Habitat Potential Model for 753 Australian Submarine Canyons

A surrogacy framework estimates habitat suitability for marine megafauna and infauna across 753 known Australian submarine canyons. The methodology uses 22 environmental and ecological variables to model potential habitat condition. The framework was presented at the 2017 Australian Marine Science Association Conference and is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Prioritizing conservation areas based on modeled habitat potential scores for benthic and pelagic species.
• Analyzing relationships between canyon geomorphic diversity and habitat suitability using 22 environmental variables.
• Identifying high-value canyons for management based on features like shelf incision and sediment disturbance regimes.
• Comparing habitat potential across regions like the Great Barrier Reef, NSW coast, and southern margin.

Strengths

• Covers 753 submarine canyons along the entire Australian continental margin.
• Framework incorporates 22 distinct environmental and ecological variables.
• Explicitly models habitat for three ecological groups: pelagic megafauna, epibenthic megafauna, and benthic infauna.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The framework is described as requiring refinement and comprehensive validation with ecological data.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Surrogacy framework using 22 environmental/ecological variables.

Time Range

Methodology presented in 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 20:18:22.338831; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian continental margin.