Video Surveys of Sea Urchin Barrens Habitat in Fortescue Bay, Tasmania

Fortescue Bay in eastern Tasmania is the location for this dataset of underwater video surveys estimating the spatial extent of long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) barrens habitat on rocky reefs. The data was collected by the Australian Ocean Data Network using a towed underwater video system across three subsites: Lanterns, Munroe Bight, and Thumbs. The dataset was last updated on 2026-07-22.

Use Cases

• Mapping the distribution of sea urchin barrens based on video survey data.
• Assessing habitat change on rocky reefs based on spatial extent estimates.
• Studying the ecological impact of Centrostephanus rodgersii based on surveyed regions.
• Comparing reef conditions between different subsites (Lanterns, Munroe Bight, Thumbs) based on video observations.

Strengths

• Data covers 3 specific subsites within the Fortescue Bay region, providing localized detail.
• Collection method (towed underwater video system) is specified, allowing for assessment of data generation.
• Dataset is part of a larger survey covering 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, suggesting a structured sampling design.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Spatial extent estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-22 03:11:06.753647; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Fortescue Bay region (Lanterns, Munroe Bight, Thumbs subsites), eastern Tasmania, Australia.