Subtidal Benthic Habitats of Yanyuwa Sea Country, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

A partnership between li-Anthawirriyarra rangers, Charles Darwin University, James Cook University, and Mabunji Aboriginal Resource Indigenous Corporation produced this dataset. It summarises subtidal benthic surveys into three GIS shapefiles covering 849 survey sites and 46 seagrass meadows in the Yanyuwa Indigenous Protected Area. The project was funded by the NT Government Aboriginal Ranger Grant Program.

Use Cases

• Mapping seagrass meadow distribution and biomass based on the interpolation shapefile.
• Analyzing benthic community composition based on percent cover data for corals, sponges, and algae.
• Studying habitat use by megafauna like dugongs and turtles based on presence/absence records.
• Assessing sediment type and open substrate cover for habitat classification studies.

Strengths

• Dataset is structured into three distinct, purpose-built GIS layers (site, meadow, interpolation).
• Surveys integrated multiple data sources including satellite imagery, aerial photos, and field notes.
• Project involved a direct partnership with Indigenous rangers and academic institutions.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2026-06-04 22:26:41.205535; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (aggregator), data collected by li-Anthawirriyarra rangers, Charles Darwin University, James Cook University, and Mabunji Aboriginal Resource Indigenous Corporation.

Collection Method

Subtidal surveys conducted by vessel, with data integrated into ArcGIS 10.8 using rectified satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and field notes.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 22:26:41.205535.

Geography

Yanyuwa Sea Country, Barni-Wardimantha Awara Indigenous Protected Area, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory, Australia