Hervey Bay (Qld, Australia): 17 - 21 May 2008

 

Workshop 17 May 2008

 

Participants from the Hervey Bay Dugong & Seagrass Monitoring Program,  Great Sandy Strait Fauna & Flora Watch and the Fraser Coast Regional Council attended the Seagrass-Watch workshop in Hervey Bay from 17th - 18th May, held at the Urangan Community Centre (Hervey Bay Botanic Gardens). 

The workshop, held over 2 days, brought participants up-to-date on what was happening to seagrass in their region and around the globe. It also included lessons on seagrass identification, background on seagrass ecology, the importance of seagrass and how to monitor seagrasses using the Seagrass-Watch protocols.

The field session on the 18th May, moved to Burrum Heads, where participants got a chance to put into practise what they had learnt in the classroom, where they monitored a Seagrass-Watch site at Burrum Heads.

To download the Workshop feedback pdf (Click Here)

	Burrum Heads BH1:18 May 2008

 

 

	Burrum Heads BH2 & BH3: 19 May 2008

 

Seagrass-Watch HQ monitored the Burrum Heads sites on the day following the workshop. Although seagrass abundance was low at each site, there were extensive and dense Zostera meadows shoreward. These meadows had not been present since 1999-2000. The meadows were abundant with animals and dugong feeding trails.

	Booral UG3: 20 May 2008

 

This site is present within the Booral wetlands. Although these meadows were extensive in 1998, there has been relatively little recovery since they were lost during the floods of 1999. Currently only a narrow (20m wide) strip of Halophila ovalis with some Zostera capricorni exists.

	Togoom TG1 & TG3 : 21 May 2008

 

Seagrass abundance remains low at the Togoom sites. The intertidal banks are exposed to a lot of wave action and consequently sand movement: evident by the level of rippling in the sand. A lot of drift algae was also present on the sites.

 

Midge Point (Whitsunday, Qld): 17 May 2008

 

It was nice to be back in the field or should I say “on” the field again. The seagrass meadows looked very healthy, though interesting to note that the Halophila ovalis species, which is present in the area seems to be on the decline, with less quadrats having any Halophila ovalis present.. We also got a bit of a soaking on the day. After finishing our first tranact, there was a sudden downpour, which soaked us to the bone. We saw it coming, but had nowhere to seek refuge.  Text: Paul Wenzler

 

Bowen (Qld): 17 May 2008

To download the Workshop feedback pdf (CLICK HERE)

 

Pulau Semakau (Singapore): 10 May 2008

 

TeamSeagrass is out in full force for an early morning departure to Pulau Semakau with a team of nearly 30 people! Alas, as we approached Pulau Semakau, it started to pour. Upon arrival, we huddled in the NEA lobby for a briefing session. As the wet weather lightened, Shufen and Siti in bright yellow and orange happily led the team out to the monitoring site (1.2 kilometre hike).

The seagrass meadows of Semakau are vast, spanning kilometres and are home to all kinds of animals. Many are well camouflaged, such as this scorpion fish (Family Scorpaenidae) and tiny octopuses are sometimes also seen, especially near coral rubble.

All too soon it was time to go home. On the boat, we took a photo of the Labrador team comprising the long-suffering Mr Lim, the three Seagrass Angels from RGS, with Shufen and Siti.  Text: TeamSeagrass. TeamSeagrass Website Click here .

 

Rodds Bay, Gladstone: 04 - 05 May 2008

 

 

	RD1 04 May 2008
	RD2 05 May 2008

 

Motupore Island, PNG: 05 - 08 May 2008

 

 

 

Hammond Island, Torres Strait (Qld, Australia): 09 May 2008

Beck Bowie from Seagrass-Watch HQ assisted the Hammond Island rangers with monitoring Corner Beach on May 9. It is a most interesting site to monitor as the gradation from Cymodocea rotundata to Thalassia hemprichii has been a constant over the last year of sampling. The seagrass was still pretty long >30cm in length though density within the CR band did appear thinner. There was less algae but epiphyte cover was still relatively high.

 

Mission Beach (Qld, Australia): 03 - 04 May 2008

 

Dunk Island DI1 & DI2: 03 May 2008

 

There appears to have been negligible impact from the floods associated with the tropical monsoon this year, as the meadow at Dunk Island appears to have changed little since it was last monitored in September 2007.

	Lugger Bay LB1 & LB2: 04 May 2008

 

The seagrass meadow at Lugger Bay appears to be recovering well since it was nearly wiped out by Tropical Cyclone Larry in early 2006. It is a monospecific Halodule uninervis meadow. Seagrass abundance has recovered to pre-cyclone levels, and dugong feeding trails were present for the first time since monitoring was established. The size of the meadow has also been slowly increasing since the cyclone, however it has decreased by approximately 10% since September 2007. This is possible a consequence of the dynamic nature on the sand bank. A seed bank remains absent.

 

Poona, Great Sandy Strait (Qld, Australia): 03 May 2008

 

Finally! We (Hanne, Helen and myself) have completed another couple of sites at Poona.  It has been really frustrating not being able to get our sites monitored due to the weather. Text: Robyn Bailey (Great Sandy Strait Fauna & Flora Watch)

 

Townsville (Qld, Australia): 02 - 06 May 2008

 

 

While the seagrass was sparse, we had record counts on seeds. However this site still had more seagrass coverage than its replicate SB1 site (see below). When walking back to the carpark over the meadow we also encountered patches of Cymodocea serrulata, a species we have only just started noticing in the meadow, but not encountering in our sitee.

	Bushland Beach BB1: 03 May 2008

 

Seagrass was a lot sparser this month than it was in April. Quite a few live bailer shells were present on the site which was exciting as they were quite large. This excitement however turned to dismay, when the tide finally dropped revealing a dead turtle near to the site. The turtle unfortunately had become entangled in a float line from a discarded crab pot. The rope had entangled on driftwood (a tree limb that had most likely been washed down the Bohle during the wet season), ensnaring the turtle, eventually causing it to drown.

	Shelly Beach SB1: 04 May 2008

 

Massive blowouts and gutters were still present throughout the site. This is a natural occurrance across these dynamic intertidal banks. Around the site the seagrass wais still prevalent and even persists in small amounts within the site

	Magnetic Is MI1: 05 May 2008

 

The most striking feature on this visit was incidence of seagrass "burning", possibly a consequence of the longer exposure times during the day. As day time spring tides lengthen during the winter months in this region, seagrasses desiccate when exposed to air and wind.

	Magnetic Is MI2: 06 May 2008

 

The changes since the monitoring of only one month earlier were very noticeable.  Seagrass cover was still high but the dominant Cymodocea serrulata was now looking much older with considerable dead or sunburnt leaves and very few new leaves.  Epi cover was much higher than the previous months, and again, consisted of undifferentiated diatomaceous mud. The intervening month of April was totally dry and relatively windy.    Text: Dr. Don Kinsey

 

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Correct citation: McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL. & Coles, RG. (2006 - 2010). Seagrass-Watch. www.seagrasswatch.org. 228pp. Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Queensland Government. Website designed by McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL.