Sea snake sightings from Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations deployed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science were used to predict locations that are likely important habitats for sea snake populations within the North West Marine Region (NWMR). Presence/Absence of sea snakes were modelled with environmental parameters using Gradient Boosted Regression Tree model to predict habitat suitability within the 1000 m depth contour along the NWMR. This output is a result of work conducted as part of the NESP Marine Hub Project A8- 'Exploring the status of Western Australia's sea snakes'. See project page for more details and updates: https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/project/project-a8-exploring-status-western-australian-sea-snakes

Of the ~80 EPBC-listed Threatened and Migratory marine species known to occur in the North Marine Bioregion, 16 were identified as priority species through consultation with research end-users and experts. The priority group consisted of three sawfishes, two river sharks, Dugong, two inshore dolphins, six shorebirds and two turtles. Dwarf and then Green Sawfish had the most data gaps, indicating that these were the most poorly-known of the selected priority species in the North Marine Bioregion, and as such are a priority for research. These were followed (in order of data gaps) by the other river sharks and sawfishes, inshore dolphins, Hawksbill Turtle, Dugong, Olive Ridley Turtle, and shorebirds. Research assessing the relevance and impact of pressures was identified as a gap for all species. New data identified during the project can fill data gaps for all 16 species, and the analysis of these datasets can improve the accuracy of distribution maps, but new data collection is still required for all sharks and sawfishes, Hawksbill Turtle, and inshore dolphins to improve data coverage for distribution modelling and mapping. Phase 1 of the project involved a gap analysis with identified numerous new datasets, both published and unpublished, that are currently not incorporated into SPRAT profiles and distributions (see Table 5). This provided an opportunity to begin compiling and analysing this information to fill current data gaps, as well as identify targeted research needs for the future. Phase 2 of the project built on collaboration with data custodians to develop data sharing agreements for use of these datasets to construct spatial models to refine and update species distributions. Downloadable data and materials are a linked to in the 'online resources' section of this record. GIS online maps of species distributions are available at this WMS endpoint: https://geoserver.imas.utas.edu.au/geoserver/SDM/wms?request=GetCapabilities&service=WMS

Meta data of all tagged hammerhead sharks detailing tag dates, locations, and shark biological details.

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)

The goal of the program was developing comprehensive inventories and maps of the distribution and abundance of physical and biological seabed habitats, seagrasses and benthic assemblages to provide baseline environmental mapping and a description of ecological patterns. The benthic habitat mapping was performed by utilising R/Python and Maxent software within the species distribution modelling domain. We correlated the probability of occurrence of individual benthic habitat classes with the environmental predictors developed form the multibeam hydroacoustic dataset. The data is presented as a maximum likelihood map incorporating all five prediction classes: (1- Macroalgae; 2- Filter Feeders; 3- Seagrass; 4- Hard Corals; 5- Bare seafloor). An updated version of this data are available (2022) Revised predictive benthic habitat map for Darwin Harbour. Report prepared for Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Darwin, 127 pp.

This project updates the 2019 predictive benthic habitat map for this region, extending past the subtidal zone of the harbour to include intertidal habitats. The project worked with collaborators to synthesise existing data sets for inclusion in benthic habitat mapping process. Hydrodynamic model variables were updated and new digital elevation data included to provide a more accurate representation of the bed shear stress, waves and current. LiDAR surveys were conducted to fill in the gap between the IX bathymetric survey and the high tide water mark. The LiDAR survey data extended the existing bathymetry data. A total of 30 towed video transects were conducted in areas predicted to have a high probability of benthic fauna occurrence based on the existing predictive model. The benthic habitat model was updated to include NTG historical data, new towed video data, hydrodynamic and light data.