Over 1,200 seagrass observations have been recorded across four estuaries, marking a huge effort from the Healthy Estuaries WA seagrass team to map seagrass distribution since November 2024.
The team will use aerial imagery for the first time this year to estimate seagrass coverage in the Peel-Harvey estuary where shallow water and larger distances makes data collection challenging.
“Aerial imagery will be beneficial to assessing the shallower sites at the Peel-Harvey estuary” said seagrass scientist Dr. Kieryn Kilminster.
“Some sites are too shallow to access by boat. Fortunately, there is readily available and frequent aerial imagery of the Peel-Harvey estuary, which we can overlay on our sampling sites to assess the seagrass and macroalgae in each area. While drone imagery is effective for the smaller estuaries, the vast size of the Peel-Harvey makes it more challenging to take drone photos.”
At the sites that could be accessed, scientists employed underwater cameras and viewing cones to identify seagrass and microalgae species, noting other factors such as seagrass coverage and epiphytes (organisms that grow on plants such as algae, bacteria, fungi, and small invertebrates). These observations give important insight into the health of each estuary and what might be affecting it.
This season’s observations:
- 495 observations taken in the Peel-Harvey (plus aerial imagery)
- 305 observations taken in the Leschenault
- 240 observations taken in Princess Royal Harbour
- 232 observations taken in Oyster Harbour
The team will use the data collected to create detailed maps of each estuary, showing the distribution of seagrass and algae. Maps from previous years can be compared to show how distribution is changing over time.
The results from this year’s field trips are expected to be analysed by late 2025, so stay tuned to our newsletter and website for updates. Previous monitoring results are available on our Healthy Estuaries website.
