Smith, Caitlin, McMahon, Kathryn, Smit, Neil, Groom, Rachel, Reason, Carissa, Proctor, Megan, Coles, Robert, McKenna, Skye, Collier, Catherine, and Carter, Alexandra (2025) A compilation of over 100 years of seagrass data in northern Australia. In: [Presented at the Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference 2025]. 173. From: AMSA 2025: 59th Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference, 13-17 July 2025, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

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Abstract

The northern Australian coastline supports ecologically significant seagrass ecosystems that play a vital role in marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and that are culturally significant to Australia’s First Nations peoples. Seagrass ecosystems sustain marine megaherbivores, fish assemblages, and broader coastal resilience. Despite extensive seagrass research in Australia, historical spatial data remains fragmented, poorly curated, and rarely publicly accessible. To address this gap, we have compiled, validated, and synthesised historical seagrass spatial data from 1879 to 2023 along the Western Australian and Northern Territory coastlines. This dataset includes geolocated seagrass presence/absence records, data on 15 seagrass species, substrate type, depth, and collection dates. Our dataset comprises over 147,000 data points and more than 500 seagrass polygons, spanning from Shark Bay, Western Australia, to the Northern Territory/Queensland border. This spatial resource builds on previous seagrass data syntheses for the Gulf of Carpentaria, Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef and provides a critical baseline for predictive modelling, identifies biologically important areas, and highlights data-deficient regions where future research efforts should be prioritised across northern Australia.

Item ID:	87677
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2025 06:08
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 50% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 50%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180299 Coastal and estuarine systems and management not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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