A Survey of the Nearshore Reef Fish Fauna of Western Australia's West and South Coasts, the Leeuwin Province

Brief description

Twenty-three locations were surveys along Western Australia's west and south coasts during the
period 1976-1993. This produced a total of 728 species of reef fishes, of which 491 septics were
tropical (67% of the total), 174 species warm-temperate (24%), and 36 species subtropical (5%)
the remaining 27 species (4%) have uncertain distributions.

Tropical fish numbers were highest in the Ningaloo Reef arca at the northern and of the study area, the fauna reducing southwards to
Rottnest Island, where it was nevertheless still prominent. The warm-temperate component was
most numerous along the south and lower west coasts, its numbers reducing northwards to Shark
Bay. Within the overlap zone of these two faunas, the subtropical fauna was at its strongest.
To examine the patterns of distribution, survey locations were divided into 12 regions and the
fish fauna arranged into 13 range categories. Analysis of the data under these groupings produced
numerous discrepancies in the diversity of the fauna. The most prominent one involved an
"offshore" versus "inshore" effect to the tropical species. Evidence is presented showing that the
Leeuwin Current is most likely responsible for this difference.
A "faunal signature" was identified for each survey region. This indicated that the endemic
species provide many of the most commonly sighted fishes in the area between Shark Bay and
Albany. These are gradually replaced to the north by wide-ranging tropical species and to the east
by warm-temperate species which range into other southern Australian states. On the basis of this
uniquely Western Australian flavour, the name Leeuwin Province is suggested for the region
encompassing Coral Bay and the Recherche Archipelago.

This dataset record is provided by Parks Australia to highlight research conducted within or relevant to Australian Marine Parks. The original publication and associated intellectual property remain with the source organisation.

This publication was previously made available via the Australian Marine Parks Science Atlas and is provided here to maintain access following the decommissioning of that platform

Full description

A Survey of the Nearshore Reef Fish Fauna of Western Australia's West and South Coasts, the Leeuwin Province - link to publication; pdf format