field resources

manuals

Global Seagrass Research Methods and Manuals.  Percent Cover Standards along with Field Guides and booklets and other documents to help you monitor and research Global Seagrass

ViewAuthorTitle
McKenzie, L.J., Campbell, S.J. & Roder, C.A. (2003)Seagrass-Watch: Manual for Mapping & Monitoring Seagrass Resources. 2nd Edition. (QFS, NFC, Cairns)

This manual provides detailed information on how to map and monitor seagrass resource status and condition. Several alternative monitoring methods are detailed and the reader should decide which is appropriate to their needs. 7.2mb
McKenzie, L.J. Guidelines for the rapid assessment and mapping of tropical seagrass habitats (QFS, NFC, Cairns) 46pp

This manual provides detailed information on how to map and assess seagrass resources in the Western Pacific for management. 1.4Mb

percent cover standards

Choose the cover standard that corresponds to your seagrass species and habitat.

ViewHabitatSpecies
Coastal – lowHalodule (3.6Mb)
Coastal – high Halodule (5.6Mb)
Coastal H. ovalis (3.2Mb)
EstuaryZostera (5.6Mb)
Estuary Zostera (Moreton Bay only) (4.1Mb)
ReeftopThalassia/Cymodocea/Enhalus (mixed) (4.1Mb)
ReeftopCymodocea/Halodule (3.9Mb)
Reeftop/coastal Enhalus (4.8Mb)
Subtidal strap leaved species (2.7Mb)

field guides/booklets

Choose the guide that corresponds to your seagrass species and habitat.

ViewHabitatSpecies
Coastal Field booklet – (8pp)Halodule/Halophila (5.6Mb)
Estuary Field booklet (6pp)Zostera (2.9Mb)
Reef Field booklet (8pp)Cymococea/Halodule (5.7Mb)
Subtidal Field booklet (6pp)(3.9Mb)

Intertidal methods summary (3pp)(679kb)
Subtidal Spot-check mapping methods summary (6pp)(2.94 Mb)

Instructional field guides

 Instructional Field guide: How to conduct intertidal seagrass monitoring (19 pp)

Intertidal methods summary guide (4pp)

  Instructional Field guide: How to conduct intertidal spot-checks

Instructional Field guide: How to conduct intertidal seed monitoring (15 pp)

 Instructional Field guide: How to conduct subtidal spot-checks

Select your seagrass geographic bioregion, and download the relevant FIELD GUIDES, EXCEL SPREADSHEETS or select from the lists below.

REGION/BIO REGION guides: Choose the guide that corresponds to your region/bio region

Bio Region

Bio Region
Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 Region 5 Region 6

Region 1

Temperate North Atlantic (North Carolina, USA to Portugal)
Download items below

Region 2

Tropical Atlantic (including the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and both tropical coasts of the Atlantic)
Download items below

Region 3

Mediterranean (including the Mediterranean Sea, the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas and northwest Africa)
Download items below

Region 4

Temperate North Pacific (Korea to Baja, Mexico)
Download items below

Region 5

Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
Download items below

Region 6

Temperate Southern Oceans (New Zealand and temperate Australia, South America, and South Africa)
Download items below

ViewRegion/CountryLocationBio RegionLocations
AustraliaQueensland 12pp, 7.7MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaCape York 10pp, 5.56 MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaWet Tropics 10pp, 5.82 MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaTownsville Reef-flat 8pp,4.5MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaTownsville 8pp,4.28MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaMackay Whitsundays 6.76MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaBurdekin coastal 8pp, 5MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaGreat Sandy region 8pp, 4.5MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaTorres Strait 8pp, 4.6MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaWestern Australia 8pp, 4.3MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AustraliaNew South Wales 6pp, 8.3MbRegion 6Temperate Southern Oceans (New Zealand and temperate Australia, South America, and South Africa)
East AfricaEast Africa 10pp, 3 MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
PacificFiji 6pp, 1.5 MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
PacificPNG 6pp, 5.4MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
AsiaSingapore 10pp, 3MbRegion 5Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)

datasheets

Choose the guide that corresponds to your seagrass monitoring activity

ViewDatasheetSize
Global seagrass intertidal monitoring datasheet39kb
Global Drop-camera seagrass monitoring datasheet48kb
Global Seed monitoring datasheet44kb
Global Seagrass spot-check mapping datasheet 38kb
Completed intertidal datasheet EXAMPLE39kb
Completed spot-check mapping datasheet EXAMPLE39kb

visual media

visual guides to assist with seagrass monitoring activity

Visual Guides

Please select the instructional video resource that corresponds with your seagrass field assessment activity. It is strongly recommended that you utilise the appropriate video guide for accurate and efficient execution of your field assessment.

These resources have been developed based on scientific research and will aid in ensuring consistency and standardization in your data collection methods.

We acknowledge that seagrass assessments play a crucial role in ecologically-based management and protection of marine habitats.

Therefore, it is imperative that your field assessments are conducted using the best practice techniques to provide scientifically robust and reliable data.

STEP 1: MATERIALS TO SET UP A DROP CAM KIT

 Video detailing what is needed to set up a drop-camera kit

STEP 2: HOW TO ASSEMBLE A COLLAPSIBLE FRAME

Video detailing how to assemble a collapsible frame.

Thanks to Marine Research Foundation (www.mrf-asia.org) for assistance with imagery and instructions

STEP 3: HOW TO LINK SMART DEVICES WITH GoPro

Video detailing how to set up link between GoPro and Smart device

STEP 4: HOW TO ASSEMBLE DROP-CAMERA

 Video detailing how to assemble a drop-camera frame using GoPro

STEP 5: HOW TO CONDUCT SUBTIDAL SPOT-CHECKS

 Video detailing how to conduct subtidal spot-checks using drop-camera

STEP 6: HOW TO AVOID BAD DROPS

Video detailing how to get the best out of your subtidal spot-checks

STEP 7: HOW TO USE A VAN VEEN GRAB

Video detailing how to use a Van Veen Grab

HOW TO CONDUCT INTERTIDAL SPOT-CHECK

Video detailing how conduct intertidal spot-checks

HOW TO CONDUCT PHOTO TRANSECTS

Video detailing how conduct photo transects

data entry

Once you have monitored your Seagrass-Watch site, you can now enter the data collected into a downloadable Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and submit via email. To enter and submit data, follow the following steps:

Select your seagrass geographic bioregion.  Click on your region below to download the relevant web data entry spreadsheet


Region 1: Temperate North Atlantic (North Carolina, USA to Portugal)
Region 2: Tropical Atlantic (including the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and both tropical coasts of the Atlantic)
Region 3: Mediterranean (including the Mediterranean Sea, the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas and northwest Africa)
Region 4: Temperate North Pacific (Korea to Baja, Mexico)
Region 5: Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
Region 6: Temperate Southern Oceans (New Zealand and temperate Australia, South America, and South Africa)

Save the spreadsheet file to your computer before you begin data entry. We suggest changing the file name to the site code and the sampling date.

For example, if the site was Burrum Heads 1, and it was sampled on 09 February 2019 then the filename would be “BH1_09Feb19.xls”

The spreadsheets are a similar layout to the standard datasheets. Each transect has it’s own worksheet. To select the appropriate worksheet, click on the tab at the bottom

To enter data, select each cell with your mouse. You can jump between cells by using the TAB button on your keyboard.

First enter the name of the observers and the sampling date.

Enter the location and site code.

For the above example, the location is “Burrum Heads” and the site code is “BH1”.

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.

Enter the time you started sampling the transect and the time you finished.

Times are entered at 24 hr with the hour separated from the minutes by a colon.
For example. if the time was half past one in the afternoon, the time entered would be “13:30”.

If you had a GPS (Global Positioning System) at the monitoring site, enter the latitude and longitude of start of the transect

Enter the data for each quadrat

Sediment: enter by the dominant grain size first, separating sediment categories by a forward slash.

  • For example, if the quadrat was predominantly mud with some sand, then the data would be entered as “Mud/Sand”. Please do not use abbreviations “M/S” when entering into the spreadsheet.

Comments: Enter information (including counts) of any features which may be of interest.

  • For example, “sea cucumbers (x2), sea urchin (x1), evidence of turtle cropping”

Photograph: type in “True” if you took a photo of the quadrat

% cover: enter the total percent cover of seagrass within the quadrat

% cover by species: enter the percentage cover that each species contributes to the total cover

CR = Cymodocea rotundata

CS = Cymodocea serrulata

EA = Enhalus acoroides

HC = Halophila capricorni

HD = Halophila decipiens

HM = Halophila minor

HO = Halophila ovalis

HP = Halodule pinifolia

HS = Halophila spinulosa

HT = Halophila tricostata

HU = Halodule uninervis

SI = Syringodium isoetifolium

TC = Thalassodendron ciliatum

TH = Thalassia hemprichii

ZM = Zostera muelleri

Canopy: enter the three canopy heights of the dominant strap leaf species (the average will calculate automatically)

% Algae: enter the percent cover of maco-algae in the quadrat. Macro-algae are seaweeds that are not attached to seagrass leaves and may even overlie the seagrass shoots. The combined seagrass and algae cover may be greater than 100%.

Epi %: Enter the percentage cover of epiphytes on the total seagrass leaves.

If you had a GPS (Global Positioning System) at the monitoring site, enter the latitude and longitude of end of the transect

Enter any general comments about the transect or site

Repeat steps 5 to 10 for the remaining transects

Ensure your file is securely saved

Submit a copy of the excel file via internet to Seagrass-Watch HQ admin@seagrasswatch.org

Quadrat & Miscellaneous images can be submitted via yousendit/Dropbox etc or on CD

  • Quadrat photos must be of the highest quality digital images possible for camera used. Please note, we require quadrat photos to be taken at every quadrat (0m-50m) along each transect.
  • Site & people photos (digital images are preferred) etc be of the highest quality possible for the camera used

Mail original datasheets and herbarium voucher specimens ( if collected) to

Seagrass-Watch HQ
PO BOX 4
CLIFTON BEACH, QLD 4879
AUSTRALIA

Select your seagrass geographic bioregion.  Click on your region below to download the relevant web data entry spreadsheet

Region 1: Temperate North Atlantic (North Carolina, USA to Portugal)
Region 2: Tropical Atlantic (including the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and both tropical coasts of the Atlantic)
Region 3: Mediterranean (including the Mediterranean Sea, the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas and northwest Africa)
Region 4: Temperate North Pacific (Korea to Baja, Mexico)
Region 5: Tropical Indo-Pacific (East Africa, south Asia and tropical Australia to the eastern Pacific)
Region 6: Temperate Southern Oceans (New Zealand and temperate Australia, South America, and South Africa)

Save the spreadsheet file to your computer before you begin data entry. We suggest changing the file name to the site code and the sampling date.

For example, if the site was Burrum Heads 1, and it was sampled on 09 February 2019 then the filename would be “BH1_09Feb19.xls”

The spreadsheets are a similar layout to the standard datasheets. Each transect has it’s own worksheet. To select the appropriate worksheet, click on the tab at the bottom

To enter data, select each cell with your mouse. You can jump between cells by using the TAB button on your keyboard.

First enter the name of the observers and the sampling date.

Enter the location and site code.

For the above example, the location is “Burrum Heads” and the site code is “BH1”.

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.

Enter the time you started sampling the transect and the time you finished.

Times are entered at 24 hr with the hour separated from the minutes by a colon.
For example. if the time was half past one in the afternoon, the time entered would be “13:30”.

If you had a GPS (Global Positioning System) at the monitoring site, enter the latitude and longitude of start of the transect

Enter the data for each quadrat

Sediment: enter by the dominant grain size first, separating sediment categories by a forward slash.

  • For example, if the quadrat was predominantly mud with some sand, then the data would be entered as “Mud/Sand”. Please do not use abbreviations “M/S” when entering into the spreadsheet.

Comments: Enter information (including counts) of any features which may be of interest.

  • For example, “sea cucumbers (x2), sea urchin (x1), evidence of turtle cropping”

Photograph: type in “True” if you took a photo of the quadrat

% cover: enter the total percent cover of seagrass within the quadrat

% cover by species: enter the percentage cover that each species contributes to the total cover

CR = Cymodocea rotundata

CS = Cymodocea serrulata

EA = Enhalus acoroides

HC = Halophila capricorni

HD = Halophila decipiens

HM = Halophila minor

HO = Halophila ovalis

HP = Halodule pinifolia

HS = Halophila spinulosa

HT = Halophila tricostata

HU = Halodule uninervis

SI = Syringodium isoetifolium

TC = Thalassodendron ciliatum

TH = Thalassia hemprichii

ZM = Zostera muelleri

Canopy: enter the three canopy heights of the dominant strap leaf species (the average will calculate automatically)

% Algae: enter the percent cover of maco-algae in the quadrat. Macro-algae are seaweeds that are not attached to seagrass leaves and may even overlie the seagrass shoots. The combined seagrass and algae cover may be greater than 100%.

Epi %: Enter the percentage cover of epiphytes on the total seagrass leaves.

If you had a GPS (Global Positioning System) at the monitoring site, enter the latitude and longitude of end of the transect

Enter any general comments about the transect or site

Repeat steps 5 to 10 for the remaining transects

Ensure your file is securely saved

Submit a copy of the excel file via internet to Seagrass-Watch HQ (hq@seagrasswatch.org/admin@seagrasswatch.org)

Quadrat & Miscellaneous images can be submitted via yousendit/Dropbox etc or on CD

  • Quadrat photos must be of the highest quality digital images possible for camera used. Please note, we require quadrat photos to be taken at every quadrat (0m-50m) along each transect.
  • Site & people photos (digital images are preferred) etc be of the highest quality possible for the camera used

Mail original datasheets and herbarium voucher specimens ( if collected) to

Seagrass-Watch HQ
PO BOX 4
CLIFTON BEACH, QLD 4879
AUSTRALIA