AMPS Atlas
This is a compilation of all the images in this Atlas. To access images from particular marine parks, navigate to the image gallery on each marine park page.
This image shows a seagrass bed in the Geograph Bay Marine Park, captured from a BRUVS survey. The seagrass beds of Geographe Bay are one of the largest meadows recorded in Australia, extending into water depths of up to 50 metres. Globally, seagrasses are believed to be the third most valuable ecosystem in the world. Seagrass beds prevent erosion of the sea bottom, reduce carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and support diverse communities of marine animals such as invertebrates, fish, crabs, turtles, mammals and birds by providing food and shelter. Seagrasses enhance overall marine biodiversity and provide ecological functions and a variety of services to humans.
by Curtin University - Fish Ecology Laboratory
A pristine benthic coral community showing stony and soft corals, with numerous sea urchins and feather stars living on and in a matrix of old stony coral matrix (1202 metres depth). These fauna are typical of seamount habitats in never-trawled regions of the Huon Marine Park.
by CSIRO
Still image of Pentagonaster dubeni (seastar) taken during underwater visual census surveys in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia in 2008 as part of the Reef Life Survey program. This volunteer network of highly trained divers is a product of the CERF Major Projects funding that facilitated a cost-effective citizen science contribution to inventory and monitoring of shallow water marine environments. The RLS program has been further facilitated within the NERP Hub, describing biodiversity patterns at a national and global scale, as well as providing critical baseline data from areas such as the Coral Sea Marine Park, from Ashmore Reef, the Great Barrier Reef,and other Australian Marine Parks such as the Cod Grounds Marine Park.
by Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies
Reef Life Survey volunteer swimming along 50 metre transect recording fish diversity and abundance. The Reef Life Survey program is a volunteer network of highly trained divers, and is a product of the CERF Major Projects funding that facilitated a cost-effective citizen science contribution to inventory and monitoring of shallow water marine environments. The RLS program has been further facilitated within the NERP Hub, describing biodiversity patterns at a national and global scale, as well as providing critical baseline data from areas such as the Coral Sea Marine Park, from Ashmore Reef, the Great Barrier Reef,and other Australian Marine Parks such as the Cod Grounds.
by Reef Life Survey
Soft coral on Carpentaria Shoal in the Gulf of Carpentaria Marine Park.
by Reef Life Survey
A pristine benthic coral community dominated by Solenosmilia variabilis (1021 metre depth). This coral forms large areas of reef habitat on the deep-sea seamounts in the Huon Marine Park which provides food, habitat and shelter to a diverse range of marine species.
by CSIRO
Still image of a Spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus) taken during underwater visual census surveys in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia in 2008 as part of the Reef Life Survey program. This volunteer network of highly trained divers is a product of the CERF Major Projects funding that facilitated a cost-effective citizen science contribution to inventory and monitoring of shallow water marine environments. The RLS program has been further facilitated within the NERP Hub, describing biodiversity patterns at a national and global scale, as well as providing critical baseline data from areas such as the Coral Sea Marine Park, from Ashmore Reef, the Great Barrier Reef,and Australian Marine Parks such as the Cod Grounds.
by Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies
Still image of a Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) taken during underwater visual census surveys in the Cod Grounds Marine Park in New South Wales Commonwealth Waters of Australia in 2009 as part of the Reef Life Survey program. This volunteer network of highly trained divers is a product of the CERF Major Projects funding that facilitated a cost-effective citizen science contribution to inventory and monitoring of shallow water marine environments. The RLS program has been further facilitated within the NERP Hub, describing biodiversity patterns at a national and global scale, as well as providing critical baseline data from areas such as the Coral Sea Marine Park, from Ashmore Reef, the Great Barrier Reef,and other Australian Marine Parks such as the Cod Grounds.
by Reef Life Survey
This stingeree was captured on camera during an AUV survey in the Freycinet Marine Park in June 2011. Stingerees are a family of rays within the order Myliobatiformes (commonly known as stingrays). They are relatively small compared to some of their cousins, typically measuring between 15-80 centimetres in length. They live on the bottom in sandy habitats on the shelf and upper regions of the continental slope, where they eat a variety of invertebrates, crustaceans and small fish that they trap beneath them and manoeuvre into their mouth by flexing their disc flaps. Half buried in sand, they are often very difficult to see, and divers, swimmers and snorkelers should be wary of the two venomous spines on the end of their tails.
by Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies
These striped catfish (Plotosus lineatus) were photographed in the the Arafura Marine Park during a survey by Reef Life Survey. This is the only catfish that is found in coral reef ecosystems, however they are also found on the open coast and in tide pools. Juveniles of this species are typically found in balls of about 100 individuals like in this photograph, while adults are solitary or occur in much smaller groups.
by Reef Life Survey
A sled equipped with a sound source and hydrophone cable to receive sound reflected from sub-seabed stratigraphic units.
by Geoscience Australia
Preparing for Reef Life Surveys with Gumurr Marthakal Rangers near Elcho Island.
by Reef Life Survey
A map of the Tasman Fracture Marine National Park Zone, surrounding the Mewstone, that was mapped during the survey in 2014.
by Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies
A biodiverse temperate reef community on the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania.
by Rick Stuart-Smith
This figure shows (a) seawater temperature and (b) seawater salinity from the surface to 1000 metres depth during the Bremer Bay canyon glider mission. Patterns of seawater temperature and salinity (and therefore density) can reveal a lot about the structure of the ocean currents in a region. This figure shows relatively warm, eastward flowing Leeuwin current water down to about 200 metres depth, which overlays colder water of the Flinders Current and Antarctic Intermediate Water.
by Paul Thomson
This image of the mumbararr whipray was taken during a 2015 trial assessment in PNG for the Turtle excluder Device (TED) and Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD).
by PNG National Fisheries Authority
A typical AUV image showing mid-shelf reef ledges within the Flinders Marine Park (depth 60 metres). This image indicates the sedimentary rock type that appears to form the majority of the reef habitat in the cross shelf region of this part of the coastal zone. Of particular note is the clear iron-rich nature of this particular outcrop. Also of note is that such overhanging reef-ledges are a typical characteristic of the shallow dipping sedimentary rock type in this area, reflecting bedding planes between the sedimentary layers. While they are a characteristic feature, such "ledges" only represent a very small fraction of the overall mapped "reef" habitat yet are likely to be most important for many of the fish species and lobsters that need the ledges as habitat. The remaining reef area appears to be very flat low-profile reef with little refuge space available.
by IMOS, Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies
Reef Life Survey volunteer diver conducting underwater visual census survey of marine life, Lord Howe Island Marine Park, New South Wales. The Reef Life Survey program is a volunteer network of highly trained divers, and is a product of the CERF Major Projects funding that facilitated a cost-effective citizen science contribution to inventory and monitoring of shallow water marine environments. The RLS program has been further facilitated within the NERP Hub, describing biodiversity patterns at a national and global scale, as well as providing critical baseline data from areas such as the new Coral Sea Marine Park, from Ashmore Reef, the Great Barrier Reef,and other Australian Marine Parks such as the Cod Grounds.
by Reef Life Survey
This whale shark was photographed in the Ningaloo Marine Park off Western Australia. Whale sharks are the worlds biggest fish. The name whale shark arose because they are as big as a whale (recorded up to 18 metres) and also filter feed much like many whales. However, whale sharks breath via gills, and have cartilage instead of bone, which makes them a true shark. The Ningaloo Marine Park is a well known for the whale sharks that visit the region from the months of March to July each year. There is still a lot to learn about whalesharks and where they go when they are not at Ningaloo.
by Wayne Osborne
A seascape impacted by bottom-trawling where only relatively small, flexible and more resilient corals remain (1118 metres depth). Slow coral growth rates means recovery of these ecosystems is expected to be protracted; little change was observed over a decade during a CSIRO study.
by CSIRO
White seawhip (Junceella fragilis) with schooling fish on a reef in Arnhem Marine Park.
by Reef Life Survey