Saville-Kent Centre - A scientific wonderland in the Abrolhos

A scientist's paradise – that's the only way to describe the rich marine and terrestrial environment of Western Australia's Abrolhos Islands. Now boasting a new expedition field station, this is an ideal study venue for scientists around the world.

Managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries, the $1.7 million Saville-Kent Centre was constructed on Rat Island - the hub of the 122 islands in the Abrolhos - and opened in mid-2003.

The centre is in the Easter Group of the Abrolhos Islands, which are 60km west of Geraldton (around 4.5 hours drive from Perth). The Abrolhos Islands consist of three main groups: the Wallabi Group, Easter Group and Pelsaert Group, which run from north to south across 100km of ocean.

As the southernmost living coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, the Abrolhos Islands and associated reef complexes are a living laboratory abound with rock lobsters and a unique range of tropical fish, reef corals and other invertebrates. The warm waters of the tropical Leeuwin Current flow through the area, allowing a diverse range of tropical, temperate and endemic fauna to mix in a living laboratory. It makes for a great place to study ecosystem processes in a high latitude coral reef.

This mixture of plants and animals from tropical and temperate waters provides a fascinating world of scientific discoveries at the Abrolhos. Tropical fish such as parrot fish, butterfly fish and coral trout swim alongside temperate fish, such as buff bream, western rock lobster and baldchin groper.

The Abrolhos area is recognised as the most significant marine habitat on the Western Australian coast and is protected under the Department of Fisheries' special Fish Habitat Protection provisions. The pristine ecosystem has four extensive reef observation areas. Fishing, except for rock lobster during the season, is not permitted. Essentially, all species of fish, including molluscs, algae and coral, are totally protected in these areas.

The area is the centre of the State's multi-million dollar western rock lobster fishery. Yet marine life is not the only attraction on the islands.