THE CAPES REGION

The 'Capes' region is located at the south-western extremity of Western Australia. Cape Naturaliste is at the southern-most point of Geographe Bay, and Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly point in Australia, marking the boundary between the Indian and Southern Oceans.

The marine environment in the Capes region varies from extensive seagrass meadows in the protected waters of Geographe Bay, to kelp-dominated granite and limestone reefs in areas of high wave energy. A small number of corals are also found in the Capes 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.

Marine Futures will sample waters in the Capes region from just north of Cape Naturaliste down to Indjidup Point, including waters extending east into Geographe Bay.

UPDATES:

A total of just over 260 square kilometres of hydro-acoustic surveys have now been completed in the Capes site. In addition, more than 50 hours of towed video footage has been collected, and is in the process of being analysed. Following the development of the habitat maps, the biodiversity team have now collected and analysed data from 12 research trawls, 164 baited camera drops and over 3000 benthic photo images.

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.

A Western Blue Devil (Paraplesiops meleagris), the kelp Ecklonia radiata, and a Cuttlefish (Photos: H. Taylor).