The latest in the series of GOBI webinars – Bioregionalisation of the Indian and southwestern Pacific Ocean – has been delivered by Piers Dunstan, the project’s lead investigator at CSIRO.

The presentation describes how the acquisition of data and development of bespoke mathematical models has resulted in the identification of naturally justifiable and distinct provinces nested within larger marine bioregions.

Elements that characterise each province, such as their defining species, functional groups or influential human activities that take place within them, have been modelled to better understand the dynamics between them. This allows the investigation of how each element might respond if any of the other elements are altered, for example, by an increase in fishing activity, a warming climate or a decline in predators. Such understanding can then be applied across provinces and entire regions to identify indicator species or elements, manage high-risk human activities and minimise threats to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity.

Presentation and slides are available to view again here.