‘To understand changes in plankton biodiversity at ocean basin scales through a global network of CPR surveys’

Introduction to the newsletter

Dr Graham Hosie, GACS Chair

Welcome to the second GACS Newsletter. While it may not be as big as the first newsletter, that's not to say we have not been busy.

Since the last newsletter, members of the GACS community have attended a number of international and national meetings, actively promoting the purpose and value of GACS to the marine community. The GACS website has been officially launched and is available at www.globalcpr.org. I hope you will visit the site regularly to keep in touch with what we are doing.

The two main working groups on Standards and Methodology (WGSM) and Database (DWG) have been established, with the Terms of Reference and membership set. The Continuous Plankton Recorder is unique in being a standardised instrument that has changed little since Sir Alister Hardy's second design in 1931. In association, the CPR has recognised standards in usage, sample processing and a growing list of analytical methods for studying changes in plankton biodiversity, abundance and development in relation to time and geography.

The WGSM, chaired by Dr Hans Verheye (South Africa, Benguela Current CPR), has the task of ensuring the methods and standards are agreed and properly documented for all CPR operations, from setting up the machines through to the analysis of data. In order to ensure these are maintained, WGSM is also tasked with developing training programmes within and between CPR laboratories, as well as considering capacity building.

The DWG, chaired by Dr Sonia Batten (Canada, SAHFOS North Pacific CPR Survey) has the job of coordinating the creation and development of the

Newsletter 2: June 2012

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Prof. Nick Owens Prof. Sun Song

global CPR Database. This includes agreeing on a common schema for data input and ease of access, and what should be stored in the database in addition to the obvious taxonomic and ecological plankton data. The database, when fully developed will be held at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS). However, data has already started flowing in, as GACS members show their enthusiasm for sharing the data. I'll take this opportunity to welcome two new members to GACS, Professor Nick Owens (United Kingdom), and Dr Sun Song (Peoples Republic of China). Prof. Owens joins GACS as the new Director of SAHFOS and will take up his appointment on 1st August this year. Prof. Owens has a long distinguished career as a researcher and also the former Chief Executive and Director of Science of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and just recently as the Director of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). He has played a key role on numerous UK and international committees. It was during his term as Director of BAS when I first met Prof. Owens at meetings of the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR).

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Dr Sun Song is the Director of the Institute of

Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Science in Qingdao, China. He also has a distinguished career in marine research, on krill and plankton, and has long had an interest in establishing marine observations around Chinese and Antarctic waters. He is also well known on a number of international committees. I've had the pleasure of knowing Sun Song for many years after he worked in my laboratory at the Australian Antarctic Division where he conducted valuable research on how to age Antarctic krill. Both gentlemen will bring considerable experience and knowledge in plankton research and marine observations to GACS. The next set of GACS meetings are set for 17th to 20th September at the lOC headquarters in Paris, and will include meetings of the two working groups and the Board of Governance. I look forward to reporting the outcome of those meetings in the next newsletter.

GACS Database Update – June 2012 Website Mike Flavell, SAHFOS Database Manager The GACS website went live on 8 February 2012. Developing the GACS website has involved the integration of two freely available (open source) systems: A content management system named ‘Umbraco’, for entering and managing the update of web site content and a geospatial software stack named ‘OpenGeo Geostack’, that will enable us to provide map-based products from the combined data of each GACS Partner Survey via the internet. The geospatial data system has been successfully piloted internally using some test SAHFOS data, and future work will focus on combining data from the GACS partners and making products from this data available on the GACS website. Other Developments: Datasets Data sets have been obtained from SAHFOS, NOAA, AusCPR, JAMSTEC and the SCAR SO-CPR Survey.

Above: The GACS website as of February 2012

Geospatial Capability

At SAHFOS we have set up the servers and systems that allow online maps to be created. I have produced a pilot website that displays gridded mean abundance data for different species per month via a dynamic map (see page 3). I have also worked on producing an online map of all GACS sample positions. This is still in development but the image on page 3 gives an idea of how this may look on the GACS website. Data Products

There has been a lot of discussion amongst GACS partners around the first GACS data product; the end agreement has been to go for ‘Average Copepod Community Size’.

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Above: Development of an online map of GACS Sample positions is in progress, it is shown here on a "Testing" version of the GACS website.

Above: Pilot website that displays gridded mean abundance data by species and month via a dynamic map

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Database Working Group Sonia Batten, Senior Scientist SAHFOS, Canada The working group has been quite active in the last few months, with much of the effort by Mike Flavell in getting the GACS website up and running. You can visit at www.globalcpr.org and should check back regularly for updates. The WG also welcomed a new member, Ashley Niekerek, from Benguela Current CPR Survey. The most recent activity of the group has been accumulating the data from partners necessary for the first data products; a global assessment of Phytoplankton Colour Index, the ratio of total diatoms to dinoflagellates and an index of mean copepod community size. These products will be the main focus for now and will be made available on the website as soon as possible.

Northeast Pacific Survey Sonia Batten, Senior Scientist SAHFOS, Canada The 2012 field season got underway in April, with both transects starting up in the first half of the month. The second north-south tow has also been completed at the time of writing, and we’re about to welcome back to BC Canada the east-west ship (Morning Cedar) which is just completing its 7 week turnaround. The samples will then be unloaded and we can get to work on sample analysis during June. The northeast Pacific has been in a cold phase since 2008, however in April 2012 the La Niña had dissipated and neutral conditions were evident. What responses the plankton will show remains to be seen – warm water copepod species have been almost absent above 48°N since 2006 (although 2011 data are not yet finalised) and the spring mesozooplankton peak has been late in recent years. Perhaps another shift in ocean climate in this region is about to occur.

SAHFOS News Claire Taylor, Plankton Analyst SAHFOS, UK We are very pleased to announce the achievement of our acting director, Martin Edwards on his promotion to Professor of Ecology at Plymouth University. Congratulations to Prof. Edwards. SAHFOS and the Marine Biological Association are running the 2nd Phytoplankton Identification course for the first two weeks of July 2012. We have secured internationally reputable phytoplankton taxonomists who will teach 20 delegates from all over the world, including participants from our GACS partners. After the workshop two of the attendees from South Africa will be staying at SAHFOS to enhance their taxonomic skills of South Atlantic phytoplankton.

Vital Statistics!! We passed through the 6 million nautical miles towed at the end of April 2012, which makes our total to date (as at 15 May 2012) 6,007,190 nautical miles. This is roughly equivalent to : ▪ 14 round trips between the Earth and Moon ▪ Nearly 150 times around the Equator ▪ About 222 million lengths of an Olympic sized swimming pool For the years 1931 -2011 the number of samples analysed by the SAHFOS analyst team reached 245,194. The predicted total by the end of 2012 will pass ¼ million samples analysed!

SCAR Southern Ocean CPR Survey Graham Hosie, Director AAD, Tasmania The 2011-12 Antarctic sampling season commenced in October 2011 and officially finished at the end of March 2012, when the sea-ice started to grow and the various re-supply and research vessels returned to home ports. It was another successful season for SO-CPR with 43 tows completed. The Australian research supply vessel Aurora Australia completed 18 tows operating from Hobart; the Japanese icebreaker Shirase seven tows between Fremantle and the Japanese station Syowa, plus another nine tows on the training research vessel Umitaka Maru, operating south of Australia.

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There were eight tows by the New Zealand fishing vessel San Aotea II, south of New Zealand to the Ross Sea, and one tow by the Chilean Antarctic programme across Drake Passage. When the samples are processed, the total number of samples in the database will be more than 36,000 records; equivalent to 180,000 nautical miles of sampling from nearly 650 tows. In addition, Dr Hans Verheye from the Benguela Current CPR Survey conducted CPR tows south of Cape Town on the German research vessel Polarstern, adding valuable information to the tows conducted in previous years in that region. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) and the South Georgia Government are now conducting regular tows throughout the year around South Georgia using the fishery patrol vessel Pharos SG. This provides much needed seasonal data - few tows have been conducted in the Antarctic in winter - and in an area noted for the high abundances and associated harvesting of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. The Southern Ocean tows by the B-C CPR Survey and South Georgia are in addition to the SCAR SO-CPR Survey, and demonstrates the collaboration through GACS to both enhance sampling and fill gaps. The SO-CPR has been conducting spatial analyses of the CPR data for the SCAR Biogeographic Synthesis Atlas. This atlas is expected to be a major tool for future Antarctic research, conservation and management of the region. The focus of the CPR analysis has been the development of predictive distribution models of whole zooplankton assemblages around Antarctica, by month and season, using Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling. Follow up analyses will include more specific predictive spatial models of individuals species using Boosted Regression Tree modelling. These will build on the Southern Ocean CPR zooplankton atlas recently published by McLeod et al. in Polar Science volume 4 in 2010 and the predictive models developed for Oithona similis by Pinkerton et al. (2010, Deep-Sea Research volume 57). Time series analysis has also continued using both observed data and modelled patterns to understand the variability and trends being observed in zooplankton distributions, abundances and composition in relation to various environmental variables such as temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and sea-ice.

This work is a major contribution to a joint Australia-Japan collaboration funded by both governments to establish a benchmark on Southern Ocean plankton biodiversity, distribution and abundance in order to study future climate change impacts. New time series analysis is now underway using a number of new population and community metrics as part of the first GACS ecological status report. An important recent publication (in collaboration with the AusCPR Survey) reported the finding of the red-tide forming, heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans in the Southern Ocean well south of Tasmania in December 2010 (McLeod et al., 2012, Journal of Polar Research volume 34). It was first detected 200 km south of Tasmania. The “bloom” extended over 242 km further south. This is the most southerly, oceanic record of Noctiluca globally and can be linked to the intensification of the East Australian Current (EAC); a situation apparently caused by altered circulation patterns associated with global warming. The Noctiluca cells appeared ‘healthy’ and ‘well-fed’, mainly full of diatoms. Copepod abundances appeared suppressed by the presence of Noctiluca, indicating competition. The prediction is the EAC will likely to continue to strengthen and transport more warm water and eddies further south. This may result in viable populations of Noctiluca becoming established in the Southern Ocean in the future with unknown effects on the food web. More information is available in the News section of the GACS website at www.globalcpr.org.

New Zealand Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey Karen Robinson, Plankton Analyst The Southern Ocean Survey had yet another successful season with tows to the Ross Sea in December 2011 – and back in March 2012, on the San Aotea II run by Sanford Limited. This summer season run resulted in the most southerly set of silks yet with a short run down to a latitude of 76.9 oS. The logbook records show that there was ice buildup within the cartridge, so it remains to be seen if a useable sample was obtained. Work continues on processing other samples from previous years.

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GACS Promotion at the 2nd International Symposium: Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans Sanae Chiba , Senior Scientist JAMSTEC The 2nd International Symposium: Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans was held between 13-21 May 2012 at the Ocean Expo site in Yeosu, South Korea. At the Ocean Observation Strategic Framework workshop I gave a presentation on the introduction and subsequent activities of the GACS community. This generated excellent interest and many positive responses from attendees. Dr. Priscilla Licandro(SAHFOS scientist) also attended the workshop. This symposium led on from the 1st workshop held at Gijon, Spain in 2008, which was just after the publication of IPCC AR4. At this symposium, (held as the AR5 was due in draft) I observed much progress in climate change – marine ecosystem change sciences, both in the observation-based and modelling studies for these 4 years. The workshop was initially organised to discuss establishing the framework of global ocean observation, based on the document ‘The Framework for Ocean Observing’, submitted at the OceanObs 2009. Particular attention was to follow up on the discussions at the symposium during theme session 2 – ‘Systematic, sustained and integrated global ocean observations’. This was directed at how to integrate new biogeochemical, biodiversity and ecosystem shift observations into a sustained system with

established monitoring procedures. The WS motivation is linked to the recent re-organisation of GOOS, in which biological (biogeochemical) and ecosystem working group(s) will be newly established under the GOOS steering committee. The workshop started with a lecture introducing "The Framework for Ocean Observing" by Dr. Albert Fischer of IOC, and discussion led by Dr. Martin Visbeck (IFM-GEOMAR) and the conveners. This was a first step meeting and discussion focus was on the possible essential biogeochemical and ecosystem variables that should be monitored under the framework rather than the actual observation methods or its feasibility. As CPR observation has been a GOOS's recommended program, it is hoped that GACS could be one of the key components for the future global monitoring system. GACS could provide data on essential biogeochemical and ecosystem variables in a systematic and efficient way. Symposium Website: http://pices.int/meetings/international_symposia/2012/Yeosu/scope.aspx Workshop 1: Ocean observation: Strategic framework Conveners: David Checkley (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA) Candyce Clark (Climate Project Office, NOAA, USA) Presentation title: Initiation of a Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys (GACS), Graham Hosie, Sonia Batten, Sanae Chiba, and The GACS Board of Governance

The Chatham Rise Survey has unfortunately been put on hold for the immediate future due to funding constraints, with the last voyage completed in March 2012. Processing continues on silks obtained in previous voyages, and we are optimistic that the Survey will re-commence in the future. GACS Chairman Graham Hosie will be travelling to Wellington, NZ in June 2012 to meet with NZ Survey members to discuss future directions for the New Zealand Survey and to provide training on CPR handling and maintenance for workshop staff.

The distribution, abundance and diversity of the plankton collected throughout the three tows clearly indicated that the CPR sampled the different water masses of Benguela, Angola and Agulhas current origin so that, when done regularly and in the long term, CPR Surveys could provide valuable information to help manage the entire ecosystem. It was concluded that the use of a CPR in the surface waters of the Benguela Current region was feasible, and its potential for use in regular surveys in the future was confirmed. Above: Track of the 2005 Proof-of-Concept CPR tow in the Above: Track of the 2005 Proof-of-Concept CPR tow in the BCLME that was done from the MV Tugela (opposite), superimposed onto a 5-day composite SST satellite image (courtesy Christo Whittle, University of Cape Town); the black dots indicate the positions of every fourth 10-nmi sample that was analysed.

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Update on the BC-CPR Sister Survey in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem … and expansion of South African CPR surveys into the Southern Ocean Dr Hans Verheye, Dept of Environmental Affairs & Benguela Current Commission

The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) in the South-East Atlantic is a highly productive, complex and variable ecosystem that stretches along the west coast of Angola and Namibia and the west and south-west coasts of South Africa. It is situated at the confluence of three major ocean systems – the Atlantic, Indian and Antarctic Oceans – and is subject to influences from the tropical Atlantic, the mid-latitude pressure systems in the Atlantic and the Southern Oceans and the subtropical pressure systems in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans. (see map opposite) It is one of the world’s four eastern boundary current systems where coastal upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich water supports high levels of productivity. It is, however, unique in that this cold-water current is bounded in the north and the south by warm-water current systems, the Angola and Agulhas currents respectively. The BCLME has, over the past decades, undergone large, decade-scale fluctuations in terms of zooplankton abundance and species composition. In order to investigate the feasibility of establishing a regular CPR Survey in the BCLME to monitor these changes in the long term in a cost-effective way, funds were obtained in 2005 from the Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ) and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) for a ‘proof-of-concept’ CPR tow. Three CPR tows were made from a container ship, the MV Tugela, en route between Cape Frio (Namibia) and East London (South Africa), covering a total distance of 1,422 nautical miles during 28 October – 4 November 2005. Above: MV Tugela (Ocean Africa Container Lines)

The 139 10-nautical mile samples from this ‘trial run’ were returned to SAHFOS for analysis. The tows proved successful, and yielded 75 phytoplankton taxa (34 diatom and 37 dinoflagellate taxa) and 119 zooplankton taxa (of which 66 were copepods)

Above: Number of taxa counted in the BCLME-CPR Proof-of-Concept tow (grouped into higher taxonomic groups).

Samples collected during the inaugural BC-CPR survey between Luanda (northern Angola) and Durban (South African east coast) in September 2011 on board the MV Horizon were sent to SAHFOS in the UK for processing and analysis by SAHFOS staff. This is in accordance with the agreed work plan of the BCC-funded project “Development of a CPR Sister Survey in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem”, and we are awaiting local analysts to be trained. A total of 136 10-nautical mile Benguela samples are currently being analysed in terms of phytoplankton colour. Of these, 69 samples will be further analysed for phytoplankton abundance and species composition according to SAHFOS protocols, i.e. using on-silk microscopy. All samples will then be transferred back to Cape Town for subsequent off-silk analysis of the zooplankton, i.e. according to modified protocols adopted by AusCPR. The ‘inaugural’ samples will, in addition, also be used as training material during an intensive CPR Sample Analysts Training Workshop that is scheduled to be held at SAHFOS during 16 July – 1 August 2012. The workshop forms part of the aforementioned BCC project’s work plan and will be attended by Ms Kholeka Batyi-Nkwenkwe and Ms Janine van der Poel ; two junior sample analysts from Dr Verheye’s laboratory in Cape Town.

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The next South African CPR Survey in the Southern Ocean, this time in winter, is about to take place during the maiden voyage of South Africa’s new polar research and supply vessel MV SA Agulhas II in July 2012, between the ice edge on the 0° Meridian and the Prince Edward Islands and from there on to Cape Town (see map page 9). It is the intention also to tow CPRs from this vessel on all her future annual supply and relief voyages to South Africa’s Antarctic research station SANAE IV, as well as its Southern Ocean islands (Prince Edward, Marion and Gough).

Expansion into the Southern Ocean During late December 2011, Dr Verheye conducted South Africa’s first Southern Ocean CPR Survey between 53°30’S 0°00’E and Cape Town, on board the German polar research vessel Polarstern . The survey yielded 134 samples, which will be analysed at SAHFOS in terms of phytoplankton colour, after which the samples will be further analysed in Cape Town’s CPR Centre for both phytoplankton and zooplankton. A route map can be found overleaf.

Subsequently, with funds sourced from the Benguela Current Commission (BCC) and South Africa’s National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and with the assistance of SAHFOS, a BC-CPR Sister Survey has been established and a Regional CPR Centre is being set up in Cape Town, South Africa. This is from where all CPR Surveys will be run in the BCLME, as well as in the Southern Ocean and where samples collected will soon also be analysed. An overview of CPR tows accomplished to date under the aegis of the BCC and DEA in these two ocean basins is given in the Table on Page 10.

The workshop will follow the Marine Phytoplankton Identification Workshop, already mentioned by Claire Taylor. It is expected, in accordance with the BCC project’s work plan, that upon their return from the UK, they will pass on their newly acquired taxonomic knowledge and sample analysis skills to other analysts from South Africa as well as Angola and Namibia. Ultimately, a pool of CPR sample analysts needs to be built up over time with a view to establishing a self-sufficient and self-financing regional CPR Centre in Cape Town. To that extent, Dr Verheye’s lab at DEA recently purchased six new Leica M165 C microscopes, two of which are in the process of being modified to allow for on-silk analysis of phytoplankton. Thus, the centre will soon be able to start serving the needs of the BCC in its endeavours to sustainably manage this Large Marine Ecosystem and its resources. In addition, it is envisaged that the centre will also make a meaningful contribution to the Southern Ocean CPR Survey (see SCAR Southern Ocean CPR Survey section). A second set of BC-CPR samples was collected during March 2012, again from the MV Horizon, between Luanda and Port Elizabeth (ref Table page 10). The silks have been unloaded and stored awaiting their analysis. Meanwhile, the CPR body and internal plankton sampling mechanisms have been serviced and readied by Mr Marco Worship, the CPR Technician at the regional CPR Centre located in DEA in Cape Town, for the next deployment, which is scheduled for June 2012.

Above: Ms Janine van der Poel (left) and Ms Kholeka Batyi-Nkwenkwe (right) with their new microscopes (Leica M165 C) that will be modified for on-silk CPR sample analysis.

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These surveys will no doubt make useful contributions to the Southern Ocean CPR Survey, complementing the global effort to fill prominent gaps that currently exist in the Southern Ocean plankton database. For example, there is a dearth of plankton data in CCAMLR FAO Statistical Reporting Areas 58.7 (Prince Edward and Marion Islands), 58.6 (Crozet Archipelago and the Del Cano Rise), and 58.4.4a and b (Ob and Lena Seamounts), situated to the south-east of the African continent. This was highlighted recently by Dr Verheye during a CCAMLR Workshop on Marine Protected Areas held at the headquarters of TAAF (French Southern and Antarctic Territories) in St Pierre, La Réunion during 15 – 18 May 2012. In order to make up for the current lack of plankton data in this part of the Southern Ocean, the Workshop suggested for CCAMLR “to broaden the lists of species and environmental parameters that are monitored, to consider parameters of species that may best reflect changes associated with global warming and, if necessary, develop protocols for any new parameters to be monitored”. This would naturally include the use of the Continuous Plankton Recorder. There was also a suggestion to approach Antarctic tourism operators as they are likely to be keen in taking part in CPR Surveys, thus potentially further augmenting the Southern Ocean CPR plankton database in a most cost-effective manner.

Above: Map showing the track of the German polar vessel RV Polarstern during Voyage ANT-28/2 (3 Dec. 2011-5 Jan. 2012) during which South Africa's first CPR tow in the Southern Ocean was conducted between 53°29.54’S-000°00.27’E on 29 Dec. 2011 35°07.9’S-017°06.7’E on 4 Jan. 2012. Below: South Africa’s new polar vessel SA Agulhas II

Above: Proposed track of the maiden voyage of South Africa's new polar vessel MV SA Agulhas II (inset) during 9 July – 3 August 2012; a CPR will be towed along transects D and F.

The Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder (AusCPR) Survey

Anita Slotwinksi , Plankton Biologist, AusCPR Brisbane

Our Survey have recently undertaken 4 new routes starting in Northern Australia. We now tow in the Northwest Cape aboard the RV Solander and 2 tows on the GBR aboard the RV Cape Ferguson. We thank AIMS for their continued support and particularly Craig Steinberg for his assistance.

We have also just completed a successful pilot tow from Brisbane to Fiji for PI-GOOS (Pacific Island Global Ocean Observing System). Thanks to Dr Phillip Wiles, the coordinator of PI-GOOS for making this happen. We are keen to help develop a CPR survey in the Pacific region. We are also planning to tow between New Zealand and Tasmania aboard the fishing vessel Rehua in June 2012 and we would like to thank Ryan Downie from CSIRO, collaborators from New Zealand and crew and staff from Australian Longline / Sealord / Petuna for assisting with logistics for these tows. An updated route map, along with proposed new routes can be found on page 11.

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Route Ship Start-

End

dates

Start

position

(Lat. &

Long.)

End

position

(Lat. &

Long.)

Distanc

e (nmi)

# PCI

samples

# phyto-

/zoo-

plankton

samples

BC MV Tugela 28

Oct.-4

Nov.

2005

18°31'

S

011°43

'E

33°35'

S

027°15

'E

1422 139 35

BC CV

Horizon

22

Sep.-1

Oct.

2011

08°46.

3’S

013°12

.6’E

32°33.

0’S

028°41

.7’E

2052 136* 69*

SO RV

Polarstern

29

Dec.

2011-4

Jan.

2012

53°29.

54’S

000°00

.27’E

35°07.

9’S

017°06

.7’E

1385 134

BC CV

Horizon

11-17

Mar.

2012

08°48.

8’S

013°07

.6’E

34°02.

9’S

025°47

.8’E

1980

Above: Summary of CPR tows conducted in the BCLME and Southern Ocean *NB Silks from CPR mechanism 189/1 were unloaded incorrectly so that the samples are not usable for quantitative analysis BC = Benguela Current; SO = Southern Ocean; PCI = Phytoplankton Colour Index

Please don’t forget to check out the map on Page 11. Thanks for reading the 2nd edition of the GACS Newsletter. More news to follow later in the year!!

The Southern Ocean routes below Australia are conducted by the SCAR SO-CPR Survey through the AAD and NIPR Japan, with support of the AusCPR. These routes extends from just south of

Australia to the sea-ice edge or the Antarctic continent. Together with the EAC route, the Southern Ocean

sampling allows a almost continuous transect running between the warm tropical waters of QLD and the cold polar waters of

the Antarctic.

The Southern Tasman route extends from Burnie,

Tasmania (around latitude 40.4oS) to Nelson, New

Zealand (latitude 40.7oS). This is an important area for

fisheries and our survey links in with an existing mesopelagic acoustic

survey.

The TAS route extends down the east coast of Tasmania, which is

also subjected to the influence of the EAC. There is already some

evidence of warm-water species moving southward.

IMOS AusCPR samples

June 2009 to April 2012

The EAC route extends from Brisbane (Queensland, latitude 27oS) to

Adelaide (South Australia, latitude 34oS) down the east coast of Australia

and follows the southward-flowing warm-water East Australia Current.

This region is forecast to warm more than anywhere else in the Southern

Hemisphere this century.

The new WA route is likely to run between latitude 12.3oS to

latitude 21.8oS down the Leeuwin Current . The north-west region

has potential for strong development of industries such as

gas and mining. We will be working in collaboration with the

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

The GBR route will extend from approximately latitude 14.3oS to

latitude 23.4oS. The Great Barrier Reef is an area likely to be strongly affected

by warming and ocean acidification. We will be working in collaboration

with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

Fremantle to Broome n = 182

Hobart to Fremantle n = 613

Brisbane to Adelaide n = 2291

Burnie to Nelson n = 228

Sydney to Hobart n = 166

Hobart to Antarctica n = 1933

Auckland to Hobart n = 192

Exmouth to Scott Reef n = 78

Fremantle to Sydney n = 237

Proposed GBR route

AusCPR Route Map April 2012

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