Carter, A., Allan, S., Scott, A., Rasheed, M.A., and Torres Strait Regional Authority Land and Sea Rangers (2023) Torres Strait Seagrass Report Card 2023. Report. TropWATER, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

• Seagrass is a critical habitat in Torres Strait. Extensive seagrass meadows support populations of dugong, green turtle, and fishery species. Strong cultural and spiritual links exist between Torres Strait Island communities and these species and environments.

• The Torres Strait Seagrass Monitoring Program (TSSMP) incorporates an extensive network of seagrass monitoring programs that regularly assess the condition of seagrass habitat at 28 sites/meadows. The TSSMP incorporates the Torres Strait Seagrass Observers Program, Ranger Subtidal Monitoring Program, Queensland Ports Seagrass Monitoring Program, and Reef-top Monitoring Program. Data from these programs are integrated and used to produce this report on seagrass condition.

• Twenty-six sites/meadows were classified for the 2023 report card across the Western, Central, Eastern and Inner Island Clusters.

• Overall seagrass condition was good in the Central and Inner Clusters, satisfactory condition in the Western Cluster, and poor condition in the Eastern Cluster.

• Within these Clusters there were individual sites and types of meadows where seagrass condition is of concern, or promising signs of recovery, including: a. Subtidal seagrass biomass at the Dugong Sanctuary, which remains very low and shows no signs of recovery following large scale declines that were first noted in 2019 surveys (2020 report card). In contrast, subtidal seagrass at Orman Reefs and Dungeness Reef are showing good signs of recovery. b. Condition of seagrass percent cover at Poruma Island site PM2 and Mer Island site MR2 continued to be well-below average (poor condition). Seagrass at Mabuyag Island Goemu (site MG2) is recovering from declines in 2019-2021.

• The role of herbivory in seagrass declines in the Western Cluster was examined at Mabuyag Island and Kai Reef in 2021-2023 and show large herbivores such as turtle and dugong have a significant impact on seagrass condition.

• Important milestones reached in the monitoring program in 2023 include: a. Mabuyag Island’s Panay site (MG1) reached 10-years of monitoring data, meaning that the baselines for this site is now set. b. 5-years of monitoring data were achieved at Dungeness Reef subtidal (DR1), allowing preliminary baseline conditions and overall grades and scores to be included in the report card for the first time.

• This report card highlights areas where information is lacking and suggests a pathway for better understanding Torres Strait seagrass habitats and improving representativeness and reliability of condition scores for seagrass in all Island Clusters. We recommend: (1) establishing seagrass monitoring in the Top-Western Cluster, (2) expanding meadow-scale monitoring in the Eastern and Central Cluster, (3) expanding subtidal monitoring, (4) incorporating new technology such as drones to expand intertidal seagrass monitoring and commence dugong and turtle monitoring, and (5) incorporating in situ water temperature and benthic light loggers in areas of concern. These additions would vastly improve our annual assessment of seagrass condition and drivers of observed changes in the region.

Item ID:	80482
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Copyright Information:	© James Cook University, 2023.
Date Deposited:	19 Jun 2024 02:24
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 30% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring @ 70%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180201 Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems @ 100%
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