6.2 Sponge Biogeography

Description

This study presents information on the biodiversity of sponges in marine environments off northwest Western Australia. Taken as a whole, information presented on the Pilbara in this study, coupled with published data for the Kimberley, represents the most up to date and comprehensive assessment of sponge biodiversity of NWA, and provides a valuable platform for future conservation efforts for sponges in the region.

This study facilitated the identification and selection of six co-occurring sponge species of northwest Western Australia and the Great Barrier Reef to be used in experiments on the effects of dredging on sponges in Project 6.4

Aims

To provide an overall synthesis of sponge faunal biodiversity and distributions for the Pilbara region by extracting and amalgamating data from specimen databases and collections from the Western Australian Museum and the Atlas of Living Australia