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    In 2016-2017, UniDive (The University of Queensland Underwater Club) conducted an ecological assessment of the Flinders Reef Dive sites - the FREA project. Involvement in the project was voluntary. Members of UniDive who were marine experts conducted training for other club members who had no, or limited, experience in identifying marine organisms and mapping habitats. Habitats were mapped using a combination of towed GPS photo transects, WorldView-2 satellite imagery and expert knowledge. This data provides georeferenced information regarding the major features of each of the Flinders Reef Dive Sites.

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    The study involved the collection of field data and acquisitioning of satellite imagery to create a map that presents a benthic inventory of reefal habitat areas within Moreton Bay. Mapping was guided by the most recent reef map (Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, 2004), the new field data, local knowledge and/or visual interpretation of high spatial resolution satellite imagery. The inventories for each reefal area were based on georeferenced spot check field data collected by volunteer teams in 2015 and 2016 (n=610). This field data was overlayed on high spatial resolution ZY-3 satellite imagery (5 m x 5 m pixels) captured in June 2014. Polygons were manually digitised around reefal areas by an expert from the Remote Sensing Research Centre using visual interpretation of the texture and colour of the pixels in the satellite imagery, as related to water depth, field data and local field knowledge. Polygons were subsequently assigned one of three categories (Coral on reef matrix, Soft Coral on Sand/Rubble, and, Algae on sand/rubble). The project was a collaborative citizen science project between Reef Check Australia, The University of Queensland Remote Sensing Research Centre and Healthy Waterways to collect benthic inventories for eight key subtropical reefal areas in Central Moreton Bay - Mud, Saint Helena, Green, King, Macleay, Goat, and Peel Islands, and, Myora Reef.

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    Surveying habitats critical to the survival of grey nurse sharks in South-East Queensland has mapped critical habitats, gathered species inventories and developed protocols for ecological monitoring of critical habitats in southern Queensland. This information has assisted stakeholders with habitat definition and effective management. In 2002 members of UniDive applied successfully for World Wide Fund for Nature, Threatened Species Network funds to map the critical Grey Nurse Shark Habitats in south east Queensland. UniDive members used the funding to survey, from the boats of local dive operators, Wolf Rock at Double Island Point, Gotham, Cherub's Cave, Henderson's Rock and China Wall at North Moreton and Flat Rock at Point Look Out during 2002 and 2003. These sites are situated along the south east Queensland coast and are known to be key Grey Nurse Shark aggregation sites. During the project UniDive members were trained in mapping and survey techniques that include identification of fish, invertebrates and substrate types. Training was conducted by experts from the University of Queensland (Centre of Marine Studies, Biophysical Remote Sensing) and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service who are also UniDive members. The monitoring methods (see methods) are based upon results of the UniDive Coastcare project from 2002, the international established Reef Check program and research conducted by Biophysical Remote Sensing and the Centre of Marine Studies. This record describes the digitised habitat features for Wolf Rock. View the original metadata record at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.864211 for the full data collection.

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    Seagrass meadow extent and meadow-scape was mapped using four alternative approaches at Yule Point, a coastal clear water habitat, in the Cairns section of the Great Barrier Reef, between October 2017 and July 2020. Approach 1 included mapping meadow boundaries and meadow-scape during low spring tides on foot using a handheld GPS. Approach 2 was where the meadows were surveyed at low tide with observations from a helicopter, with observational spot-checks conducted at a number haphazardly scattered points. Approach 3 used imagery collected during low spring tides with a UAV at an altitude of 30 m with a resolution of 0.2cm/pixel. Approach 4 used PlanetScope Dove imagery captured on 05 September 2017 and 09 August 2019 coinciding as close as possible to the field-surveys in 2017 and 2019, with 3.7 m x 3.7 m pixels (nadir viewing) acquired from the PlanetScope archive. This record describes meadow extent data collected using Approach 4 (PlanetScope imagery). View the original metadata record at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.946604 for the full data collection.

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    Approximately 2,362 ±289 km2 of seagrass meadows were mapped in the waters of Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait between 6 and 14 December 1998. This was the first comprehensive survey of the Great Sandy region. The survey involved examination of 1,104 field validation points and identified 174 individual meadows. Seagrass extended from the intertidal and shallow subtidal waters to a depth of 32m. Seven species of seagrass were identified (Cymodocea serrulata, Halodule uninervis, Syringodium isoetifolium, Halophila decipiens, Halophila ovalis, Halophila spinulosa and Zostera muelleri) within 22 seagrass meadow/community types. Mapping survey methodologies followed standardised global seagrass research methods for intertidal, shallow subtidal (2‐10m depth) and deep waters (>10m) using both in situ and remote assessments. View the original metadata record at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876714.

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    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.

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    Seagrass meadow extent and meadow-scape was mapped using two alternative approaches at Green Island, a reef clear water habitat, in the Cairns section of the Great Barrier Reef, in November 2020. Approach 1 included mapping seagrass meadow-scape using imagery captured during low spring tides with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro UAV at an altitude of 100 m, with a resolution of 2.45cm/pixel. Approach 2 used PlanetScope Dove imagery captured on 05 November 2020 coinciding as close as possible to the field-surveys from 25 to 27 November 2020, with 3.7 m x 3.7 m pixels (nadir viewing) acquired from the PlanetScope archive. This record describes meadow extent data collected using Approach 2 (PlanetScope imagery). View the original metadata record at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.946605 for the full data collection.

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    Seagrass meadow extent and meadow-scape was mapped using three alternative approaches at Midge Point, a coastal turbid water habitat, in the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, in September/October 2017. Approach 1 included mapping meadow boundaries and meadow-scape during low spring tides on foot using a handheld Garmin GPS. Approach 2 was where the meadows were surveyed at low tide with observations from a helicopter, with observational spot-checks conducted at a number haphazardly scattered points. Approach 3 used PlanetScope Dove imagery captured on 09 October 2017 coinciding as close as possible to the field-surveys, with 3.7 m x 3.7 m pixels (nadir viewing) acquired from the PlanetScope archive. This record describes meadow extent data collected using Approach 3 (PlanetScope imagery). View the original metadata record at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.946606 for the full data collection.

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    The Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer (NBHL) is a compilation of benthic habitat datasets obtained from various sectors including research, government, industry and community sources, across Australia. Disparate datasets are integrated into a single national-scale benthic habitat database, and classified uniformly under a national classification scheme implemented as a controlled vocabulary (https://vocabs.ardc.edu.au/viewById/129). For acceptance into the 'formal' (validated_ Seamap Australia NBHL (see https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a), source habitat datasets must meet a set of Acceptance Criteria (documented in https://seamapaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SeamapAustraliaDataAcceptanceGuidelines.pdf). Broadly speaking, for inclusion in the Seamap Australia NBHL, datasets must: (1) be well-described by metadata or associated documentation; (2) employ a single, consistent classification scheme which avoids non-deterministic or ambiguous terms; (3) bequality-controlled by the provider prior to contribution; (4) beacquired using an established and community-endorsed form of data collection (eg satellite, aerial or acoustic remote sensing); and (5) have documented evidence of ground-truthing validation at the time of data collection (e.g. drop camera, towed video, benthic grabs). This record describes habitat datasets that meet Acceptance Criteria 1-4, but *have not* been validated/ground-truthed and are therefore ineligible for inclusion in the formal Seamap Australia NBHL. They have been synthesised and uniformly classified using an identical methodology to the NBHL, but represent an intermediate collection of habitat datasets that would benefit from field ground-truthing in order to validate the habitat classifications. The Seamap Australia synthesis of unvalidated habitat datasets can be viewed, analysed and downloaded from the Seamap Australia data portal (https://seamapaustralia.org/map). This dataset should be considered a “live” asset and will continue to develop as more unvalidated habitat datasets are collected or made available. The most current (2024) version of the data is available from the following endpoints: WMS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wms WFS: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/seamap/wfs Layer name: SeamapAus_NBHL_unvalidated Various download options are supplied in the “Online resources” section of this record.

  • The Seamap Australia spatial data layer is a nationally synthesised data product of seafloor marine habitat data. Australian continental shelf benthic habitat layers in GIS format were collected from various stakeholders around the country. Through compiling all of these data sets, we established a controlled vocabulary, reviewed by ANDS and external independent assessors, to produce a national classification of marine habitats. This national marine habitat classification scheme complements work undertaken by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub (Theme D). The Seamap Australia product is of national importance and highlights the diversity of benthic habitats around our marine estate. This is the first edition of a seafloor marine habitat data layer that seamlessly brings together data from each of Australia’s state and territory marine habitat databases. Seamap Australia is a constantly evolving product as we continuously improve our skills in standardising, collating and sharing marine spatial data. This record describes a static version of the Seamap Australia national data layer as of 28/11/2018. The most current version of the data is available from the Seamap Australia website [http://seamapaustralia.org/map]. We envisage that the 'live' product will be constantly developed and updated as future surveys continue to improve our knowledge of our vast marine estate.