Dungeness Reef Seagrass Survey in Torres Strait, February 2021

TropWATER at James Cook University surveyed 128 sites on Dungeness Reef in February 2021, recording seagrass presence, species composition, and biomass. The dataset comprises three GIS shapefiles summarizing site-level observations, meadow communities, and interpolated biomass variation. This survey is part of annual long-term monitoring initiated in 2016 to support dugong and turtle management plans.

Use Cases

• Mapping seagrass meadow distribution and health based on GIS shapefiles.
• Analyzing species composition and biomass variation across 128 surveyed sites.
• Modeling habitat suitability for dugongs and turtles based on seagrass metrics.
• Monitoring long-term trends in intertidal reef-top seagrass as part of an ongoing series.

Strengths

• Data from 128 specific survey sites provides detailed spatial coverage.
• Includes three distinct GIS layers (site, meadow, interpolation) for multi-scale analysis.
• Part of a consistent annual monitoring series since 2016, enabling trend analysis.
• Uses calibrated observer methods with linear regression for biomass estimation.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update is listed as 2026-06-17.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Helicopter-based intertidal surveys using visual estimates of biomass and species composition within quadrats.

Time Range

February 2021

Freshness

Survey conducted in February 2021; part of an annual series.

Geography

Dungeness Reef, Torres Strait, Australia