West Cape York Marine Park Benthic Habitat and Fish Survey, December 2024

129 benthic habitat sites and 85 baited remote underwater video deployments were surveyed in the West Cape York Marine Park between 3-12 December 2024. The survey characterized seagrass, algae, and invertebrate communities and identified 80 fish species from 36 families. It was conducted by a partnership including Angkamuthi Traditional Owners, James Cook University, Charles Darwin University, and Parks Australia.

Use Cases

• Assessing benthic habitat condition based on seagrass, algal, and invertebrate cover data
• Analyzing fish community composition and abundance based on BRUVS survey results
• Monitoring changes in marine ecosystems by comparing 2024 survey data with a 2021 pilot study
• Supporting collaborative marine park management informed by Traditional Owner knowledge and scientific data

Strengths

• Survey covers 129 distinct benthic habitat sites across multiple marine park zones
• Fish data includes 80 identified species from 85 BRUVS deployments
• Collaborative methodology involving Traditional Owners and multiple research institutions

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

Parks Australia

Collection Method

Field survey using towed video, sled nets, and baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS)

Time Range

Survey conducted 3-12 December 2024

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 23:50:24.008469; freshness should be verified

Geography

West Cape York Marine Park, Queensland, Australia