IMAS Metadata Catalogue
Seagrass and associated benthic community data derived from field surveys at Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef 1997
The distribution of seagrass and associated benthic communities was mapped between the 29 July and 29 August 1997 on the reef and lagoon at Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef. For this survey, a total of 349 benthic survey points were examined by observers walking or free‐diving at survey points positioned approximately 50 m apart along a series of transects. To assist with mapping meadow boundaries, an additional 177 points were assessed and a 1:12,000 rectified aerial photo was commissioned (26th August 1997). A differential handheld global positioning system (GPS) was used to locate each point assessed. 127.8 ±29.6 hectares of seagrass was mapped.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 1998-01-27
- Date (Publication)
- 2017-04-26
Principal investigator
Centre for Tropical Waters and Aquatic Research (TropWATER), James Cook University (JCU) - McKenzie, Len
James Cook University (JCU)
PO Box 6811
Cairns
Queensland
4870
Australia
- Status
- Completed
Point of contact
Centre for Tropical Waters and Aquatic Research (TropWATER), James Cook University (JCU) - Research Officer
James Cook University (JCU)
PO Box 6811
Cairns
Queensland
4870
Australia
- Spatial representation type
- Vector
Spatial resolution
Equivalent scale
- Denominator
- 250
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
N
S
E
W
))
Temporal extent
- Time position
- 1997-07-29T00:00:00
- Time position
- 1997-08-29T00:00:00
Resource format
- Title
- ESRI Shapefile
- Date
- Edition
- -
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- seagrass
- reef
- Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords Version 8.0
- Keywords (Place)
-
- Great Barrier Reef
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- Benthic habitat
Resource specific usage
- Specific usage
- Data supplied for use by the Seamap Australia Project.
- ()
Resource constraints
- Classification
- Unclassified
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- Website
-
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Cite data as: McKenzie, Len J; Roder, Chantal A; Yoshida, Rudolf L (2016): Seagrass and associated benthic community data derived from field surveys at Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef, conducted July-August, 1997. Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Townsville, PANGAEA, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.858945
- Other constraints
- This dataset is hosted by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, on behalf of James Cook University (JCU) for the purposes of the Seamap Australia collaborative project (testing a national marine benthic habitat classification scheme).
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Supplemental Information
- Carter AB, Taylor HA & Rasheed MA 2014, ‘Torres Strait Mapping: Seagrass Consolidation, 2002 – 2014”, JCU Publication, Report no. 14/55, Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research, Cairns.
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
- Description
- Taxonomic identification of seagrass species
Identifier
- Name
-
SPECIES
- Description
- Coverage of identified seagrass species in quadrats
Identifier
- Code
- Abundance of biota
- Name
-
COVER0
- Identifier
- http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/P06/current/UPCT
- Name
- Percent
- Description
- Appended to original data for styling purposes for the Seamap Australia Project.
- Name
-
Benthic habitat
- Name
-
SM_HAB_CLS
Distribution Information
- Distribution format
-
-
ESRI Shapefile
-
ESRI Shapefile
- OnLine resource
-
SHAPE-ZIP
DATA ACCESS - This OGC WFS service returns the data (Low Isles seagrass) in Shapefile format.
- OnLine resource
-
seamap:SeamapAus_QLD_LowIsles_seagrass_1997
MAP - Low Isles seagrass
- OnLine resource
-
Original metadata record [PANGAEA catalogue]
Data quality info
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Report
- Measure description
- Varies dependent on tools used: ±3 meters ground truth & rectified aerial photo (detailed checking of meadow boundary during field surveys. Aerial photo of high resolution). ±10 meters ground truth & rectified aerial photo (some meadow boundaries checked during field survey) ±50 meters dive survey only (subtidal meadows not visible in remote‐sensed images. Data density generally low and reliant solely on field surveys)
Report
- Measure description
- Information finalised
Report
- Measure description
- All meadow/habitat types examined between the 29 July and 29 August 1997 are represented. Seagrass distribution and abundance can change seasonally and between years, and users should ensure that they make appropriate enquires to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter.
Resource lineage
- Statement
- Seagrass and associated benthic community data was derived by haphazardly placing 3 quadrats (0.25m**2) at each survey point. Seagrass above ground biomass (standing crop, grams dry weight (g DW m**-2)) was determined within each quadrat using a non-destructive visual estimates of biomass technique and the seagrass species present identified. In addition, the cover of all benthos was measured within each of the 3 quadrats using a systematic 5 point method. For each quadrat, frequency of occurrence for each benthic category was converted to a percentage of the total number of points (5 per quadrat). Data are presented as the average of the 3 quadrats at each point. Polygons of discrete seagrass meadow/habitat type boundaries were created using the on-screen digitising functions of ArcGIS (ESRI Inc.), differentiated on the basis of colour, texture, and the geomorphic and geographical context. The resulting seagrass and benthic cover data of each survey point and for each seagrass meadow/habitat type was linked to GPS coordinates and saved as an ArcMap point and polygon shapefile, respectively.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Resource lineage
- Statement
- The boundary of each meadow/habitat type was primarily mapped in the field by observers assessing 526 ground truthed points. A georeferenced aerial photograph was used as a secondary source of information to aid in determining the boundaries of each meadow/habitat type. Bathymetry (elevation below Mean Sea Level) measured at each point assessed and from Ellison (1997) supplemented information used to determine boundaries, particularly in the subtidal lagoon. The on‐screen digitising functions of ArcGIS (ESRI Inc.) were used to create polygons of discrete meadow/habitat types (i.e. COMMUNITY), differentiated on the basis of 349 survey point data (see Low_Isles_1997_BenthicDataSites), the bathymetric contours and the imagery colour, texture, and the geomorphic and geographical context. An ‘estimate of reliability’ (R) of the areal extent (hectares) of each meadow was also calculated based on the errors associated with GPS fixes for survey points and digitising/rectifying the aerial photograph. Each column header title includes the following data: COMMUNITY description of seagrass meadow/habitat type (dominant seagrass species, features and sediment type) MDW_ID unique number for each seagrass meadow/habitat type Ha____R area of polygon in hectares for each seagrass meadow/habitat type with error (±) estimate of Reliability (based on positional accuracy) East_WGS84 Eastings in meters (UTM Zone 55 South) Nth_WGS84 Northings in meters (UTM Zone 55 South) Long_WGS84 Decimal Degrees Lat_WGS84 Decimal Degrees
- Hierarchy level
- Attribute
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- human
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- diver
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
-
b2dbc96b-6737-41ab-b6fd-8fcf1b957ad0
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Point of contact
- Parent metadata
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/b2dbc96b-6737-41ab-b6fd-8fcf1b957ad0
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2020-09-23T12:36:21
- Date info (Revision)
- 2020-09-23T12:36:21
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
Spatial extent
N
S
E
W
Provided by
Associated resources
Not available