Seasonal Benthic Habitat Maps with Biogeochemical and Infaunal Data for Jervis Bay

Habitat maps classify patch-types in a sandy embayment using abiotic parameters like sediment composition and biogeochemical factors. The dataset includes winter (August) and summer (February) surveys from Jervis Bay, Australia, conducted by the Australian Ocean Data Network. It integrates physical, biogeochemical, and infaunal data to analyze spatial and temporal influences on biodiversity.

Use Cases

• Model infaunal diversity patterns using predictors like %mud, chlorophyll a, and sulfur from seasonal surveys.
• Analyze species turnover across habitat patch-types defined by sediment sorting and bio-available elements.
• Compare the effectiveness of sediment-based versus biogeochemistry-based habitat maps for differentiating biological communities between months.
• Investigate temporal changes in reactive carbon and redox conditions as drivers of biodiversity.
• Apply Boosted Decision Tree and cokriging models to generate spatially continuous data-layers for habitat classification.

Strengths

• Data includes both winter and summer surveys, enabling temporal comparison.
• Combines multiple data types: physical (%mud, sorting), biogeochemical (chlorophyll a, sulfur), and biological (infauna).
• Habitat maps are constructed from classified GIS overlays, providing a spatial framework for analysis.

Limitations

• Sample size and specific row counts for infaunal records are not provided.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single temperate embayment (Jervis Bay, Australia).
• Data freshness is unclear as the last update is a future date (2026-04-04), suggesting potential metadata error.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field surveys collecting sediment and infaunal samples, analyzed for physical and biogeochemical properties, with spatial modeling via Boosted Decision Trees and cokriging.

Time Range

Surveys conducted in August (winter) and February (summer).

Freshness

null

Geography

Jervis Bay, Australia.