Peel-Harvey Estuary Seagrass Survey Extent and Cover 2021

A 2021 survey of seagrass and macroalgae in Western Australia's Peel-Harvey Estuary recorded species distribution, percentage cover categories, canopy height, and epiphytic cover. Data collection involved underwater drop camera and viewing cone observations during March and April 2021. The dataset includes point and polygon layers for presence, absence, and percentage cover.

Use Cases

• Map seagrass species distribution and percentage cover categories (0-100%) across the estuary for habitat assessment.
• Analyze the relationship between recorded canopy height intervals and epiphytic cover classifications (low, medium, high).
• Model macroalgae distribution using its recorded percentage cover categories alongside seagrass data.
• Correlate seagrass cover with environmental data like secchi depth and photosynthetically active radiation from a subset of sites.

Strengths

• Data includes multiple derived spatial layers (point, extent polygon, cover polygon) for analytical flexibility.
• Survey captures seven standardized percentage cover categories for both seagrass and macroalgae.
• Additional environmental parameters (water profiles, secchi depth) were recorded at approximately one-third of sites.

Limitations

• Data is a single temporal snapshot from 2021, limiting analysis of trends or change over time.
• Sample data and row/column counts are unavailable, preventing assessment of dataset scale and specific structure.

Provenance

Source

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Geospatial and Data Services Manager.

Collection Method

Underwater drop camera observations and/or observations through a viewing cone.

Time Range

March and April 2021.

Freshness

Data last updated in March 2026, but core survey data is from 2021.

Geography

Peel-Harvey Estuary, Western Australia.