Benthic cover survey data from coral reefs between northern Ningaloo and the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia. The dataset includes percent cover of benthic life forms derived from point intercept analysis of transect images collected between 2013 and 2016. It is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network.
Use Cases
- Analyze changes in coral reef benthic composition over time based on the YEAR_SAMPLED and PERCENT_COVER fields.
- Compare reef health between protected and fished zones based on the NO_TAKE (Y/N) attribute.
- Map the distribution of specific benthic groups across reef sites based on BROADGROUP/SUBGROUP classifications and LAT/LON coordinates.
- Assess habitat differences across reef facies (e.g., reef slope vs. flat) based on the FACIES column.
Strengths
- Includes explicit geographic coordinates (LAT, LON) for each survey site.
- Provides a multi-year time range (2013-2016) for temporal analysis.
- Contains detailed hierarchical classification of benthic cover (BROADGROUP, SUBGROUP).
- Flags sites within non-fishing zones (NO_TAKE), enabling impact studies.
Limitations
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focused on a specific region of Western Australia.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Derived from point intercept data taken from transect images.
- Time Range
- 2013-2016
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-04 08:21:14.337582; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Coral reefs between northern Ningaloo and the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia.