This dataset presents the results of a seafloor habitat modeling exercise for the 'Capes region' of the South-west Corner Marine Park, southern WA. The model classifies five broad habitat types (hereafter 'ecosystem components'): seagrass, macroalgae, sessile invertebrates, bare consolidated substrata, and bare unconsolidated substrata. Modeling was conducted at two spatial scales to assess the effectiveness of using broad-scale (~250 m) spatial covariates derived from bathymetry in mapping habitat classes and to compare the modelling outcomes with those obtained using finer-resolution input data.
The fine-scale mapping focused on an IUCN II zone near Margaret River, using a seamless 5 m resolution multibeam bathymetry composite. The broad-scale mapping covered multiple IUCN zones, including the southwestern Geographe Australian Marine Park (AMP), the northwestern tip of the South-west Corner AMP, and the Ngari Capes WA State Marine Park. This component used the 250 m resolution 2023 AusBathyTopo grid from Geoscience Australia.
Habitat maps were constructed using
(1) the bathymetry data sources described above;
(2) ground-truthing observations from stereo-BRUV and BOSS camera systems; and
(3) Physical covariates, all smoothed to 5 m or 250 m resolution, for the fine- and broad-scale mapping, respectively.
Source datasets are available from:
• Geoscience Australia's eCat: https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/145281 (5 m multibeam bathymetry) and https://doi.org/10.26186/148758 (250 m DEM bathymetry)
• Squidle+: http://squidle.org/geodata/explore (benthic imagery annotations - see also outputs from NESP MaC Project 2.4: https://doi.org/10.25959/6G5A-3G03)
• AODN Portal: https://portal.aodn.org.au/search (IMOS oceanographic datasets).
This analysis uses the modelling methodology developed in NESP Project 2.1, which extended the ecosystem component modelling to include all temperate Australian shelf waters at a resolution of 250 m (https://doi.org/10.25959/BVJ7-D984). Analysing the scale effects effects of spatial covarariate inputs was undertaken by NESP Project 2.3, along with exploration of visualisation options regarding prediction certainty in consultation with Parks Australia (management end-users). Further details on sampling design for ground-truthing observations and the modelling techniques are available in the NESP MaC Project 2.1 Final Report: https://www.nespmarinecoastal.edu.au/publication/improving-seabed-habitat-predictions-for-southern-australia. A description on this specific South-west Corner case study and the spatial scale analysis is described in the NESP MaC Project 2.3 Final Report: https://www.nespmarinecoastal.edu.au/publication/improving-knowledge-transfer-to-support-australian-marine-park-decision-making-and-management-effectiveness-evaluation.
A selection of mapping (WMS) services are listed in the 'Downloads & Links' section of this record. See the 'Lineage' section for a full description of the data packages available for download, and for more visualisation options.
