Skip to content
open Open - This dataset is available for use by everyone
open_login Open - Login - This dataset is available for use by everyone - login required
fees_apply Fees Apply - This dataset is available for use subject to payment
restricted Restricted - This dataset is available for use subject to approval
govt_only Government Use Only - This dataset is available for government use only
mixed Mixed - A variety of access levels apply to this dataset's resources
open Open - This resource is available for use by everyone
open_login Open - Login - This resource is available for use by everyone - login required
fees_apply Fees Apply - This resource is available for use subject to payment
restricted Restricted - This resource is available for use subject to approval
govt_only Government Use Only - This resource is available for government use only
mixed Mixed - A variety of access levels apply to this resource
Data WA Logo
Contact Us Help Center
      • Home
      • Data
      • Organisations
      • Applications
      • Groups
      • SLIP
      • Community 
        Forum Blog
      • Public Sector 
        wa.gov.au WALIS Capture WA Land Monitor
      1. Home
      2. Organisations
      3. Western Australian Marine Science Institution
      4. WAMSI 2 - Dredging Node - Project 5.4 - Recovery mechanisms

      WAMSI 2 - Dredging Node - Project 5.4 - Recovery mechanisms

      The objective of Project 5.4 was to determine whether recovery of seagrass in the Pilbara following disturbance is by sexual (recruitment from seeds) or asexual (vegetative regrowth from rhizome extension) means, and the relative importance of each, thereby determining the capacity, timeframes and mechanisms of recovery from light and sediment deposition effects. This was achieved through an experiment in which plots cleared of seagrass were enclosed by a barrier or left open, and changes in cover were compared to unmanipulated control (and procedural control) plots. The experiment was done at two sites, a 2-m deep (the 'shallow' site) and a 6-m deep (the 'deep' site). The experiment was intended to run for 6 months, but after 5 months disturbance caused by Tropical Cyclone (TC) Olwyn reduced seagrass cover at both sites, and removed the experimental apparatus at the shallow site. Nevertheless, results yielded by surveys prior to TC Olwyn unambiguously showed strong evidence for recovery through vegetative regrowth (full recovery in cleared plots with no barriers, plus a pattern of increasing cover from the edges of the plots) and no evidence for recovery through recruitment from seeds (no seagrass was ever recorded in any cleared plot with a barrier). The main species of seagrass present was Halophila ovalis, which is widespread throughout northwestern Australia. The transferability of inferences from this study to other places in the Pilbara is hampered by the substantial variation in abundance and species composition from place to place - different species might have different mechanisms of recovery. The nature of the experimental disturbance (complete removal of all seagrass, including roots and rhizomes) is a reasonable facsimile of a severe dredging-induced disturbance, but the spatial extent of the experimental clearances (~0.5 m2) is orders of magnitude smaller than the spatial extents of dredging-induced mortality induced elsewhere: it is plausible that recovery of patches within meadows is more easily achieved through rhizome extension than recovery that encompasses spatial extents of hectares.

      Show full description
      Access & Use Information
      Open
      This dataset is available for use by everyone
      License
      Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0

      Data and Resources
      Expand all / Collapse all

      Web Services & APIs
      This dataset doesn’t have any APIs available at the moment.
      Data Downloads
      This dataset doesn’t have any downloads of the data available at the moment.
      Resources
      • open Data on CSIRO DAP .xlsx

        Embargoed until 2019

        Open
      • open Final report PDF

        Open
      Curated collections of datasets. Need help adding this dataset to a group? Get in touch.

      There are no groups associated with this dataset

      The best examples of datasets in use. Want to showcase your use of data? Let us know!

      There are no applications that feature this dataset yet — get in touch with us at info@data.wa.gov.au to submit one!

      Activity Stream RDF JSON
      western-australian-marine-science-institution
      Key Information
      Published by
      Western Australian Marine Science Institution
      Information classification
      -
      Data theme
      Science
      Data last updated
      31-03-2017
      Update frequency
      infrequently
      Data custodian
      Vanderklift, Mat
      Dataset contact
      Maintainer Not Specified
      Website
      -
      First published
      21-10-2015
      Metadata last updated
      25-05-2022
      Data source
      http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=2299d13f-4c1d-77d8-e053-08114f8cf79f
      Temporal coverage
      23-11-2014 — 30-06-2015
      Geospatial theme
      Marine and Estuaries
      Geospatial source projection
      -
      Spatial coverage

      Dataset extent

      Base map and data from OpenStreetMap and OpenStreetMap Foundation
      Digital object identifier
      -
      Citation
      -
      Data usability rating How reusable and linked the data is. Learn more.

      Acknowledgement

      The Government of Western Australia respectfully acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Western Australia and pays its respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

      Useful links

      • Publisher Login
      • About
      • Policy
      • Progress
      • Status Page

      Legal

      • Accessibility
      • Copyright
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy

      Contact

      1 Midland Sq, Midland 6056

      info@data.wa.gov.au

      +61 (0)8 9273 7373

      +61 (0)8 9250 3187

      © 2021 Government of Western Australia