pearls, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia
phone + 61 89192 4999
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