Reef Life Survey

🐟 You’ve heard about the beautiful cryptic triplefins of Aotearoa (see our previous post if you missed it!), but RLS divers also had bigger fish to fry during recent surveys across the ditch. When resurveying the fish and invertebrates of Tawhiti Rahi & Aorangi/ Poor Knights Islands, the RLS team recorded a notably higher number of large reef fish, including pink snapper, kingfish, and trevally compared to previous surveys in 2009 and 2012. Located east of the Tutukākā coast, this Marine Protected Area is well known for its incredible scuba diving, with the positive effects of its protection made clear by an abundance of large fish in a thriving ecosystem. The Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve was established in 1981, receiving full protection to 800m offshore in 1998. As part of his Pew fellowship, RLS Cofounder Rick Stuart-Smith has resurveyed a number of Marine Protected Areas to investigate their effectiveness over time. This longstanding MPA is a striking example of protection done right, where large fish thrive in numbers rarely seen today. Reef Life Survey acknowledges Ngātiwai as the kaitiaki of Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi Islands. 📷 Photos by Rick Stuart-Smith #pewmarinefellow #nzmustdo #marinescience #citizenscience #scubadiving #scuba

👐 Do you want to help our stocktake of reef biodiversity this end of financial year? Consider donating to The Reef Life Survey Foundation to directly support our mission. At Reef Life Survey, we know that you can't manage it if you can't measure it, so with the help of our volunteers, supporters, and donors, we are committed to continue gathering data crucial for understanding the changing states of our reef systems well into the future. Your donation allows us to 🌊 continue recording (for perpetuity) the state of biodiversity found on rocky and coral reefs 🌊 make reef data freely available to all marine users through our open access database and resources such as field guides and our online species catalogue Where does your donation go? 🔎 The Reef Life Survey Foundation is an ACNC registered charity, with ALL donations directly supporting survey operations and data products. Donations over $2 are tax-deductible within Australia. 🔗 You can learn more about Reef Life Survey and donate now at reeflifesurvey.com/donate 📷 Photos at Ningaloo Reef, WA by Rick Stuart-Smith

⛵ In May this year, Reef Life Survey divers said kia ora to Aotearoa as they embarked on an expedition which would see sailing catamaran Melita travel to survey sites around Northland, Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi (Poor Knights Islands), and Rangitāhua (Kermadec Islands). Joining the team on Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi to resurvey sites within the Marine Protected Area, RLS cofounder Rick Stuart-Smith delighted in documenting some tiny fishy gems glimmering in the substrate. While it’s true that the biomass of larger fish like pink snapper and kingfish seemed to have made a real comeback since our inaugural surveys in 2012, there was an equally exciting spread of cryptic beauties to behold beneath the understory. 🗺Aotearoa is home to 26 endemic species of triplefins (Family Tripterygiidae), constituting a significant proportion of the triplefin diversity worldwide. Among the endemic species are Notoclinops segmentatus with its gleaming blue eyes, Forsterygion flavonigrum whose breeding males develop a completely black head, and Notoclinops caerulepunctus who sports an orange-spotted head and mohawk. In fact, the triplefins species of Aotearoa are so iconic that some consider them the marine equivalent of the kiwi bird or tuatara. 📈 Of New Zealand’s triplefin fauna, Notoclinops segmentatus (blue-eyed triplefin) is the most frequently recorded on RLS surveys, and it really is one of our favorites! 📷 Photos by Rick Stuart-Smith #marinescience #marinebiology #aotearoa #newzealand

🐟 A team of nine RLS divers recently completed their annual survey effort at Port Stephens, NSW! The team conducted 24 underwater visual surveys across nine sites, building on three additional surveys conducted in the weeks prior. Overall, 31,827 individuals of 133 different species were counted on Method 1 surveys, with Yellow-tail scad (Trachurus novaezelandiae) accounting for 12,250 of these! Some interesting M1 species included grey nurse sharks at North Rock and Cabbage Tree Island, three species of wobbegong sharks, and a spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) at Fly Point, well south of its normal range. On Method 2, counting cryptic fish, macro-invertebrates, and marine debris, 5,177 individuals were recorded. Interesting invertebrates included an egg cowrie (Ovula ovum) spotted by Kate at Elephant Rock, south of its known distribution, and lamington urchins (Tripneustes australiae) which were seen at several sites and whose populations have recently been booming across New South Wales. 💙Huge thanks to Tom, Nicola, Margo, Ash, Meryl, Chris, Kate, Cathie, and Julie who made the weekend a great success! 📷 All photos by Julie Jones 1. Eastern red scorpionfish (Scorpaena jacksoniensis) 2. Black-tipped bullseye (Pempheris affinis) and a bonus cardinalfish 3. Juvenile maori wrasse (Opthalmolepis lineolatus) 4. Red-barred rockcod (Epinephelus fasciatus)

🌴 Reef Life Survey divers have been regularly collecting biodiversity data from the Lord Howe Island Marine Park for the past 15 years, and have recently returned from a massive survey effort in a continuation of this ongoing monitoring. 🐠 Completing 82 surveys across 32 longstanding monitoring sites, the data collected enable RLS to report on the condition of Lord Howe's shallow reefs, as well as ongoing and emerging trends through time. Although affected by bleaching currently, the reef at LHI is stunning, and home to a high diversity of life. Many thanks to Aaron and Dave at Dive Lord Howe for getting our team out on the water! We truly could not have done it without you. You can read more about the trip, and see some excellent photos from the team at our new blog post below, written by Volunteer RLS Diver Cass Nolan 👇

🦈 RLS Tasmania now welcomes seven newly accredited volunteer divers to the crew! Meeting on turrakana, the Tasman Peninsula, RLS Cofounder Rick Stuart-Smith was joined by interstate Trainer Meryl Larkin, and long-time local RLS diver and collaborator Scott Ling. Together the trio would guide the group of new trainees through their accreditation in the RLS survey methods over a four-day temperate surveying extravaganza on the stunning Great Southern Reef. Met with playful seals, elusive cryptics, shimmering schools, and even a sevengill shark, the training session went off without a hitch. With the team steadily growing in Tassie, more surveys are certainly on the horizon, and all trainees were left feeling well equipped to do them. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without ongoing support from Eaglehawk Dive Centre, who provided tank fills, vessel charter, and legendary skipper Mick to deliver us to and from survey sites. Check out our latest blog post to hear more about the trip, and enjoy some great snapshots from the team!👇 Great Southern Reef Foundation #greatsouthernreef #marinescience #marinebiology #scubadiving #citizenscience #reeflifesurvey

🌊 Over an epic weekend in February, the Victorian RLS team revisited long-term monitoring sites at Port Phillip Bay. First surveyed using the Edgar-Barrett methods in the early 1990s, RLS surveys began at Port Phillip Bay in 2009 and continue today in a collaborative effort between Parks Victoria staff and local volunteers who have become accredited RLS divers. Led by RLS Trainer Tess Hoinville and RLS Coordinator Jacqui Pocklington, the team surveyed 12 transects in total across 6 monitoring sites. Departing bright and early from Queenscliff, the team were met by some decent visibility and mostly calm conditions. Joining Tess and Jacqui were RLS divers Nicki Filby, Monique Bregman, Elodie Camprasse, and skipper Leah Dixon. Working with slack tides can be tricky, but is essential in Port Phillip Bay. Luckily Tess, Nicki and Mon have been skippering these waters for years which ensured the surveys went off without a hitch. The sites were lush with kelp canopies and an understorey of new recruits, creating the perfect home for species like the varied catshark (Parascyllium variolatum), bat-wing seaslugs (Sagaminopteron ornatum), cryptic warty prowfish (Aetapcus maculatus), plenty of juvenile bullseyes (Pempheris spp.) and many more iconic Great Southern Reef inhabitants. 📷 Photos by RLS divers: 1) Nicky, Tess, Leah, and Monique, by Elodie Camprasse. 2) Monique among the invertebrates, by Tess Hoinville. 3) Warty prowfish by Elodie Camprasse. 4) Varied catshark by Elodie Camprasse.

🐟 In February 2024, RLS South Australia returned to the Encounter Marine Park to complete annual monitoring surveys and train some brand new volunteer divers. Over four days, the group of both accredited RLS divers and new trainees surveyed eight RLS sites on the Fleurieu Peninsula, adding to years of data from this unique coastal region. Completing 32 transects in total, all while training seven new divers, the survey effort was both massive and rewarding! The team recorded 112 different species of fish and invertebrate, including some creepy cryptics and Great Southern Reef icons. A huge thanks to Underwater Sports Diving Centre for providing boat support, and to project sponsors Green Adelaide who support the South Australian RLS effort through their continuation of the Green Adelaide Rocky Reef Program. Without their support, and that of Department for Environment and Water, this trip would not have been possible. Head to the RLS blog below to read RLS Trainee Ishtar Kenny's recount of the trip, and check out some of the amazing images captured by Manny Katz, Jamie Hicks, and Toni Cooper! 👇 #marinescience #marinebiology #greatsouthernreef #scubadiving

🦐 In the final chapter of Melita's lap of Australia, RLS Cofounder Graham Edgar and his crew of keen RLS divers descended the Western Australian coast toward the temperate waters of the higher latitudes. The team completed underwater visual surveys along the shallow reefs of the Ningaloo Marine Park, Bernier Island, Abrolhos Islands, and Jurien Bay, before coming back into port at Cervantes for a crew change. Graham would then continue on to Esperance, Eucla, and along the Great Australian Bight, joined by Great Southern Reef Foundation science committee leader Dr Scott Bennett. In the end, the total survey effort around the continent added up to around 350 surveys. Many sites only surveyed once before have now been resurveyed, and many new sites have been established. Read RLS Volunteer Diver Kirsty Whitman's recount of her final leg aboard Melita at the RLS blog 👇 #greatsouthernreef #marinescience #marinebiology #scubadiving