This metadata record provides a brief overview of the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal (MaC) Hub. The record acts as an aggregation point for all NESP Marine and Coastal Hub data collections and projects developed as part of this research program. The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) is a long-term commitment by the Australian Government to environment and climate research. The first phase invested $145 million (2014-15 to 2020-21) into 6 research hubs. The second phase invests $149 million (2020-21 to 2026-27) into 4 new research hubs. The program builds on its predecessors – the National Environmental Research Program (NERP) and the Australian Climate Change Science Programme (ACCSP) – to support decision-makers to understand, manage and conserve Australia’s environment by funding world-class biodiversity and climate science. The Marine and Coastal Hub is a collaborative partnership supported by funding from the Australian Government administered by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The current NESP funding program runs from 2021 to 2027. The Marine and Coastal Hub is co-administered by the University of Tasmania (UTAS), and the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC). The Marine and Coastal Hub will deliver: • applied research to support management of Australia’s marine and coastal environments including estuaries, coast, reefs, shelf and deep-water • targeted biodiversity and taxonomy products to support efficient system monitoring • environmental monitoring systems and decision-support tools. The hub will also drive coordinated research across all 4 new hubs under NESP’s ‘protected place management’ cross-cutting mission. This research will support management of Australia’s protected places and heritage, including the national park estate and Ramsar sites in both marine and terrestrial environments. Research products from the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub are available from https://nespmarinecoastal.edu.au and the Australian Ocean Data Network catalogue (http://catalogue.aodn.org.au)

Tidal wetlands are vulnerable to accelerated rates of sea-level rise projected by climate models. The Surface Elevation Table (SET) is a technique applied globally to assess the extent of vertical adjustment of tidal wetlands to sea-level rise over decadal timescales. This record describes the SET data from the Australian network (OzSET). This data can be used for analyzing wetlands elevation change at the study sites

This data is from the 2021 Seeds for Snapper season which is a community volunteer seed based seagrass restoration program located in Perth, Western Australia. It details the effort that went into the collection of Posidonia australis seagrass fruit including number of divers, number of shore support personnel, volunteered hours, and fruit collection metrics (volume, estimated number).

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Towards a consolidated and open-science framework for restoration monitoring". No data outputs are planned for this project. -------------------- Coastal habitat restoration is scaling up rapidly in Australia and covers a range of habitats including oyster reefs, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, kelp forests, and saltmarshes. Every restoration project includes some attempt at monitoring outcomes but currently these are piecemeal, uncoordinated, often poorly funded, and rarely follow Open Science protocols. Previous NESP-funded projects have improved understanding of the ecology and service provision of threatened ecosystems and established targets for repair based on reference conditions (e.g. Marine Biodiversity project B4). They have also established an extensive database of marine and coastal restoration projects (ARCN: project E5), and have supported the development of monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement systems (MERI) for various sectors or projects. By combining the knowledge of all Australian researchers undertaking monitoring of restoration projects, across multiple habitats, this project will build upon these previous projects to synthesise the approaches for monitoring of habitat restoration. It will also explore integration of new technologies, such as automation, artificial intelligence, and eDNA, within the monitoring framework to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The primary output will be a co-ordinated and open-science framework for restoration monitoring across projects, scales and habitats, that integrates clearly articulated hypotheses to determine the goals for restoration. This framework will streamline development of future restoration projects and ensure that maximum value from monitoring activities is achieved. Planned Outputs • Literature review [written] • Guidelines document (best-practice toolkit) [written] ---no data outputs are planned for this project---

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "A national framework for improving seagrass restoration". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Across Australia, the loss of >275,000 ha of seagrass meadows and associated ecosystem services – valued at AU$ 5.3 billion – has contributed to the long-term degradation of estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. Restoration of seagrass is critical for improving the health and function of these ecosystems and sustaining coastal communities and industries that depend on them. This is primarily because restoration practices are piecemeal and driven by local drivers and are generally not conducted at scales of seagrass loss. We address this problem by bringing together scientists and key stakeholders to collate knowledge on seagrass ecology and restoration and generate a framework to scaling-up restoration nationally. We also build on ongoing restoration trials to test the proposed framework.These are: assessing sediment quality and manipulations (Gamay Rangers, UNSW); use of sediment filled hessian tubes for seed and seedling capture (Malgana Rangers, UWA), and: scaling up seed collection for seed-based restoration (Seeds for Snapper, OZFISH, UWA). Planned Outputs • Effect of sediment quality and manipulation on seagrass transplant success (field data) • Locations and health of beachcast fragments of Posidonia in Botany Bay (field data) • Effect of engineering hydrodynamics (by use of hessian socks) on seagrass transplant success (field data)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project "Advancing national standards and best practices to monitor key marine values and pressures". No data outputs are expected to be generated by this project. -------------------- This project aims to advance the establishment and use of national standards and best practices to monitor the condition status of priority values and pressures of Australia’s marine estate. It will build on the national standards and best practice process developed in the previous NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub to produce three new national standards for monitoring (drop cameras, socioeconomic surveys of marine users, marine microplastics). A practical implementation plan will be developed to embed the application of standards, with particular attention to inclusive and diverse approaches (e.g. engagement of community groups and Indigenous partnerships). The plan will set out a future path to develop, maintain and make available national standards; increase their uptake; and assess effectiveness and impact as related to the delivery of priority monitoring activities. Outputs • Workshop and questionnaire report gauging the needs of scientists, Indigenous communities, and marine managers [written] • Scientific publication on marine best practice development [written] • New national standards for (1) drop cameras; (2) socioeconomic surveys; and (3) microplastics studies [written] • Implementation plan (final report) [written] ---no data outputs will be generated by this project---

Benthic habitat annotations of stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video (Stereo-BRUV) and panoramic drop camera imagery, were completed as part of a report funded by the NESP Marine & Coastal Hub. This report focussed on an IUCN II zone in the South-west Corner Marine Park off the 'Capes region' near Margaret River. These data were analysed in TransectMeasure using a modified version of the CATAMI scheme.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project "Improving knowledge transfer to support Australian Marine Park decision making and management effectiveness evaluation". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- In the last decade Australia’s researchers have made significant progress to provide managers with data and data products to inform the planning and establishment of Australian Marine Parks (AMPs). However, further work is required to adequately meet the data product requirements for assessing AMP management effectiveness. This project addresses this problem by: 1) Identifying priority data and data products to support characterisation of marine systems and reporting on AMP monitoring priorities; 2) Assessing availability and delivery mechanisms of high priority data and data products and whether they are fit for purpose; and 3) Estimating condition of park values (excluding cultural values) and assessing management effectiveness with available data/knowledge. This project advances the Hub’s Protected Place Management Initiative and contributes to the national need for improving access to data and expanding the Australian Ocean Data Network. Outputs • Documented data and data product priorities organised in one or more data product hierarchies including monitoring priorities and their indicators where appropriate [written] • A fit for purpose assessment of priority data products [written] • Methods for estimating current condition status of AMP values [written] • Recommendations for how to progress priority data sets that do not currently meet the established criteria but are required for characterising, protecting, and assessing current condition status of AMP values [written] • Final project report [written] • Ad-hoc data products generated through this project's data fitness-for-purpose exercise - see linked 'child' records