Benthic Habitat Distribution in Esperance Bay, Western Australia

The Australian Ocean Data Network provides a dataset examining seabed environments in Esperance Bay, part of the Recherche Archipelago. The study uses multibeam sonar, underwater video, predicted wave energy, and sediment data to analyze relationships between geomorphology and benthic habitat distribution. The data was last updated on 2026-04-18.

Use Cases

• Modeling rhodolith and seagrass habitat distribution based on predicted wave energy data.
• Analyzing the relationship between sediment composition (gravel, mud, CaCO3 percentages) and rhodolith bed presence.
• Mapping limestone reef habitats and their associated sessile organisms in high-energy wave environments.
• Assessing the role of wave abrasion and sediment transport in shaping inner shelf benthic habitat diversity.

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, high-energy shallow-water environment (<50 m depth).
• Integrates multiple data sources: multibeam sonar, underwater video, wave energy, and sediment data.
• Identifies wave energy as a key regional-scale predictor for specific habitat types.

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.
• Freshness should be verified as the last update date is in the future (2026-04-18).

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 19:05:29.457028

Geography

Esperance Bay, Recherche Archipelago, temperate southwestern Australia