Benthic Habitat Distribution in Esperance Bay, Western Australia

A study of seabed environments in Esperance Bay, part of the Recherche Archipelago in temperate southwestern Australia. The dataset was created by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated on 2026-06-05. It examines relationships between seabed geomorphology and benthic habitat distribution using multibeam sonar, underwater video, predicted wave energy, and sediment data.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic habitat distribution based on wave energy exposure and sediment characteristics.
• Mapping rhodolith and seagrass bed locations using regional-scale physical predictors.
• Analyzing the role of limestone reefs as habitat for sessile organisms in high-energy environments.
• Investigating the impact of sediment transport and wave abrasion on inner shelf habitat diversity.

Strengths

• Integrates multiple data sources including multibeam sonar, underwater video, and sediment analysis.
• Focuses on a specific, high-energy biogenic sediment environment in shallow waters (<50 m).
• Identifies wave exposure as a key regional-scale predictor for specific habitats.

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 the single study area in Esperance Bay.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data gathered via multibeam sonar surveys, underwater video, wave energy modeling, and sediment sampling.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 06:37:10.298633; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Esperance Bay, Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia