Kimberley Marine Soft Coral Species Historical Baseline Data

63 species of soft corals and sea fans (Octocorallia) from the Kimberley region are documented in this historical dataset. The Western Australian Museum compiled data from three Australian natural science collections to establish baseline biodiversity knowledge. The dataset is provided by Parks Australia to highlight research relevant to Australian Marine Parks.

Use Cases

• Establishing biodiversity baselines for conservation planning based on the documented species list.
• Comparing regional soft coral fauna composition to other Indo-Pacific reefs based on the described typical fauna.
• Identifying gaps in taxonomic knowledge for future surveys based on the noted exclusion of 80% of data due to insufficient identification.

Strengths

• Provides a documented baseline of 63 recognized species for the Kimberley region.
• Compiled from three established Australian natural science collections.
• Describes fauna composition typical of shallow tropical Indo-Pacific coral reefs.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is limited, with 80% of the original compilation excluded due to insufficient identification.

Provenance

Source

Western Australian Museum, Parks Australia

Collection Method

Compilation of historic species records from three Australian natural science collections.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 23:08:16.595454; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Kimberley region, Australia