Port of Townsville Seagrass Monitoring Program: 2021, TropWATER Report 22/05
Other Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
This report presents the results of the 15th year of the LTSMP and the 3rd year of the CUSP. Key findings for the 2021 surveys include: • Seagrass in monitoring meadows were in good condition with the footprint, species composition and density of seagrass at expected levels measured against baselines. • Total seagrass area within the port limits covered 17,146 ha in 2021. An 18% increase from the same time last year. Within this total footprint: o LTSMP meadows covered 7,074 ha o CUSP meadows covered 4,417 ha • Ten of the eleven seagrass species that are known to occur in the Townsville region were present in areas surveyed in 2021. This included the first record of Halophila tricostata in the LTSMP in the deeper areas of Cleveland Bay. • Green sea turtles, dugongs and their feeding trails in seagrass meadows were observed during field surveys indicating a high use of the area by herbivorous marine megafauna. • So far seasonal assessments suggest the seasonal signal in seagrass density and area in Townsville is not as strong or consistent as other areas in Queensland. • The healthy condition of Townsville’s seagrass indicates they were in a resilient state leading into 2022.
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22/05
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61
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TropWATER
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Cairns, QLD, Australia
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