Title

Distribution of Seagrass in Western Port in 1999 

Alternate title

SEAGRASS_WESTERN_PORT_1999 

Resource Type

Dataset  

Purpose

Represents the spatial extent, species distribution and density of seagrass and other aquatic vegetation in Western Port mapped from aerial photography and field observations. This layer forms part of a baseline survey of seagrass across Victoria. Ecological research into the health of seagrass meadows requires the type of detailed information collected in this baseline survey. 

Credit

David Ball, Penny Morris 

Supplemental Information

Relationship to other Datasets: The landward boundary of the layer corresponds to the 1:25,000 coastline (SHORE25). The coastline is subject to change especially in areas subject to erosion or mass movement of coastal sediments and at the entrance to the inlets. This layer forms part of a Statewide program to map seagrass throughout Victoria. Other seagrass layers exist for Port Phillip Bay, Gippsland Lakes, Corner Inlet/Nooramunga, and minor inlets of eastern Victoria (the latter was originally intended to be a single layer, but has since been split into separate layers for Anderson, Shallow, Sydenham, Tamboon, Wingan and Mallacoota Inlets) Current Design Issues: This information represents a "snap-shot" in time of the spatial extent of seagrass meadows in Western Port. The area of coverage and density of the various species of seagrass changes with time, both seasonally and yearly. Future Design Issues: Future design considerations may include the adding extra species and recording the condition of the seagrass in relation to epiphyte coverage. Related Documents: None 

Status

Completed  

Time period

1999-05-012000-04-01 

Spatial representation type

Vector  

Horizontal Accuracy

25m  

Code

4283 

 

Maintenance and update frequency

Not planned  

Topic category

• Oceans

Use limitation

General Access 

Classification

Unclassified  

Statement

Dataset Source: 1:20,000 Colour Aerial Photography enlarged to a scale of 1:10,000 Photography flown on 5th May, 1999 for the main Western Port waterbody. Photography for the Western Entrance flown 16 February, 2000 and additional photography from 11 January, 1998 used to assist in interpretation. Dataset Originality: Primary 

Description

Collection Method: Remote Sensing - Aerial Photography and Field Measurements 

Description

Source description not available 

Description

The delineation of the seagrass meadows was conducted through Aerial Photograph Interpretation. The linework was digitized from stable base overlays plotted on 1:10,000 colour photo prints. Polygons were attributed with species and density by overlaying point seagrass observation data collected at sample sites in the field. 

Classification

Unclassified