Connectivity of North East Australia Seascapes – Data and Maps (NESP TWQ 3.3.3, AIMS and J

Expert-derived connectivity assessments for 59 natural, indigenous, social, historic, and economic attributes across seven marine regions in North East Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef. The data was gathered from approximately 30 experts during a workshop in August 2017 and processed into maps and spreadsheets. It is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify values requiring joint management across regions based on expert-assessed connection strength.
• Model ecological and socio-economic linkages between marine regions based on connection mechanisms.
• Prioritize conservation and management interventions based on connection confidence scores.
• Visualize spatial connectivity patterns for heritage and economic values using the provided GIS files.

Strengths

• Assessments are based on expert opinion from approximately 30 participants.
• Covers 59 distinct attributes across 7 defined marine regions.
• Each connection is assessed on multiple dimensions: strength, mechanism, and confidence.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and expert bias inherent to the workshop methodology.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN), from the NESP TWQ 3.3.3 project by AIMS and JCU.

Collection Method

Data gathered via expert elicitation during a 3-day workshop in August 2017, with subsequent review and processing by the project team.

Time Range

Data reflects expert knowledge as of August 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 12:11:15.109529; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North East Australia, covering the Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait, Coral Sea, and Great Sandy Strait regions.