CRC REEF RESEARCH TECHNICAL REPORT
Distribution of Seagrasses in the Lizard Island Group a reconnaissance survey, October 1995.
L.J. McKenzie, W.J. Lee Long and E.J. Bradshaw Queensland Department of Primary Industries Northern Fisheries Centre PO Box 5396, Cairns, QLD 4870
A report funded by the CRC Reef Research Centre. The CRC Reef Research Centre was established under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Program. The Centre, established in 1993, undertakes an integrated program of applied research and development, training and education, aimed at increasing opportunities for ecologically sustainable development of the Great Barrier Reef and providing an improved scientific basis for Reef managemnet and regulatory decision making. CRC Reef Research Centre c/- James Cook University TOWNSVILLE QLD 4811 Phone: (077) 81 4976 Fax: (077) 81 4099 Email:
[email protected]
Cooperative Research Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef National Library Publication Entry
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Australia
Cataloguing-in-
McKenzie, L.J. Distribution of seagrasses in the Lizard Island Group - a reconnaissance survey, October 1995. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 1 876054 14 X 1. Seagrasses - Queensland - Lizard Island Geographical Distribution. 2. Bradshaw, E.J. II. Lee Long, W.J. III.. Cooperative Research Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia). III. Title. (Series: CRC Reef Research technical report; 14). This publication should be cited as: McKenzie, L.J., Lee Long, W.J. & Bradshaw, E.J. (1997) Distribution of seagrasses in the Lizard Island Group - a reconnaissance survey, October 1995. CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No. 14 Townsville; CRC Reef Research Centre, 26 pp. This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, news reporting, criticism or review. Selected passages, tables and diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgment of the source is included. Major extracts of the entire document mau not be reproduced by any process without written permission of the Director, CRC Reef Research Centre. Published by the Cooperative Research Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef. Further copies may be obtained from CRC Reef Research Centre, c/- James Cook University Port Office, Townsville, QLD 4811. Printed by DPI Northern Fisheries Centre, Cairns.
Table of Contents Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... i LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES................................................................................ ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................... iii Key Results............................................................................................................................ iii Key Issues ............................................................................................................................. iii
TECHNICAL REPORT ........................................................................................... 1 Introduction & General Seagrass Ecology .............................................................................1 Materials & Methods ...............................................................................................................2 Site description .......................................................................................................................2 Survey Methods.......................................................................................................................2 Geographic Information System .............................................................................................2 Results........................................................................................................................................5 Seagrass species and distribution...........................................................................................5 Seagrass depth distribution ..................................................................................................10 Algae .....................................................................................................................................12 Dugongs ................................................................................................................................12 Discussion ................................................................................................................................14 Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................15 References ...............................................................................................................................15 Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................................18
i
List of Figures, Plates & Tables List of Figures, Plates & Tables Figure 1. Location of Lizard Island Group study area. ...........................................................3 Figure 2. Location of survey sites in the Lizard Island group survey area..............................4 Figure 3. Location of seagrass meadows around the Lizard Island group survey area - October 1995..........................................................................................................7 Figure 4. Distribution of seagrass meadows in Watson’s Bay and on the reef-flat near the blue lagoon. ........................................................................................................8 Figure 5. Biomass for each species of seagrass surveyed in the Lizard Island Group survey area - October 1995......................................................................................9 Figure 6. Means, standard errors and ranges of recorded depth (below MSL) of occurrence for seagrasses in waters 500 µm), sand (>250 µm), fine sand (>63 µm) and mud (
