Benthic Communities of the Gunn Point Peninsula, 2020

Brief description

This polygon spatial dataset describes the benthic habitats likely to occur in marine environments around Gunn Point Peninsula and informs the desktop assessment of the marine biodiversity values for the region. The benthic habitats are inferred from existing information but in most cases require further data collection to validate and refine. Habitat modelling forms the basis of benthic community value assessment for Shoal Bay (Galaiduk et al. 2019). The accompanying report Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Assessment of the Gunn Point Area (2020) forms part of the Mapping the Future Project - Gunn Point. This project has identified land capability, water availability and biodiversity values to support land planning and inform development potential over the Gunn Point area. Reports and maps can be viewed from the webpage: denr.nt.gov.au/land-resource-management/development-opportunities - Development Potential of the Gunn Point Area (2020) - Biodiversity Assessment of the Gunn Point Area (2020) - Groundwater Resources of the Gunn Point Area (2020) - Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Assessment of the Gunn Point Area (2020) - Soil and Land Resources of the Gunn Point Area (2020) - Soil and Land Suitability Assessment for Irrigated Agriculture in the Gunn Point Area (2017) - Vegetation Communities of the Gunn Point Area (2020)

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned

Statement: Polygon data were derived by applying depth - epibenthic community relationships identified in the Darwin-Bynoe and Weddell habitat mapping programs ((Galaiduk et al. 2019, Nichols et al 2019, Siwabessy et al 2019, Smit et al 2012) to collated bathymetric data. metadata data dataset: Bathymetry around Gunn Point peninsula, metadata record: http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/metadata/export_data?type=html&metadata_id=AA9AE89041522E9EE0530101007FE77C No new data was collected for this desktop assessment. The benthic habitats are inferred from existing information but in most cases require further data collection to validate and refine. Habitat modelling forms the basis of benthic community value assessment for Shoal Bay (Galaiduk et al. 2019, Nichols et al 2019, Siwabessy et al 2019). For the remaining area, important environmental drivers identified in the Darwin-Bynoe habitat mapping program (Galaiduk et al. 2019, Nichols et al 2019, Siwabessy et al 2019) and other published information (e.g. Smit et al 2012) were used to inform the potential spatial distribution of marine habitats (excluding mangroves). In particular, depth - epibenthic community relationships from habitat modelling results were used to determine upper and lower depth ranges for seven marine habitats. DATA DICTIONARY Attribute Attribute Description Possible Code Code Description Area_ha Each polygon in the dataset has an area calculation in hectares. BenComm Describes the various benthic communities within the marine and coastal study area. high intertidal above MSL Marine environment above MSL (approx. +4.2m LAT or 0m AHD). Generally lacking non-motile marine fauna. intertidal coral community Coral dominated community between 0m and +4.2m LAT intertidal flats intertidal flats wader bird feeding grounds - Intertidal sedimentary environments that potentially could be used as feeding areas by wader birds. reef edge hard substrate with slope larger than 30 degrees seagrass community High likelihood for seagrass to occur, based on the combination of known depth range where seagrass consistently is found in Darwin Harbour, sedimentary environment and dugong presence. seagrass community (deep) potential to occur, depth range between -4m and -10m LAT; bottom range determined by maximum depth at which is seagrass is found in Darwin Harbour, sedimentary environment. subtidal coral dominated community Coral dominated community between 0m and -10m LAT. Delineated by hard substrate and depth. subtidal mixed community Epibenthic community within the subtidal zone consisting of equal proportions of coral, macro algal and filter feeder biota.

Notes

Credit
Data supplied by Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security. © Copyright Northern Territory of Australia