The isolation and structure elucidation of seven new oxygenated terpenoids and eight known terpene metabolites from marine invertebrates collected at the Inner Gneerings Reef, South East Queensland, is discussed. Investigation of the sponge Coscinoderma matthewsi yielded an epoxylactone derivative (1) of the known furanoterpene tetradehydrofurospongin-1 (2). A chemical investigation of the dissected nudibranch Chromodoris albopunctata provided the new oxygenated diterpenes 12α-acetoxyspongian-16-one (10), 20-acetoxyspongian-16-one (12), 20-oxyspongian-16-one propionate (13) and 12α,20-dioxyspongian-16-one dipropionate (14) in conjunction with three other known diterpene metabolites, while two new chromodorolides, D (17) and E (18), in addition to four known diterpenes were isolated from a Dysidea sp.

Specimens of the Indo-Pacific sponge Acanthella cavernosa Dendy collected from locations along the Eastern coastline of Australia have been shown to contain a range of sesquiterpenes including isothiocyanate 1, isocyanide 10, and the isocyanates 15 and 22. These metabolite studies have provided a basis for chemical comparisons between sponge populations from different geographic locations and between individual specimens collected from a single location.