Australian Marine Parks Science Atlas

A hydroid

A hydriod, Stylaster sp. at Kenn Reef in the Coral Sea Marine Park.

by Reef Life Survey

A pineapple sea cucumber

A pinapple sea cucumber at Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea Marine Park.

by Reef Life Survey

Brisinglid sea stars

Brisinglid sea stars photographed in the Coral Sea as part of the Deep Down Under research expedition. The Deep Down Under expedition was a team of German and Australian researchers exploring deep into the waters of Australia's Coral Sea in 2009. Geobiologists from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, the Natural History Museum at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin, the University of Göttingen, the Queensland Museum, University of Queensland and James Cook University investigated ‘living fossils’ such as sponges, brachiopods, echinoderms and cold-water corals in the deep. Using a 1000 m-rated Cherokee ROV from MARUM at the University of Bremen, the team explored the deep-sea ecosystems on the steep slopes of Queensland Plateau emergent reefs, such as Osprey Reef, which have remained largely unchanged for millions of years.

Coldwater corals

Evidence of the coldwater coral ecosystem recovered from the top of the largest of the Gloria Knolls, about 1200 metres underneath the ocean surface.

Figure 2:

Catch composition by salted weight of sea cucumbers on two foreign owned and crewed fishing vessels apprehended in the Coral Sea. Foreign fishing vessel 2 was believed to have had two separate fishing episodes thus the ‘recent’ and ‘older’ terminology.

Foreign fishing vessel with sea cucumber cargo and tug

Foreign fishing vessel with sea cucumber cargo and tug.

by Parks Australia

Golden damselfish

A golden damselfish (Amblyglyphidodon aureus) at Mellish Reef in the Coral Sea Marine Park.

by Reef Life Survey

Reef Life Survey diver

A Reef Life Survey diver, Anna Edgar, surveying Holmes Reef in the Coral Sea.

by Reef Life Survey

Sea cucumber

A sea cucumber specimen found on an apprehended Foreign Fishing Vessel.

by Parks Australia

Stylasterid corals

Stylasterid corals photographed in the Coral Sea as part of the Deep Down Under research expedition. The Deep Down Under expedition was a team of German and Australian researchers exploring deep into the waters of Australia's Coral Sea in 2009. Geobiologists from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, the Natural History Museum at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin, the University of Göttingen, the Queensland Museum, University of Queensland and James Cook University investigated ‘living fossils’ such as sponges, brachiopods, echinoderms and cold-water corals in the deep. Using a 1000 metre-rated Cherokee ROV from MARUM at the University of Bremen, the team explored the deep-sea ecosystems on the steep slopes of Queensland Plateau emergent reefs, such as Osprey Reef, which have remained largely unchanged for millions of years.

The Gloria Knolls landslide

A north-westerly view of the Gloria Knolls slide off Innisfail. Depths are coloured red (shallow) to blue (deep), over a depth range of about 1700 metres.

The Gloria Knolls landslide

The Gloria Knolls landslide - a westerly view of the Gloria Knolls lying in the Queensland Trough downslope of the Gloria Knolls Slide. Depths are coloured red (shallow) to blue (deep), over a depth range of about 1500 metres.

Whitemouth moray eel

A whitemouth moray eel, Gymnothorax meleagris, at Chilcott Islet in the Coral Sea Marine Park.

by Reef Life Survey

Wreck Reef, Coral Sea Marine Park

A coral reef community in Coral Sea Marine Park. Still image taken as part of underwater visual census of marine life for the Reef Life Survey program. 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