Kimberley Marine Research Program

About the Program

The WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program (KMRP) has delivered the science results that give government natural resource managers, Traditional Owners of saltwater country and researchers access to a comprehensive set of new information to monitor and understand changes in the Kimberley’s unique marine environment.

The 23 research projects that make up the KMRP collectively describe the physical and biological environment, ecosystem processes and the social values and uses of this vast wilderness.

The program spanned the 13,500km Kimberley coastline and brought together more than 200 scientists from 25 organisations, including nine WAMSI partner agencies, and representatives from seven saltwater country Traditional Owner communities.

The KMRP was supported by $12 million from the WA government’s Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy and co-investment by the WAMSI partners and totalled $30 million in combined investment. The program was also supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.

Program Management

Name: Dr Stuart Field
Title: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, WA
Project Role: Program Leader

Name: Dr Kelly Waples
Title: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, WA
Project Role: Science Coordinator
Contact: kelly.waples@DPaW.wa.gov.au

Science Plan

Strategy Document

Synthesis Report

Projects and Reports

Select from all projects within this program, or filter by theme below.

All 23 /1. Physical 6 /2. Biological 6 /3. Social 3 /4. Processes 3 /5. Understanding Change 5

Geomorphology

Regional structure has built much of the landforms and related ecosystem development, and controlled the architecture of the drowned landscapes (during rising sea levels of the last 10,000 years) over which coral reef systems have developed.

Benthic Biodiversity

Benthic primary producers form the basis of the trophic structure that supports the highly diverse Kimberley marine fauna through their productivity and ecosystem services. This project researched the distribution, species and environmental drivers of benthic biodiversity.

Seagrass

Seagrasses provide numerous ecological functions and services in coastal areas, including fisheries production, sediment stabilisation resulting in coastal protection and carbon sequestration.

Oceanography

It is recognised that the Kimberley region is a tidally driven system, however there has been insufficient oceanographic and fine resolution bathymetry information to understand and predict the physical processes that support and drive the ecology and biodiversity for the Kimberley region.

Biogeochemistry

The biological productivity of the Kimberley coast is thought to be fuelled by a combination of oceanic and terrestrially derived nutrients, but little is known about how these nutrient sources vary or interact with the poor light conditions found near the coast.

Land-Sea Linkages

River mouths and estuaries can be highly productive habitats that support biodiversity and potentially targeted species for commercial, recreational, and cultural purposes.

Marine Turtles

The Kimberley coast remains a region of inadequate knowledge to understand the status of regional marine turtle stocks that face multiple contemporary pressures such as climate change, marine debris, coastal development and increasing visitation.

Saltwater Crocodiles

Saltwater crocodile populations have been protected in Australia since 1969 when three previous decades of unregulated hunting had driven down numbers across the Kimberley and the Northern Territory (NT) to less than 8000 individuals.

Dugong

Dugongs are an important species in marine ecosystems and have high cultural value to Indigenous coastal communities. The coastal waters of NW Australia is home to one of the largest remaining populations in the world.

Humpback Whales

Humpback whales traverse waters off the coast of Western Australia as they migrate annually from summer feeding grounds in Antarctica to breeding grounds in the nearshore waters of the Kimberley region during winter.

Dolphins

The Australian snubfin dolphin and Australian humpback dolphin are poorly-understood species. Here, we investigate the population genetic structure and relative abundance of these two species at selected study sites in the Kimberley region.

Shorebirds

Migratory shorebirds are protected by a number of international conservation agreements and are treated as matters of national significance under the EPBC Act 1999. The tidal flats of Eighty Mile Beach and Roebuck Bay support the largest non-breeding populations of migratory shorebirds in Australia and the East Asian - Australasian flyway.

Social Values

This project contributes to the social characterisation research of the Kimberley coastline and marine environment. It goes beyond a focus on people as the cause of impacts to help understand peoples’ needs and values.

Human Use

In Australia, coastal and marine environments are highly valued for the range of cultural, traditional, commercial and recreational opportunities they provide.

Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science

The Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project (KISSP) has produced a range of documents that seek to build capacity for collaborative management of Kimberley Saltwater Country.

Productivity

Our present understanding of environmental controls on reef productivity is based primarily on studies from reefs of the Caribbean, Hawaii, southern Great Barrier Reef and other Indo-Pacific regions

Recruitment and Herbivory

Researchers collaborated with Bardi Jawi land and sea rangers to develop a detailed understanding of how fish, coral recruitment and herbivory act as key processes that sustain the health of the Kimberley marine ecosystem.

Connectivity

The unique tidal regime and harsh environmental conditions of the inshore Kimberley provide a new frontier for understanding ecological connectivity and the environmental influences on the dispersal of marine larvae.

Remote sensing

Remote sensing technologies can provide cost effective methods to gather historical and baseline monitoring data at meter to kilometre resolution, both at synoptic scales for regional management applications and in near-real-time to guide operational decision making.

Research Articles

2021

Tucker A, Pendoley K, Murray K, Loewenthal G, Barber C, Denda J, Lincoln G, Mathews D, Whiting S, Miriuwung Gajerrong Rangers, Balanggarra Rangers, Wunambal Gaambera Rangers, Dambimangari Rangers, Mayala Rangers, Bardi Jawi Rangers, Nyul Nyul Rangers, Yawuru Rangers, Karajarri Rangers, Nyangumarta Rangers, Ngarla Rangers (2021) Regional ranking of marine turtle nesting in remote Western Australia by integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and remote sensing. Remote Sensing. doi.org/10.3390/rs13224696

2020

Bentley B, Kearney M, Whiting S, Mitchell N (2020) Microclimate modelling of beach sand temperatures reveals high spatial and temporal variation at sea turtle rookeries. Journal of Thermal Biology doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102522

Bentley B, Stubbs J, Whiting S, Mitchell N (2020) Variation in thermal traits describing sex determination and development in Western Australian sea turtle populations. Funct Ecol. doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13645

Boschetti F, Lozano-Montes H, Stelfox B. (2020) Modelling regional futures at decadal scale: application to the Kimberley region. Science Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56646-x

Piggott CVH, Depczynski M, Gagliano M, Langlois TJ (2020) Remote video methods for studying juvenile fish populations in challenging environments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151454

McLaughlin M.J., Greenwood J.E., Branson P., Lourey M.J., Hanson C. E. (2020) Evidence of phytoplankton light acclimation to periodic turbulent mixing along a tidally dominated tropical coastline. Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans. doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016615

Underwood JN, Richards Z, Berry O, Oades D, Howard A, Gilmour JP (2020) Extreme seascape drives local recruitment and genetic divergence in brooding and spawning corals in remote northwest Australia. Evol Appl. doi.org/10.1111/eva.13033

Yuan Z, Liu D, Masqué P, Zhao M, Song X, Keesing JK (2020) Phytoplankton Responses to Climate?Induced Warming and Interdecadal Oscillation in North?Western Australia. Paleoceaonography and Paleoclimatology doi:10.1029/2019PA003712

2019

Austin B, Robinson C, Mathews D, Oades D, Wiggin A, Dobbs R, Lincoln G, Garnettt S (2019) An Indigenous-Led Approach for Regional Knowledge Partnerships in the Kimberley Region of Australia. Human Ecology doi.org/10.1007/s10745-019-00085-9

Berry O, Richards Z, Moore G, Hernawan U, Travers M, Gruber B (2019) Oceanic and coastal populations of a harvested macroinvertebrate Rochia nilotica in north-western Australia are isolated and may be locally adapted. Marine and Freshwater Research doi.org/10.1071/MF19172

Cherukuru N, Dekker A, Hardman-Mountford N, Clementson L, Thompson P (2019) Bio-optical variability in multiple water masses across a tropical shelf: Implications for ocean colour remote sensing models. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 219, 223-230. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2019.02.015

Fromont J, Richards Z, Wilson N (2019) First Report of the Coral-Killing Sponge Terpios hoshinota Rützler and Muzik, 1993 in Western Australia: A New Threat to Kimberley Coral Reefs? Diversity doi.org/10.3390/d11100184

Gruber R, Lowe R, Falter J (2019) Tidal and seasonal forcing of dissolved nutrient fluxes in reef communities. Biogeosciences doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1921-2019

Richards ZT, Garcia R, Moore G, Fromont J, Kirkendale L, Bryce M, Bryce C, Hara A, Ritchie J, Gomez O, Whisson C (2019) A tropical Australian refuge for photosymbiotic benthic fauna. Coral Reefs, 38(4), pp.669-676 doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01809-5

Schoepf V, Carrion SA, Pfeifer SM, Naugle M, Dugal L, Bruyn J, McCulloch MT (2019) Stress-resistant corals may not acclimatize to ocean warming but maintain heat tolerance under cooler temperatures. Nature Communications 4031 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12065-0

2018

Bevan E, Whiting S, Tucker T, Guinea M, Raith A, Douglas R (2018) Measuring behavioral responses of sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles, and crested terns to drone disturbance to define ethical operating thresholds. PloS one doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194460

Gruber R, Lowe R, Falter J (2018) Benthic uptake of phytoplankton and ocean-reef exchange of particulate nutrients on a tide-dominated reef. Limnology and Oceanography doi: 10.1002/lno.10790

Smith F, Allen SJ, Bejder L, Brown AM (2018) Shark bite injuries on three inshore dolphin species in tropical northwestern Australia. Marine Mammal Science 34: 87-99. doi: 10.1111/mms.12435

Underwood J, Richards Z, K Miller, Puotinen ML, Gilmour JP (2018) Genetic signatures through space, time and multiple disturbances in a ubiquitous brooding coral. Molecular Ecology doi.org/10.1111/mec.14559

Yuan Z, Liu D, Keesing, JK, Zhao M, Guo S, Peng Y, Zhang H (2018) Paleoecological evidence for decadal increase in phytoplankton biomass off northwestern Australia in response to climate change. Ecology and Evolution doi:10.1002/ece3.3836

2017

Brown G, Strickland-Munro J, Kobryn H, and Moore SA (2017). Mixed methods participatory GIS: An evaluation of the validity of qualitative and quantitative mapping methods. Applied Geography Applied Geography 79: 153-166. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.12.015.

DiBattista J, Travers M, Moore G, Evans R, Newman S, Feng M, Moyle S, Gorton R, Saunders T, Berry O (2017) Seascape genomics reveals fine-scale patterns of dispersal for a reef fish along the ecologically divergent coast of Northwestern Australia. Mol Ecol. 2017;00:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14352

Dorji P, Fearns P (2017) Impact of the spatial resolution of satellite remote sensing sensors in the quantification of total suspended sediment concentration: A case study in turbid waters of Northern Western Australia. PLoS ONE doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175042

Feng M, Zhang X, Sloyan B, Chamberlain M (2017) Contribution of the deep ocean to the centennial changes of the Indonesian Throughflow Geophys. Res. Lett., 44. DOI: 10.1002/2017GL072577.

Kobryn HT, Brown G, Munro J, and Moore SA (2017) Cultural ecosystem values of the Kimberley coastline: An empirical analysis with implications for coastal and marine policy. Ocean & Coastal Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.09.002

Le Nohaïc M, Ross C, Cornwall C, Comeau S, Lowe R, McCulloch M, Schoepf V (2017) Marine heatwave causes unprecedented regional mass bleaching of thermally resistant corals in northwestern Australia. Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14794-y

Marley SA, Salgado Kent C, Erbe C, Thiele D (2017) A Tale of Two Soundscapes: Comparing the Acoustic Characteristics of Urban Versus Pristine Coastal Dolphin Habitats in Western Australia. Acoustics Australia. 45 (2): pp. 1-11. doi:org/10.1007/s40857-017-0106-7

Moore SA, Brown G, Kobryn H, and Strickland-Munro J (2017) Identifying conflict potential in a coastal and marine environment using participatory mapping. Journal of Environmental Management 197: 706-718. doi:http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.026

Munro J, Kobryn H, Palmer D, Bayley S, and Moore SA (2017) Charting the coast: spatial planning for tourism using public participation GIS. Current Issues in Tourism doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1346589

Munro J, Pearce J, Brown G, Kobryn H, Moore SA (2017) Identifying ‘public values’ for marine and coastal planning: Are residents and non-residents really so different? Ocean & Coastal Management 148, 9-21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.07.016

Zhang N, Feng M, Hendon HH, Hobday AJ, Zinke J (2017) Opposite polarities of ENSO drive distinct patterns of coral bleaching potentials in the southeast Indian Ocean. Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02688-y

Zimm R, Bentley BP, Wyneken J, Moustakas-Verho JE (2017) Environmental Causation of Turtle Scute Anomalies in ovo and in silico. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 57(6), 1303-1311. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx066

2016

Branson PM, Ghisalberti M, Ivey GN (2016) Time resolved 3D3C measurements of shallow-water island wakes. Proceedings 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Perth, 5-8 December 2016.

Brown A, Bejder L, Pollock K, Allen S (February 2016) Site-Specific Assessments of the Abundance of Three Inshore Dolphin Species to Inform Conservation and Management Frontiers in Marine Science http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00004

Bufarale G, Collins LB, O’Leary MJ, Stevens A, Kordi M, Solihuddin T (2016) Quaternary onset and evolution of Kimberley coral reefs (Northwest Australia) revealed by high-resolution seismic imaging. Journal of Continental Shelf Research, 123, 80–88 doi:10.1016/j.csr.2016.04.002

Hosie AM, Hara A (2016). Description of a new species of brooding spider crab in the genus Paranaxia Rathbun, 1924 (Brachyura: Majoidea), from northern Australia and Indonesia. Zootaxa DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4127.1.6

Keesing J, Strzelecki J, Stowar M, Wakeford M, Miller K, Gershwin L, Liu G (Feb 2016) Abundant box jellyfish, Chironex sp. (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Chirodropidae), discovered at depths of over 50?m on western Australian coastal reefs Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/srep22290

Kordi MN, and O’Leary M (2016) A Spatial Approach to Improve Coastal Bioregion Management of the North Western Australia. Ocean & Coastal Management, 127, 26-42 doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.04.004

Kordi MN, and O’Leary M (2016). Geomorphic classification of reefs in the north western Australia Shelf. Regional Studies in Marine Science, DOI 10.1016/j.rsma.2016.05.012.

Liu D, Peng Y, Keesing JK, Wang Y, Richard P (2016) Paleo-ecological analyses to assess long-term environmental effects of pearl farming in Western Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series doi:10.3354/meps11740

Lowe RJ, Pivan X, Falter J, Symonds G, Gruber R (August 2016) Rising sea levels will reduce extreme temperature variations in tide-dominated reef habitats Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600825

Pearce J, Strickland-Munro J, Moore S (June 2016) What fosters awe-inspiring experiences in nature-based tourism destinations?, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2016.1213270

Pedersen O, Colmer TD, Borum J, Zavala-Perez A, and Kendrick GA (2016), Heat stress of two tropical seagrass species during low tides – impact on underwater net photosynthesis, dark respiration and diel in situ internal aeration. New Phytol, 210: 1207–1218. doi:10.1111/nph.13900

Solihuddin T, Bufarale G, Blakeway D, O’Leary MJ (2016) Geomorphology and Late Holocene Accretion History of Adele Reef: a Northwest Australian Mid-Shelf Platform Reef, Geo-Marine Letters, 2016, 1–15. DOI: 10.1007/s00367-016-0465-3

Solihuddin T, O’Leary M, Blakeway D, Parnum I, Kordi M, Collins L (March 2016) Holocene reef evolution in a macrotidal setting: Buccaneer Archipelago, Kimberley Bioregion, Northwest Australia Coral Reefs DOI 10.1007/s00338-016-1424-1

Strickland-Munro J, Kobryn H, Brown G, Moore S (July 2016) Marine spatial planning for the future: Using Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) to inform the human dimension for large marine parks Marine Policy DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2016.07.011

Strickland-Munro J, Kobryn H, Brown G, Moore S (2016) Valuing The Wild, Remote And Beautiful: Using Public Participation Gis To Inform Tourism Planning In The Kimberley, Western Australia International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning DOI: 10.2495/SDP-V11-N3-355-364

Zhang N, Feng M, Du Y, Lan J, Wijffels S (2016) Seasonal and interannual variations of mixed layer salinity in the southeast tropical Indian Ocean, Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 121, 4716-4731. doi: 10.1002/2016JC011854

Zhou WM, Espinosa-Gayosso, Jones NL, and Hipsey MR (2016) Numerical study of the wet-season hydrodynamics of a macrotidally forced bay with complex topography: Collier Bay, Kimberley, Western Australia. Proceedings 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Perth, 5-8 December 2016.

2015

Brown A, Bejder L, Parra G, Cagnazzi D, Hunt T, Smith J, Allen S (November 2015) Sexual Dimorphism and Geographic Variation in Dorsal Fin Features of Australian Humpback Dolphins, Sousa sahulensis Advances in Marine Biology doi:10.1016/bs.amb.2015.08.002

Brown G, Strickland-Munro J, Kobryn H, Moore S (Dec 2015) Stakeholder analysis for marine conservation planning using public participation GIS Applied Geography doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.12.004

Bufarale G and Collins LB Stratigraphic architecture and evolution of a barrier seagrass bank in the mid-late Holocene, Shark Bay, Australia. Marine Geology 11/2014; 359. DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2014.11.010

Collins LB, O’Leary MJ, Stevens AM, Bufarale G, Kordi M, Solihuddin T (2015) Geomorphic Patterns, internal architecture and Reef Growth in a macrotidal, high turbidity setting of coral reefs from the Kimberley Bioregion. Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp 12-22. DOI: 10.1080/18366503.2015.1021411

Dandan SS, Falter JL, Lowe RJ, McCulloch MT Resilience of coral calcification to extreme temperature variations in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia Coral Reefs ISSN: 0722-4028 (Print) 1432-0975 (Online) pp 1-13 First online: 09 August 2015 DOI 10.1007/s00338-015-1335-6

Du Y, Zhang Y, Feng M, Wang T, Zhang N and Wijffels S Decadal trends of the upper ocean salinity in the tropical Indo-Pacific since mid-1990s Scientific Reports 5, Article number: 16050 (2015) doi:10.1038/srep16050

Feng M, Benthuysen J, Zhang N, and Slawinski D (October 2015) Freshening anomalies in the Indonesian throughflow and impacts on the Leeuwin Current during 2010–2011 Research Letter DOI: 10.1002/2015GL065848

Feng M, Hendon HH, Xie SP, Marshall AG, Schiller A, Kosaka Y, Caputi N, and Pearce A (2015) Decadal increase in Ningaloo Niño since the late 1990s. Geophysical Research Letters, 42(1), DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062509.

Kordi MN, Collins LB, O’Leary M, Stevens A (November 2015) ReefKIM: An integrated geodatabase for sustainable management of the Kimberley Reefs, North West Australia Ocean & Coastal Management doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.11.004

Kordi MN, Collins LB, and Stevens A (2015) A Large Scale Geomorphological and Surficial Cover Map of Nearshore Reefs in the Kimberley Coast, WA. In Proceedings from Coast to Coast Conference 2014, Mandurah, Western Australia. ISBN-10: 0994357206 pp 15–20

Lowe RJ and Falter JL Oceanic Forcing of Coral Reefs Annual Review of Marine Science 2015. 7:43–66 doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-010814-015834 view on the website

Lowe RJ, Leon AS, Symonds G, Falter JL, and Gruber R The intertidal hydraulics of tide-dominated reef platforms Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Volume 120, Issue 7 July 2015 Pages 4845–4868 DOI: 10.1002/2015JC010701

McKinnon AD, Doyle J, Duggan S, Logan M, Lønborg C, Brinkman R (2015) Zooplankton Growth, Respiration and Grazing on the Australian Margins of the Tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. PLoS ONE 10(10): doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140012

Richards ZT, O’Leary MJ, The coralline algal cascades of Tallon Island (Jalan) fringing reef, NW Australia. Coral Reefs June 2015, Volume 34, Issue 2, pp 595-595 First online: 04 February 2015 doi: 10.1007/s00338-015-1262-6

Schoepf V, Stat M, Falter JL, McCulloch MT (December 2015) Limits to the thermal tolerance of corals adapted to a highly fluctuating, naturally extreme temperature environment. Nature Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/srep17639

Solihuddin T, Collins LB, Blakeway D, O’ Leary MJ (2015) Holocene coral reef growth and sea level in a macrotidal, high turbidity setting: Cockatoo Island, Kimberley Bioregion, northwest Australia. Marine Geology Volume 359, 1 January 2015, Pages 50–60 doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2014.11.011

Xua J, Lowe RJ, Ivey GN, Jones NL, and Brinkman R Observations of the shelf circulation dynamics along Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia during the austral spring and summer. Continental Shelf Research Volume 95, 1 March 2015, Pages 54–73 doi:10.1016/j.csr.2014.12.013

Zinke J, Hoell A, Lough JM, Feng M, Kuret AJ, Clarke H, Ricca V, Rankenburg K, and McCulloch MT (October 2015) Coral record of southeast Indian Ocean marine heatwaves with intensified Western Pacific temperature gradient, Nature Communications DOIi:10.1038/ncomms9562

2014

Jones NL, Patten NL, Krikke DL, Lowe RJ, Waite AM, Ivey GN Biophysical characteristics of a morphologically-complex macrotidal tropical coastal system during a dry season Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science Volume 149, 5 August 2014, Pages 96–108 doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.07.01

Stubbs JL, Kearney MR, Whiting SD, Mitchell NJ (2014) Models of primary sex ratios at a major flatback turtle rookery show an anomalous masculinising trend. Climate Change Responses 1: 1-18. doi.org/10.1186/s40665-014-0003-3

Tucker T, Whiting S, Mitchell N, Berry O, FitzSimmons N, Pendoley K The Kimberley Marine Turtle Project under the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) Proceedings of the Second Australian and Second Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposia Perth 25-27 August 2014 Page 79