Seabed areas were derived by aggregating and dissolving the boundaries of the 1 degree S57 file series for the Australian continental shelf and Lord Howe Island shelf (200 m). These areas were defined by the Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS).

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and then used to assess the population genetic structure of a commercially harvested merobenthic octopus species (Octopus maorum) in south-east Australian and New Zealand (NZ) waters. Beak and stylet morphometrics were also used to assess population differentiation in conjunction with the genetic data.

Mesozooplankton community composition and structure were examined throughout the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Huon Estuary and North West Bay, Tasmania, from November 2004 to October 2005, the data represented by this record was collected on the 17/08/2005. The composition of the mesozooplankton community was typical of inshore, temperate marine habitats, with seasonally higher abundance in summer and autumn and lower numbers in winter and spring. Copepods were the largest contributors to total abundance across all seasons and stations, while cladocerans and appendicularians were proportionally abundant in spring and summer. The faecal pellets of these three main groups, along with those of krill and amphipods, also contributed significantly to material recovered from sediment traps. Meroplanktonic larvae of benthic animals showed short-term peaks in abundance and were often absent from the water column for long periods. Spatially, North West Bay and the Channel had a higher representation of typically marine species, including Calanus australis and Labidocera cervi, while truly estuarine species, such as the copepod Gladioferens pectinatus, were more important in the Huon Estuary.

Annual aerial surveys of southern right whales have been conducted off the southern Australian coast, between Cape Leeuwin (W.A.) and Ceduna (S.A.) over a 28 year period between 1993 and 2020, to monitor the recovery of this species following commercial whaling. We conducted an aerial survey of southern right whales between the 20th and 24th August 2020, to continue these annual series of surveys and inform the long-term population trend. The comparable count for the 2020 survey utilised the maximum count for each leg and incorporated a correction for the unsurveyed area between Head of the Bight to Ceduna due to the inability to cover whole survey as a result of COVID-19 restrictions between State borders. This resulted in 384 individuals, consisting of 156 cows accompanied by calves of the year and 72 unaccompanied adults. Of these, 126 images of individual whales have been selected for photo-identification matching. This is a significant decrease in overall sightings that has not been observed for over 13 years when compared to long term trend data for the population; last seen in 2007 (N = 286 individuals). The subsequent population estimate for the Australian ‘western’ subpopulation is 2,585 whales, which is also a significant decrease in estimated population size from 3,164 in 2019 to 2,585 in 2020. The extremely low number of unaccompanied adults (N = 68) had the greatest impact on the overall number of sightings in 2020, and is the lowest number sighted since 1993 (N = 47). Previous surveys in 2007 and 2015 have been noted as years of low whale counts that had been deemed anomalous years, although the low numbers from this survey questions this and may suggest the 3-year female breeding cycle is becoming more unpredictable. Considerable inter-annual variation in whale numbers, and cycles in population growth, makes it difficult to detect consistent and reliable changes in abundance from one year to the next, or even over longer periods of time. This severely inhibits our ability to identify immediate threats to the population and strongly supports continued annual population surveys.

Tidal wetlands are vulnerable to accelerated rates of sea-level rise projected by climate models. The Surface Elevation Table (SET) is a technique applied globally to assess the extent of vertical adjustment of tidal wetlands to sea-level rise over decadal timescales. This record describes the SET data from the Australian network (OzSET). This data can be used for analyzing wetlands elevation change at the study sites

A research program jointly conducted by Alginates (Australia) P/L and C.S.I.R.O. Division of Fisheries and Oceanography was set up to investigate the relationship between kelp: Macrocystis pyrifera (Linnaeus) C. Agardh 1820 and crayfish larvae. Alginates (Australia) P/L, based at Louisville in the Mercury Passage, were harvesting kelp at this time. This study was initiated to address concerns regarding the effect of harvesting on crayfish stocks. The survey results are taken from an unpublished interim report presenting the results of the work at that stage (1965). Apparently an aerial survey was used to determine stock distributions although this is not specified in the report.

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 Broke Inlet, a relatively remote area 400km south of Perth, between the towns of Augusta and Albany. The nearest major town, Manjimup, is situated 100km north and the small coastal settlement Windy Harbour approximately 30km west of Broke Inlet. The Inlet is entirely surrounded by the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, which is accessible via a sealed road and attracts limited ‘through-traffic’ to the area. The marine environment off Broke is one fairly untouched by major tourism pressures and thus this location was selected due to its relative inaccessibility.

Data describing post-recruit (adult) fish assemblages and the abundance of recruiting cryptobenthic species associated with 28 artificial reefs of different sizes and supporting different densities of transplanted kelp (Ecklonia radiata) off the west coast of Maria island. Adult assemblages were assessed using diver-based visual surveys conducted at three times (early: spring 2015, middle: autumn: 2016, late: spring 2016). At each time, 2 surveys were conducted, and the results were averaged. Recruiting cryptobenthic fishes were assessed using SMURF (standard Monitoring Units for the Recruitment of Fishes) collectors that were deployed for a six-week period in the centre of each reef on four consecutive occasions (November 2015 to March 2016).