Carter, Alex, Collier, Catherine, Groom, Rachel, McKenna, Skye, Rasheed, Michael, Taylor, Helen, van de Wetering, Chris, Chartrand, Katie, Reason, Carissa, Shepherd, Lloyd, Mellors, Jane, McKenzie, Len, Duke, Norm, Roelofs, Anthony, Smit, Neil, Barrett, David, Evans, Shaun, Pitcher, Roland, Murphy, Nicole, Carlisle, Moni, David, Madeina, Lui, Stan, Torres Strait Indigenous Rangers, and Coles, Robert (2023) Looking back to plan for the future: Four decades of seagrass data provide a strong foundation for mapping marine habitats in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait. In: [Presented at the Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference 2023]. 153. From: Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference 2023, 2-7 July 2023, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

The Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait in north-eastern Australia support globally significant seagrass ecosystems that underpin fishing and cultural heritage of the region’s Traditional Owners and custodians. Reliable data on seagrass distribution and species composition is critical to understanding how these ecosystems are changing, while managing for resilience and mitigating risks. Spatial data on seagrass has been collected since the early 1980s, but the early data was poorly curated, some was not publicly available, and some already lost. To address this, we compiled, validated and synthesized historical seagrass spatial data (1983 - 2022) to create a publicly available database. We include a site layer of >48,000 geolocated data points with information on 13 seagrass species and other benthic conditions, and a polygon layer that includes >600 seagrass meadows. This resource provides an important baseline for a number of habitat mapping collaborations between First Nations communities, rangers and scientists that are underway in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait and are described in this talk.

Item ID:	93656
Item Type:	Conference Item (Presentation)
Date Deposited:	08 Sep 2026 05:47
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3108 Plant biology > 310801 Phycology (incl. marine grasses) @ 50% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring @ 50%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180201 Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180501 Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems @ 50%
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