ABROLHOS ISLANDS

The Abrolhos Islands are located 60km west from the city of Geraldton, on the mid-west coast. The 122 islands are low limestone outcrops, surrounded by fringing reef, and are spread over more than 100km of ocean. The Abrolhos reserach 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 Leeuwin Current maintains comparatively warm water temperatures at the Abrolhos, and provides a source of tropical larvae from further north. The marine communities at the Islands are therefore composed of a mix of tropical and temperate species, which results in high marine biodiversity in the area. The Abrolhos are also home to sea lions, and many species of seabird. During the crayfishing season, a substantial fishery for Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus cygnus) is located at the Islands.

The Marine Futures Project will work in and around the southern group of islands, and complete hydro-acoustic mapping, towed video and biodiversity sampling between 2006 and 2008.

UPDATES:

Please see the data downloading website (www.marinefutures.info) for the finished outputs from this study location. In addition to the Mapping, Biodiversity and Human Use team reports for the whole project, each location also has a selection of google earth maps, educational underwater clips and easy-to-use interactive excel charts which combine the spatial and biodiversity information.

The above figure shows the two blocks at the Abrolhos which have now been mapped, overlaid a chart for the area. Also indicated (as red triangles) are the completed BRUV sample locations.