Whitsunday & Mackay (Qld, Australia): 27- 31 March 2010

	Hamilton Island 27 March 2010

	Pioneer Bay 28 March 2010

	Sarina Inlet 29 March 2010

	Hydeaway Bay 30 March 2010

	Midge Point 31 March 2010

Gallery Archive

Townsville (Qld, Australia): 27- 31 March 2010

	Bushland Beach 27 - 29 March 2010

	Shelly Beach 28 -29 March 2010

	Picnic Bay Magnetic Island 30 March 2010

	Cockle Bay Magnetic Island 31 March 2010

This was an exciting monitoring period. While the grass cover remains very low (~5% overall), we are now seeing the beginning of what, hopefully, is an interesting succession. Halophila ovalis is appearing on the transects confirming the first appearances found by Naomi (~1% overall) in January. It was young, very green and the leaves quite large. There were individual dense patches of H. ovalis in the general transect area. There was very little Cymodocea serrulata or Halodule uninervis. Text Dr Don Kinsey, U3A. For more information on U3A, Click Here

Chek Jawa (Singapore): 28 March 2010

After a quick briefing, we head out to the shore to finally have a closer look at the various seagrass species.
One of the transects on Site 2 goes right over bare sand! The sand bar has shifted a lot! This is why it is important to monitor and monitor over a long period to have a good understanding of the dynamics of the shore. Much of the Thalassia hemprichii also has brown leaf tips, possibly sunburnt in the recent hot weather? ... For more pictures and interesting facts visit Team Seagrass Click Here

Torres Strait (Qld, Australia): 06- 24 March 2010

Two Queensland Studies Authority training workshops where run over the weekend March 6 -7. March 6 was a Tagai College QSA Level 2 course. Five students who had successfully completed their Level 1 QSA Community Based Enrichment training, along with their Marine Studies teacher, started their QSA Level 2 training. The comment mostly form that workshop was we now understand how important it is to enter our data concisely and precisely. The following day, a QSA basic training course was held.

While the most heard comment from the QSA Level 1 training was we never realized how much there was to know about seagrass. Having got the theoretical side to the workshops over it was then out into the field to put into practice our new found skills.

The firstly place we monitored was the relatively easiest site of TI2, we followed this up on Tuesday with TI2, then HI1 on Wednesday and finishing our training on Thursday with HD1. Our over all impression was that if there wasn't blue green algae covering the seagrass then it was covered in epiphyte or in the case of Transect 2 at TI2 sediment. At Hammond a high proportion of the soft corals on the reef flat looked bleached. Text: Jane Mellors

We wish to acknowledge the traditional owners on whose sea areas we are monitoring.

	QSA training 06-07 March 2010

	Front Beach 08 March 2010

	Back Beach 09 March 2010

	Horn Island 10 March 2010

	Hammond Island 11 March 2010

	Badu Island 23 - 24 March 2010

On March 23 a level 1 seagrass training workshop was held on Badu. It was attended by the land and sea rangers and interested community members. Thanks to Jane Mellors for coming out and showing our community the wonderful world of seagrasses. All the participants involved had a wonderful time learning about our environment that’s at our front door when the tide goes down. We set up our new site at Dogai near some mangroves the site is predominantly a fine sand/mud. HU and HO are the predominant species found there. There was lots of Crab holes, Trochus and Monkey fish. Text submitted by Troy Stow

Fiji : 27 February - 05 March 2010

In late February and early March, Len McKenzie and Rudi Yoshida (Seagrass-Watch HQ) volunteered their time and resources to conduct a workshop, monitor sites on the islands of Viti Levu & Ovalau and catch up with local Seagrass-Watch teams in Fiji. The first sites to be monitored were sites on Ovalau Island, a 12 min flight from the mainland (Viti Levu). Cawaci sites have changed little since they were last monitored in June 2007. A record 13 whole seeds were also found at CW2, adjacent to the area where Public Works extraction activities occur.

	Cawaci, Ovalau CW1 & CW2 27 Feb 2010


	Suva workshop 01 - 02 March 2010

On Monday 1st, Seagrass-Watch HQ was back on the main island of Viti Levu, conducting, a Level 1 workshop at USP Marine Studies, Laucala campus. The workshop was well attended by participants from a number of NGOs in Suva and Nadi. The workshop included lessons on seagrass identification, background on seagrass ecology and importance, and how to monitor seagrasses using the Seagrass-Watch protocols. The workshop was also an opportunity for current “watchers” to see the trends in their data. The following day, the field component of the workshop moved to Nasese, where participants monitored SV2. Seagrass-Watch HQ would like to thank all those who attended the workshop, especially Posa Skelton for providing the venue, refreshments and local coordination. To download Workshop feedback: Click Here More images: Click Here.



	Tagaqe, Coral Coast TQ1 03 March 2010

On Wed 3rd, the monitoring moved to the Coral Coast. In the heart of the Coral Coast is Tagaqe village and the Rydges Hideaway Resort, who are working together to preserve the local coral reefs. Tagaqe village has designated part of the reef in front of Hideaway Resort as “tabu” protected. The Seagrass-Watch site is adjacent to the tabu area and although not been monitored since June 2007, appears to have changed little. The 1.6 hectare meadow is predominately Halodule pinifolia, with a mixture of Halodule uninervis, Syringodium isoetifolium and Halophila ovalis ssp. bullosa.


	Natadola ND1 04 March 2010

At the western end of the Coral Coast is Natadola. This bay contains one of the best beaches in Fiji and sheltered behind a small fringing reef within the bay is a seagrass meadow of predominately Halodule pinifolia. Isolated patches of Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis ssp. bullosa are also scattered over the fringing reef. Natadola has seen major coastal development over the last few years, including the construction of a number of international hotels. The Seagrass-Watch site is directly in front of the Intercontinental Resort, adjacent to the Water Activities bure. Seagrass appears to have expanded across the reef flat and although seagrass abundance appeared similar to June 2007, the abundance of epiphytic algae has increased.



	Denarau Island DN1 05 March 2010

The last port of call was Denarau: a reclaimed mangrove island connected to Viti Levu via a small causeway. Denarau is a few minutes from Nadi and the gateway to the Mamanuca Islands. The island contains a number of international resorts and residential estates. The seagrass monitoring site at Denarau (on the intertidal flats adjacent to the Hilton Resort) was established in 2007. Species composition is predominately Halodule pinifolia with Halophila ovalis and Syringodium isoetifolium.