Dungeness Reef Seagrass Survey with Species and Biomass Data, 2019

Intertidal benthic survey data from Dungeness Reef in the Torres Strait, collected in February 2019. The dataset includes three GIS shapefiles summarizing seagrass presence, species composition, and biomass across 92 sites. This monitoring is conducted by TropWATER at James Cook University to support dugong and turtle management plans.

Use Cases

• Mapping seagrass meadow extent and health based on geospatial shapefiles and biomass interpolation.
• Analyzing species composition changes over time based on annual survey data mentioned in the description.
• Modeling habitat suitability for dugongs and turtles based on seagrass presence and biomass metrics.
• Calibrating remote sensing models of coastal vegetation using ground-truthed percent cover and biomass estimates.

Strengths

• Data from 92 specific survey sites provides spatial granularity.
• Includes calibrated above-ground biomass estimates (g DW m-2) derived from observer rankings.
• Part of an annual monitoring program established in 2016, suggesting methodological consistency.

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 bias inherent to a single reef system.

Provenance

Source

TropWATER, James Cook University, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Helicopter-based surveys using visual estimates of biomass and species composition within quadrats, following TropWATER Seagrass Group methods.

Time Range

February 2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 19:50:42.856653; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Dungeness Reef, Torres Strait, Australia