Between 2009-2012, Geoscience Australia conducted three surveys to Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and the Timor Sea on the R.V. Solander, in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Science and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The study areas overlapped the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve and the carbonate banks and terraces within it. The surveys were conducted as part of the Australian Government's Energy Security Program (2007-2011) and the National Environment Research Program (2011-2015). On the surveys, a benthic sled was deployed to collect biological samples from the seafloor. Samples were sorted onboard according to phylum, photographed and then sent to taxonomists for species-level identifications. This catalogue includes all onboard photographs taken from identified samples. Sponges were the only group of which all samples were identified, but they include high proportions of unnamed or undescribed species. The catalogue also includes taxonomic identification sheets so that users can cross-reference the species names and images with location and depth.

The Marine Futures Project was designed to benchmark the current status of key Western Australian marine ecosystems, based on an improved understanding of the relationship between marine habitats, biodiversity and our use of these values. Approximately 1,500 km2 of seafloor were mapped using hydroacoustics (Reson 8101 Multibeam), and expected benthic habitats "ground-truthed" using towed video transects and baited remote underwater video systems. Both sources of information were then combined in a spatial predictive modelling framework to produce fine-scale habitat maps showing the extent of substrate types, biotic formations, etc. Surveys took place across 9 study areas, including the Capes region of southwest Western Australia. The area is one of the most diverse temperate marine environments in Australia. Warm, tropical waters of the Leeuwin Current mingle with the cool waters of the Capes Current, resulting in high finfish diversity, including tropical and temperate species, as well as internationally significant seagrass diversity with meadows occurring at depths greater than 40 metres. The region's geomorphology is complex with an array of intertidal and subtidal reef environments. Many marine plants and animals are endemic to the southern coast of Australia due to its long geographical isolation, with seagrass, algae and estuarine habitats functioning as spawning, nursery and feeding grounds for a wide range of invertebrates and fish. Significant numbers of marine mammals also frequent the area, including the blue whale, the largest of all marine creatures.

The Marine Futures Project was designed to benchmark the current status of key Western Australian marine ecosystems, based on an improved understanding of the relationship between marine habitats, biodiversity and our use of these values. Approximately 1,500 km2 of seafloor were mapped using hydroacoustics (Reson 8101 Multibeam), and expected benthic habitats "ground-truthed" using towed video transects and baited remote underwater video systems. Both sources of information were then combined in a spatial predictive modelling framework to produce fine-scale habitat maps showing the extent of substrate types, biotic formations, etc. Surveys took place across 9 study areas, including the Abrolhos Islands, a group of 122 limestone outcrops surrounded by fringing reed ca. 60km west from the city of Geraldton. The Abrolhos research location is the most northerly of the Marine Futures sampling sites, selected due to the unique mixture of tropical coral reef habitats, and temperate reef and seagrass communities.The hydroacoustics data were processed to construct full coverage maps of bathymetry and textural information.

The Marine Futures Project was designed to benchmark the current status of key Western Australian marine ecosystems, based on an improved understanding of the relationship between marine habitats, biodiversity and our use of these values. Approximately 1,500 km2 of seafloor were mapped using hydroacoustics (Reson 8101 Multibeam), and expected benthic habitats "ground-truthed" using towed video transects and baited remote underwater video systems. Both sources of information were then combined in a spatial predictive modelling framework to produce fine-scale habitat maps showing the extent of substrate types, biotic formations, etc. Surveys took place across 9 study areas, including Middle Island, the project's easternmost site located within the Recherche Archipelago. The Recherche Archipelago provides habitats for a diverse range of both terrestrial and marine species, and can be accessed either by vessel from the town of Esperance, or by four wheel drive along the coastal roads adjoining the Cape Arid National Park.

We investigated the effects of seabird presence and seasonality on ground-active spider community structure (activity-density, family-level richness, age class and sex structure) and composition at the family-level across five short-tailed shearwater breeding islands around south-eastern Tasmania, Australia. Using 75 pitfall traps (15 per island), spiders were collected inside, near and outside seabird colonies on each island, at five different stages of the short-tailed shearwater breeding cycle over a year. 3. Pitfall traps were deployed for a total of 2,674 days, capturing 1,592 spiders from 26 families with Linyphiidae and Lycosidae the most common.

The Marine Futures Project was designed to benchmark the current status of key Western Australian marine ecosystems, based on an improved understanding of the relationship between marine habitats, biodiversity and our use of these values. Approximately 1,500 km2 of seafloor were mapped using hydroacoustics (Reson 8101 Multibeam), and expected benthic habitats "ground-truthed" using towed video transects and baited remote underwater video systems. Both sources of information were then combined in a spatial predictive modelling framework to produce fine-scale habitat maps showing the extent of substrate types, biotic formations, etc. Surveys took place across 9 study areas, including Geographe Bay in the southwest Capes region. The marine environment at this location varies from extensive seagrass meadows in protected waters, to kelp-dominated granite and limestone reefs in areas of high wave energy. A small number of corals are also found throughout the region, reflecting the influence of the southward flow of the Leeuwin Current. The fish fauna is also diverse, with a high proportion of endemic species.