There is general recognition of the need to establish a scientific basis for a national framework to assess, conserve and manage Australia's marine biodiversity. A principal element of this framework is a spatial assessment of the distribution of the faunal elements, their conservation value and status, and their grouping into bioregions. Much interest has centred on the regionalisation aspect with a variety of datasets and methodologies used to designate regional boundaries. The preoccupation with boundary delineation and the lack of a firm scientific basis in a number of these regionalisations, based on the delphic ideology or abiotic surrogates, has resulted in considerable confusion and debate on the issue. As conservation concerns mount, and the need for adequate and representative measures increase, there is an increasing realisation, appreciation and urgency in the need for credible bioregionalisations. The focus has to be on what is being conserved and protected - namely, the biotic elements. The interpretation of what is derived must be seen to be at least as important as the process of deriving the regionalisation.
In contrast to past methods, the bioregionalisation presented in this report puts forward new concepts in assessing bioregions. The conventional paradigm of boundary demarcation is extended here to focus on discriminating and describing bioregions. Further, the dynamic evolution of the marine biota and the extensive mixing of species assemblages is catered for by the introduction in this project of "zootones". Far from being "fuzzy" uncertainty regions surrounding boundaries, these are shown to be extensive and highly diverse bioregions containing species from a number of core provinces. They are shown here to be principal components of a scientifically reasonable description of bioregions at a provincial scale. The ideology introduced here shifts the focus of the debate away from boundaries to what is represented within the bioregions.
That being the case, the oceanic region offshore of the shelf break (at about the 200m isobath) could not be examined with the same degree of detail within the limited timeframe, and resources, of this project. Here, the principal regionalisation is that based on oceanographic attributes. In contrast to the faunal-based regionalisation for the shelf, the offshore regionalisation must be viewed as describing the abiotic structure and as such is at a lower level in the biogeographic hierarchy and not directly comparable to the faunal bioregionalisation. That said, where strong abiotic disjunctions exist there may well be corresponding disjunctions in faunal elements indicating strong abiotic constraints on the distribution of biota. This next phase of the project, examining the integration of these disparate regionalisations, is to be pursued in conjunction with other agencies in the future. Thus, the products of this project are the first realisations of one of the most extensive examinations of the currently available marine data resource. We trust it will spark a vigorous and more focussed debate on the issues that really matter from a conservation perspective.
The core group of participants in this project comprise:
CSIRO Division of Fisheries:
Dr Vincent Lyne (Project Coordinator)
Dr Peter Last
Dr Martin Gomon (seconded from Museum of Victoria)
Mr Roger Scott
Ms Suzanne Long
Ms Alison Phillips
with contributions from:
Dr Brian McArdle University of Auckland
Rev David Peters Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife
Dr Simon Pigot Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife
Dr Patricia Kailola Fisheries Consultant
CSIRO Division of Oceanography:
Dr John Wilkin
Mr Jeff Dunn
Ms Rosemary O'Connor
Ms Jan Petersen
Mr Ken Ridgway
Ms Alison Walker
Dr Jim Mansbridge
Dr Lee Belbin from the Australian Antarctic Division conducted
the statistical regionalisation of the oceanographic attributes.
Participants at the BioTax '96 Workshop, held at Coffs Harbour from 18-22 March 1996, were:
Dr Martin Gomon Museum of Victoria
Mr Ken Graham New South Wales Fisheries
Dr Doug Hoese Australian Museum
Dr Barry Hutchins Western Australian Museum
Mr Jeff Johnson Queensland Museum
Mr Rudie Kuiter Seaford, Victoria
Ms Helen Larson Northern Territory Museum
Dr Peter Last CSIRO Fisheries
Ms Suzanne Long CSIRO Fisheries
Dr Vincent Lyne CSIRO Fisheries
Mr Mark McGrouther Australian Museum
Dr John Paxton Australian Museum
Ms Alison Phillips CSIRO Fisheries
Dr Barry Russell Northern Territory Museum
Mr Roger Scott CSIRO Fisheries
Next Chapter: 3. Introduction