Research > Collaborative linkages program > State linkage projects > project description Research: Collaborative linkages State linkage project: Assistance for the Publication of The Marine Flora and Fauna of Esperance, Western Australia Background to the proposal Since 1988, the Western Australian Museum, University of Western Australia, WA Branch of the Australian Marine Sciences Association and other agencies have combined to conduct a series of marine biological workshops in Western Australia. The State covers a huge area with a coastline of over 12,000 km and three marine biogeographic regions. The WA coast has impressive sections which have been established as marine parks, and marine ecosystems support productive fisheries which underpin the economies of many coastal towns. The short European history, large distances, inaccessible coastline, few marine biologists, and other factors combined to make the marine ecosystems of Western Australia poorly known, and the rate of discovery was low. In recognition of this, the marine biological workshop series was established to encourage interstate and overseas scientists to come to Western Australia to work in a single area for about 17 days on one or more research projects of their choosing, with the goal of publishing the results three years later in a joint workshop proceedings. The workshops have been held as part of a numbered international series which started at the University of Hong Kong. Similar workshops, which concentrated on molluscs, have been held at the University of Hong Kong, in the Portuguese Azores, California and the Florida keys. A similar marine biological workshop was be held by AMSA SE Queensland in Moreton Bay in February 2005, and further mollusc workshops are planned for Thailand (2005) and Singapore (2006). The Australian program has been phenomenally successful. Seven workshops have been held: Albany (1988), Rottnest Island (1991; 1996), Darwin (1993 organised by AMSA NT); Houtman Abrolhos Islands (1994); Dampier (2000) and Esperance (2003). To date the results of six of the workshops have been published. A list is attached. These publications total 10 volumes and over 3,500 pages. They provide a wealth of information on the marine biology of the western half of Australia. Over 300 new species, 20 new genera and 2 new families have been described. In addition there are hundreds of range extensions, with many taxa being recorded for the first time in Australia. There is considerable information which has been used by marine managers in maintaining coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows, estuaries and other habitats. For example, about a third of the papers cited in Management of the Houtman Abrolhos System were published in the proceedings of the Abrolhos workshop. The workshops have deliberately been held in different geographic locations to cover the three marine areas of the State: tropical north coast, temperate south coast and west coast overlap zone. The most recent workshop was held at Esperance on the south coast in February 2003. Twenty-eight people from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and six overseas countries (China, France, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States) participated in the workshop. The field component was generously supported by SRFME. The present proposal is for SRFME assistance to publish the proceedings of the 2003 Esperance workshop. The assistance will provide top up funds for the publication, limited use of colour, and hard binding. While the information and printing are otherwise identical to soft bound volumes, the use of colour and hard binding considerably increases the durability and appearance of the volumes. Objectives of the project The goal of the workshop program is to document the ora and fauna of the area being examined. In the ease of taxonomic papers, participants are encouraged to also utilise zoological specimens held in the collections of the Western Australian Museum or botanical material held by universities. All holotypes are deposited in the WA Museum or WA Herbarium. Other papers examine subjects such as distributional patterns, ecology of particular species, groups, or habitats, physiology, and functional morphology. These papers develop a considerable amount of information rapidly, and cost effectively, that would not otherwise become available. In general participants pay their own way to Australia and their costs at the workshop; their home institutions pay their salary both during the workshop and the write-up phase. In addition to the workshops themselves, a number of professional partnerships have been developed which have resulted in further work, both in Western Australia and elsewhere. Proposed work program The field component of the workshop was held in Esperance in February 2003. Since that time manuscripts have been submitted for consideration for publication. They have been peer reviewed in a standard format, and if accepted, have been or will be revised. A number of papers are nearly ready for typesetting. Three have already been page proofed, totalling 120 printed pages. In all, there will be 24–26 papers which together will appear in two volumes of about 500-600 pages. Linkages with SRFME research priorities and core projects This project is closely linked with SRFME Core Project 2, Coastal Ecosystems and Biodiversity. SRFME generously supported part of the costs for the field component with a grant of $ 15,000, and two SRFME staff participated. The proceedings of the Esperance workshop will provide considerable information on the marine biodiversity and coastal ecosystems of the Recherche Archipelago region. Relevance to State government polices and programmes The WA government has an active program of developing marine parks in the State. The 1994 report on a representative system of marine reserves for the Western Australia listed the Recherche Archipelago as an area worth further consideration. This work is being undertaken by CALM. In conjunction with a number of State government departments, the National Oceans Office is targeting the southwest as the first part of Western Australia to be examined for bioregional marine planning. Documentation of marine biodiversity is an integral part of the WA Museum’s program in documenting the marine fauna of Western Australia. The WA Herbarium in CALM has a similar responsibility for ora and works in conjunction with the universities. The WA Department of Fisheries is actively considering options for aquaculture for the Recherche Archipelago. All of these agencies will benefit from publication of the results of the Esperance workshop. In addition, there is a major study in progress of the Esperance Archipelago, centred at UWA. The workshop was done in close collaboration with the UWA study. Proceedings of Previous Australian Workshops Hanley, J.R., Caswell, G., Megeriaq D. and Larson, H.K. (Eds.) 1997, Proceedings of the sixth international marine biological workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Australia. Northern Territory Museum, Darwin and the Australian Marine Sciences Association. Wells, F.E., Walker, D.L, Kirkman, H., and Lethbridge, R. (Eds). 1990/91. Proceedings of the third international marine biological workshop: The marine ora and fauna of Albany, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 2 volumes, 722 pages Wells, F.E., Walker, D.L, Kirkman, H., and Lethbridge, R. (Eds). 1993. Proceedings of the fifth international marine biological workshop: The marine ora and fauna of Rottnest lsland, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 634 pages. Wells, F. E. (Ed). 1997. Proceedings of the seventh international marine biological workshop: The marine ora and fauna of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 566 pages. Walker, D.L, and Wells, F.E. (Eds). 1999. Proceedings of the ninth international marine biological workshop: The seagrass ora and fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 421 pages. Wells, F.E., Walker, D.l., and Jones, D.S. 2003. Proceedings of the eleventh international marine biological workshop: The marine ora and fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 587 pages. Esperance Workshop Participants Dr Roger Bamber, Natural History Museum London, England Dr llse Bartsch, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg Hamburg, Germany Dr Rudiger Bieler, Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, Illinois, USA Dr Anne Brearley, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Dr Marion Cambridge, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Ms Sarah Coote, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Ms Nisse Goldberg, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Ms Emily Glover, Natural History Museum London, England Prof Carole Hickman, University of California Berkeley, California, USA Dr John Keesing, CSIRO Marine Research Floreat, Western Australia Dr Gary Kendrick, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Prof Alan Kohn, Mrs Marian Kohn, University of Washington Seattle, Washington, USA Mr Alan Longbottom, Honorary Associate Western Australian Museum Mrs Joy Longbottom, Perth, Western Australia Dr Justin McDonald, The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Mr Tim Moore, Flinders University Adelaide, South Australia Dr Julia Phillips, CSIRO Marine Research Floreat, Western Australia Mr Kitithorn Sanpanich, Institute of Marine Sciences Burapha University, Bang Saen, Thailand Dr S.A. Shepherd, South Australian Research Adelaide, South Australia Mrs Anna Shepherd and Development Institute Dr Tan Koh Siang National University of Singapore Singapore Prof John Taylor Natural History Museum London, England Prof Di Walker The University of Western Australia Nedlands, Western Australia Dr Hongzhu Wang Chinese Academy of Sciences Hubei, Wuhan, China Dr Jan Watson, MuseumVictoria Melbourne, Victoria Dr Fred Wells, Western Australian Museum Perth, Western Australia Mr Corey Whisson, Western Australian Museum Perth, Western Australia Marine Flora and Fauna of Esperance, Western Australia (List not complete) Introduction Introduction to the marine biology of the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. Gary Kendrick, Euan Harvey, Justin McDonald, Fred Wells and Di Walker. Fauna The Tanaidaceans (Arthropoda: Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) of Esperance, Western Australia. Roger N. Bamber. The Pycnogonids of Esperance, Western Australia. Roger N. Bamber. Western Australian Werthella (Copidognathinae: Halacaridae: Acari), description of a new and notes on related species. Ilse Bartsch. The Australian Agauopsis fauna (Halacaridae: Acari), with description of new and known species of Western Australia. Ilse Bartsch. The rhombognathine fauna of Australia (Rhombognathinae: Halacaridae: Acari) with notes on the fauna of Esperance, Western Australia. Ilse Bartsch. Anatomy and morphology of Stephapoma nucleogranosum Verco, 1904 (Caenogastropoda: Siliquariidae) from Esperance Bay, Western Australia. Rudiger Bieler and Luiz Ricardo L. Sunone. Venerupis. Bieler Checklist of marine fishes of the Recherche Archipelago and adjacent mainland waters. J. Barry Hutchins. Anthropogenic enhancement of marine invertebrate diversity and abundance: Intertidal infaunal invertebrates along an exposure gradient at Esperance, Western Australia. Alan J. Kohn and Amanda Blahm. Diets of the predatory gastropods Cominella and Conus at Esperance, Western Australia. Alan J. Kohn, Kaitlin M. Curran and Brenda J. Mathis. Rhodoliths: The inside story. Brenda J. Mathis, Alan J. Kohn, and Nisse A. Goldberg. Solitary Ascidiacea from shallow waters of the Archipelago of the Recherche, Western Australia. Justin I. McDonald. Echinoderms of the Archipelago of the Recherche, Western Australia. Justin I. McDonald. Ontogenetic changes in diet, feeding behaviour and activity of the western blue groper, Achoerodus gouldii. S.A. Shepherd. Notes on the southern endemic southern Australian corallivorous gastropod Coralliophila mira (Neogastropoda: Coralliophilidae). Tan Koh-Siang. Another bloody bivalve: anatomy and relationships of Eucrassatella donacina from south Western Australia (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Crassatellidae). John D. Taylor, Emily A. Glover and Suzanne T. Williams. Hydroids of the Archipelago of the Recherche and Esperance, Western Australia: Annotated List, Redescription of Species, and Description of new Species. Jeanette E. Watson. The marine molluscs of Esperance Bay and the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. Fred E. Wells, Alan F. Longbottom and Joy Longbottom. Feeding of Lepsiella indersi (Adams and Angas, 1863) on the limpet Patelloida alticostata (Angas, 1865), near Esperance, Western Australia. Fred E. Wells and John K. Keesing. Flora A catalogue of the marine plants found in the western islands of the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia, with notes on their distribution in relation to island location, depth, and exposure to wave energy. N.A. Goldberg and G.A. Kendrick. First record of tetrasporangia in Herposiphoniella plurisegmenta Womersley. Nisse A. Goldberg and John M. Huisman. Variability of leaf morphology and growth in Posidonia kirkmanii growing in a spatially structured multispecies mosaic. Tim N. Moore, Marion L. Cambridge and Peter G. Fairweather. Use of C:N ratios to assess the nutrient status of macroalgae growing at different depths in the Esperance region, Western Australia. Julia C. Phillips. Principal Investigator Dr Fred E Wells Western Australian Museum (currently on secondment to the WA Dept of Fisheries) Western Australian Museum Francis Street, Perth WA 6000 Email: fwells@fish.wa.gov.au Phone: (08) 9482 7342 Collaborating Personnel and Agencies Prof Diana I Walker Department of Plant Science (Botany) University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Nedlands WA 6009 Email: diwalker@cyllene.uwa.edu.au Phone: (08) 9380 2089 Dr Gary Kendrick Department of Plant Science (Botany) University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Nedlands WA 6009 Email: garyk@cyllene.uwa.edu.au Phone: (08) 9380 3398   [collaborative linkages program]

 

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