Project 1.1.3 - Condition, trend and risk in coastal habitats: Seagrass indicators, distribution and thresholds of potential concern

Project Leader:  Dr Michelle Waycott, James Cook University.

Project 1.1.3 will deliver cost effective monitoring and assessment of the region’s seagrasses including an assessment of threats and human impacts and improved knowledge of the distribution of seagrass habitats.  The project is based on a strategy of using community and industry resources and co-investment to enhance and broaden the scope of the program.  Outputs of the project will have a strong spatial component including production of GIS layers for seagrass mapping areas.

Outputs from Project 1.1.3 will contribute to the development of the Integrated Report Card for the Great Barrier Reef.  The time series of data on dynamics and resilience of seagrass meadows collected by Queensland's Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries at many coastal locations through North Queensland will be a major source of information for determining appropriate performance thresholds based on quantitative indicators like cover and leaf density.  As with corals and reefs, it is obvious that very low seagrass cover at a single site will not always be a meaningful indicator of a problem of environmental quality although it must be acknowledged that there is more potential for local impacts in the coastal zone from point source pollution and other factors (e.g. sedimentation) associated with development.

Project 1.1.3 has two objectives.  Objective (a) will deliver results through four discrete sub-tasks (a1-4).

(a) Assessing the status and trend of seagrasses of the Great Barrier Reef:

• Seagrass-Watch (community-based seagrass assessment and monitoring);

• Seagrass status and trend in coastal areas at risk - detailed monitoring and mapping;

• Improved spatial knowledge of key intertidal and shallow subtidal seagrasses; and

• Long-term changes in deep seagrasses and algae.

(b) Assessments of habitats at high risk from direct impacts from human activity in the Great Barrier Reef.