South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve

The South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve, highlighted in blue, off Western Australia's lower south west and southern coast

The South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve^[1] is a marine reserve on the lower south west and southern coast of Western Australia, one of 14 in the South-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network.^[2]

Features

The key ecological features of the reserve include:

• Albany Canyon^[3]
• Cape Mentelle upwelling^[4]
• Diamantina Fracture Zone^[5]
• Naturaliste Plateau^[6]
• Donnelly Banks

It is the commonwealth waters (further away from the coastline) equivalent of the state marine park Ngari Capes Marine Park, which exists within Western Australian state jurisdiction.

Major conservation values

The South-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network, including the South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve

The South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve has the following major conservation values:^[1]

• Important migratory area for protected humpback whales and blue whales
• Important foraging areas for the:
  • threatened white shark
  • threatened Australian sea lion
  • threatened Indian yellow-nosed albatross and soft-plumaged petrel
  • migratory sperm whale
  • migratory flesh-footed shearwater, short-tailed shearwater and Caspian tern
• Seasonal calving habitat for the threatened southern right whale
• Representation of three provincial bioregions (the South-west Transition and Southern Province in the off-shelf area, and the South-west Shelf Province on the continental shelf) and two meso-scale bioregions (southern end of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste meso-scale bioregion and western and central parts of the Western Australia South Coast meso-scale bioregion)
• Six key ecological features:
  • Albany Canyon group (high productivity, feeding aggregations)
  • Cape Mentelle upwelling (high productivity)
  • Diamantina Fracture Zone (unique sea-floor feature likely to support deepwater communities characterised by high species diversity and endemism)
  • Naturaliste Plateau (unique sea-floor feature, likely to support deepwater communities characterised by high species diversity and endemism)
  • western rock lobster habitat (species with an important ecological role)
  • Commonwealth marine environment surrounding the Recherche Archipelago (high biodiversity, breeding and resting aggregations, including the most extensive areas of reef on the shelf within the South-west Marine Region)
• Representation of the Donnelly Banks, east of Augusta, characterised by higher productivity and including nursery habitats

See also

• Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia

Notes

1. Australian Government Department of the Environment. "South-west Corner Commonwealth Marine Reserve". Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
2. Australian Government Department of the Environment. "South-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network". Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
3. The Nature and Origin of the Submarine Albany Canyons Off Southwest Australia, Geoscience Australia, retrieved 8 December 2013
4. Key Ecological Features (polygons) - SW marine planning region, Australian Ocean Data Network, 4945, retrieved 8 December 2013 Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. "An incredible wave of relief: it's Ofishal: 40 per cent of Australia's waters are now protected. (NEWS) (Brief article)", Habitat Australia, Australian Conservation Foundation, 41 (1): 16(1), 2013-01-01, ISSN 0310-2939
6. Borissova, I; Geoscience Australia (2002), Geological framework of the Naturaliste Plateau, Geoscience Australia, ISBN 978-0-642-46749-2

External links

• Interactive Map, Commonwealth marine reserves

 This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 AU licence. Required attribution: © Commonwealth of Australia 2013