Australian Institute of Marine Science – CReefs: Ningaloo Reef Biodiversity Expedition

The partnership between BHP Billiton, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the Census of Marine Life and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) will allow Australian reef sites to be included in the CReefs global research initiative. AIMS is leading a consortium of scientists that will sample and analyse coral reef biodiversity at three key Australian reef sites: the Great Barrier Reef’s Heron and Lizard Islands and Ninglaoo Reef in Western Australia.

This dataset is a summary of the biodiversity from the Ningaloo Reef area collected from two expedition, 2008 and 2009. The consortium includes scientists from the Australian Museum, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museum Victoria, the Queensland Museum, the South Australian Museum and the Western Australian Museum, as well as the University of Adelaide, Murdoch University, the South Australian Herbarium, the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.

The team of international and Australian marine scientists and taxonomists will collect and identify samples during a series of field trips at all three sites over the next four years. Total Distribution Records: 1571 Total Number of Taxa: 322 genera, 526 species