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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
How much does it cost to join Seagrass-Watch? What safety measures should I take when monitoring? What do I need to submit to Seagrass-Watch HQ after a monitoring event? Why should I include observations on holes & burrows? How are my field descriptions of sediment analysed?
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How much does a monitoring kit cost?
A kit will cost between AUD$500-$1000 depending on whether you also buy a GPS and digital camera (you should be able to purchase or construct equipment locally). Necessary equipment and materials
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Is Seagrass-Watch only for community groups/can anyone participate? Anyone can join and participate in Seagrass-Watch. Community volunteers are one component of Seagrass-Watch, and many participants are now from scientific institutions and agencies (including academic, government and non-government). All it requires is an interest in the conservation, assessment and monitoring of seagrasses in your area and a willingness to volunteer some of your valuable time. Seagrass-Watch is driven by local interest and local needs. The program is a collective network of participants ultimately interested in seagrass conservation. As part of Seagrass-Watch QAQC (Quality Assurance/Quality Control), at least 1 participant at each monitoring event must have passed a Seagrass-Watch training course or have a degree (or similar) in environmental/marine science and is able to demonstrate competency in Seagrass-Watch methods & protocols. For participants 17 yrs and under, please see: Seagrass-Watch Education and Field days
How much time does it take to particpate? There are usually four monitoring periods per year (every 3 months). One monitoring session generally takes about two hours over low tide to complete once you have become familiar with the methods. Overall time commitment would be four afternoons per year.
Can I name a site any code I like? Seagrass-Watch site codes are unique. It is important to request a site code from Seagrass-Watch HQ before establishing a new site. This will ensure your data can be integrated into the program and to prevent confusion in future.
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Do I need a permit to monitor seagrass? On-ground monitoring in some locations may require permits (e.g., Marine Parks). You will need to check with local authorities (Parks and Wildlife) and Seagrass-Watch HQ before conducting any monitoring program in marine waters. In Queensland (Australia), Marine Plants are protected. Collection of marine plants for educational, research or monitoring purposes is permitted in accordance with code MP05 of the Fisheries Act and Integrated Planning Act. Click here for more information (MP05_research_VE1.pdf) Seagrass-Watch participants in Queensland are instructed to adhere to Self-assessable code MP05, by
NB: In Queensland, registered Seagrass-Watch participants are covered under the DPI&F Seagrass-Watch HQ's Marine Plant and Marine Park permits (i.e. no fee required). A requirement of the permit is to notify Seagrass-Watch HQ of sampling dates so that the appropriate authorities are informed. Sampling dates are also posted on the Seagrass-Watch website. If you are unsure if you are covered, check with Seagrass-Watch HQ.
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What safety precautions should I take when monitoring? Seagrass-Watch recommends you conduct a Risk Assessment before any field monitoring and adhere to the following:
To download the Seagrass-Watch risk assessment form Click Here. For more detailed information please contact Seagrass-Watch HQ
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What do I do when the sampling design in the field manuals don't suit the site? Seagrass-Watch has a number of standardised methods, and these are outlined in the full monitoring manual (Click Here). Nevertheless, situations do arise and we have worked with participants to develop a monitoring strategy which better suits the issue being addressed or the type and landscape of the seagrass meadows. For example, in the Noosa region, their seagrass meadows are in narrow bands (approximately 5-10m wide) along the banks of rivers and estuaries. Also, the meadows either never completely expose or are very muddy. What we designed was a strategy where 33 quadrats are haphazardly scattered between two permanent marks (100m apart) on the bank. For meadows which are submerged, the observers use kayaks to move over the meadow so they can spread the sampling quadrats. Standard quadrat measures are taken within each quadrat. This approach was logistically possible for the volunteers to conduct (it was also novel so it accessed volunteers with kayak/canoeing interest) and still gave sufficient replication to minimize the variance.
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From 1st November 2007, Seagrass-Watch HQ introduced a new tiered level of certification for training participants over 17 years of age (for interested participants 17 yrs and under please see Field and Education days). There are requirements before you can attend a course, and a level of achievement to be completed to pass a training course. Level 1 (basic) requirements = nil
Depending on the level of involvement and completion, participants are presented with certificates after attending courses:
For more information on Seagrass-Watch Training :Click Here
How much does a Seagrass-Watch workshop cost? Unfortunately, our current funding does not include providing on-ground support (including equipment) or training outside of Queensland. Training workshops are approximately AUS$4500-5000 (excluding airfares), depending on number of participants (generally no more than 25).
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What do I need to submit to Seagrass-Watch HQ after a monitoring event? Once you have monitored your Seagrass-Watch site, the following data should be submitted to Seagrass-Watch HQ:
Data can be posted via regular mail to :
Seagrass-Watch HQ
For data submission checklist: Click Here
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What happens when I submit data to Seagrass-Watch HQ?
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Who owns the data I submit to Seagrass-Watch HQ? Any data you submit to Seagrass-Watch HQ remains your property. Seagrass-Watch HQ is custodian of any data submitted. With your permission, we would like to use any data you submit as part of the regional and global reporting on seagrass condition and trends. We do not provide your data to a third party without your written permission.
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Can I request Seagrass-Watch data? Data collected as part of the Seagrass-Watch program and archived at Seagrass-Watch HQ, can be requested. There is a charge for every data request; the baseline amount is $102.20 (including GST) per location. Data requests are submitted via the official request form (SW_data_request_form.pdf). Requests are considered per location within a region. Persons requesting data are also required to sign a Conditions of Use agreement, before any data will be released to them. PLEASE NOTE: It is strictly forbidden to resell data files supplied, or to use them otherwise than stated in the agreement. In particular, they may not be used for:
Data requests are generally processed within 10 working days of receiving permission of the data principals.
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How does Seagrass-Watch ensure the data is actually reliable and viable? Seagrass-Watch has accepted Quality Assurance-Quality Control protocols in place to ensure that the program is producing data of high quality, and that time and resources are not wasted. The program implements QAQC during all three phases of monitoring: 1. Pre - monitoring 2. Field - monitoring • At least 1 participant at each monitoring event must have passed a Seagrass-Watch training course or has a degree (or similar) in environmental/marine science and is able to demonstrate competency of SGW methods & protocols. • Methods simple & easy to use – ensures completeness
3. Post - monitoring In 2004, the Seagrass-Watch program was independently evaluated by statisticians from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (CLICK HERE TO VIEW REPORT). Many of the sites monitored achieve <20% minimum detectable difference, with 80% power. In 2005 Seagrass-Watch also passed the QAQC requirements for inclusion into the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan – Marine Monitoring Program. Ad-hoc comparisons conducted to test if a difference exists between experienced professional scientists and trained community volunteers (amateur scientists), have found no significant difference at the 0.05 level at any of the locations or seagrass communities tested. |
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Why should I include observations on holes & burrows? This information is used to examine the level of bioturbation. When bioturbation is very high, the sediment is so disturbed that seagrass cannot take root. Bioturbation is recorded by the number of burrows (e.g., holes made by crabs, worms, yabbies or unidentified macrofauna). Bird feeding marks are common at some sites but we only record their presence, as counts can be highly variable and time consuming. For analysis, we classify bioturbation using the abundance of Crab holes, Worm Holes, Yabby Holes, and Other holes. For this we need a number/type and we ask observer to estimate as best they can. Please do not use > or < symbols. |
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| How are my field descriptions of sediment analysed?
Your field descriptions of surface sediment type are determined by visual and tactile inspection of (wet) samples and constituents (primary descriptors) differentiated according to the Udden – Wentworth grade scale: shell, rock and gravel (>2000µm); coarse sand (>500 µm); sand (>250 µm); fine sand (>63 µm); and mud (<63 µm). The primary descriptors are written down from left to right in decreasing order of abundance: e.g. Mud/Sand is mud with sand, where mud is determined as the dominant constituent (by volume). For more information, download Understanding Sediment (871kb pdf) To convert the qualitative visual/tactile field descriptions to quantitative values (percentage composition by volume), the field observations are first collapsed to pseudo-geological generic classifications involving the five descriptors mud, fine sand, sand, coarse sand and gravel. This is where we use your field description and assign it to a grain size. For example, “Shell Grit” is replaced with “coarse sand”, because grain size of shell grit is >500 µm but <2mm. Similarly, Shell = gravel because grain size of shell is >2mm, Rubble = gravel because grain size of rubble is >2mm. By doing this, we can reduce the many unique description categories from several thousand observations in the Seagrass-Watch database to fewer categories. Of these, nine descriptions comprised 88% of all data. These are:
The components of each category are then scored from 3 to 1 based on their order of dominance. The fourth or higher components of a description were considered insignificant and scored 0. From the scored values, the percent composition of each grain size is calculated. This scoring scheme is loosely based on Folk’s classification, however the compositions are more conservative. For example, if the visual/tactile estimation from Seagrass-Watch was mud/sand, Folk’s classification sM would result in compositions of 10-50% sand, 50-90% mud, whereas the classification here is 60% mud, 40% sand.
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I would like to use the Seagrass-Watch logo to promote our program?
The graphic identity of Seagrass-Watch is significant in properly representing the program's image. Care has been taken to design a visual symbol that is clear and simple. In 2000, Seagrass-Watch HQ held a competition to create a logo for the program. The Seagrass-Watch logo was designed based on the winning entry of Kelly Blacklock and Lana Jeffrey (Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia). The Seagrass-Watch logo represents four important elements of the program: seagrass (represented by Halophila leaves because it is a genus found globally); water (represented by a wave); human (represented by an eye); and innovation (represented by text in the hand writing of Leonardo da Vinci). Seagrass-Watch HQ can authorise you to use the Seagrass-Watch logo, subject to your agreement to adhere to the terms and conditions set out in the Conditions of Use. Once you have signed the Seagrass-Watch logo aggreement, please send it to Seagrass-Watch HQ Download Seagrass_Watch_logo_agreement.pdf
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