Monitoring changes in the spatial distribution and health of biotic habitats requires spatially extensive surveys repeated through time. Although a number of habitat distribution mapping methods have been successful in clear, shallow-water coastal environments (e.g. aerial photography and Landsat imagery) and deeper (e.g. multibeam and sidescan sonar) marine environments, these methods fail in highly turbid and shallow environments such as many estuarine ecosystems. To map, model and predict key biotic habitats (seagrasses, green and red macroalgae, polychaete mounds [Ficopamatus enigmaticus] and mussel clumps [Mytilus edulis]) across a range of open and closed estuarine systems on the south-west coast of Western Australia, we integrated post-processed underwater video data with interpolated physical and spatial variables using Random Forest models. Predictive models and associated standard deviation maps were developed from fine-scale habitat cover data. Models performed well for spatial predictions of benthic habitats, with 79-90% of variation explained by depth, latitude, longitude and water quality parameters. The results of this study refine existing baseline maps of estuarine habitats and highlight the importance of biophysical processes driving plant and invertebrate species distribution within estuarine ecosystems. This study also shows that machine-learning techniques, now commonly used in terrestrial systems, also have important applications in coastal marine ecosystems. When applied to video data, these techniques provide a valuable approach to mapping and managing ecosystems that are too turbid for optical methods or too shallow for acoustic methods.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This web service summarises existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the Cooper Basin region.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environment, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This web service summarises existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the Galilee Basin region.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This web service summarises the existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the Adavale Basin region.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environment, resource development and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin region. This web service summarises existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the north Bowen Basin region.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This data guide captures existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Adavale Basin. The land overlying the Adavale Basin is dominated by Mulga and Mitchell Grass Downs Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregions, with small areas of Brigalow Belt South and Desert Uplands bioregions. The data on the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Adavale Basin have been summarised in July 2021 to inform decisions on resource development activities. Key data sources are broad vegetation groups - pre-clearing and 2019 remnant - Queensland series (Queensland Government), Field Environmental Data, Australian Wetlands Database and Heritage places and lists (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), and the Atlas of Living Australia.

<div>The Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) Program (2021-2023) was a multi-disciplinary program that brought together the geology, energy resources, groundwater, carbon and hydrogen storage, mineral occurrences, surface water and ecology for four Australian basin regions. This talk covers how the team leveraged their varied scientific expertise to deliver integrated scientific outcomes for the North Bowen, Galilee, Cooper and Adavale basin regions. This talk highlights the approach and importance of meaningful engagement with those that live in, work in, rely on and care for the regions. The story of the TEGI program outlines how a committed team, collaborating across Australia’s leading scientific organisations, delivered genuine impact during a time of political change.</div><div><br></div>

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environment, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This data guide captures existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Galilee Basin. The land overlying the Galilee Basin is dominated by the Mitchell Grass Downs Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregion and contains nearly the entire Desert Uplands bioregion. There are also smaller areas of Mulga, Brigalow Belt bioregions, Channel Country, Gulf Plains and Einasleigh Uplands bioregions. The data on the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Galilee Basin have been summarised in July 2021 to inform decisions on resource development activities. Key data sources are broad vegetation groups - pre-clearing and 2019 remnant - Queensland series (Queensland Government), Field Environmental Data, Australian Wetlands Database and Heritage places and lists (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), and the Atlas of Living Australia.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environment, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This web service summarises existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the Galilee Basin region.

Spatially explicit predictive models of species distributions integrating fine quality habitat descriptors and species information have the potential to provide new insights into species-habitat associations and their range shifts. This study describes the distributions and interactions of two commercial marine macro-invertebrates blacklip abalone Haliotis rubra and black urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii along the coast of Victoria, Australia. A generalized linear modelling (GLM) was used to model current and future (IPCC scenario for the year 2100) occurrence and abundance of these benthic species by analyzing associations between observations from fisheries independent diver surveys and environmental variables from bathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) derivatives and oceanographic parameters. Species spatial patterns were also evaluated in relation to observed macro-algae biota. The predictive GLM was suitable to predict species responses to environmental gradients with reef complexity , sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) influential predictors strongly associated with species distributions. H. rubra abundance showed a negative association with summer SST, conversely, the distribution of C. rodgersii showed positive responses to increasing winter SST. Furthermore, high abundance of H. rubra was associated with dense brown macro-algae whereas areas in high C. rodgersii densities were relatively devoid of algal assemblages and were low in abalone abundance. The modelling for the year 2100 predict a south-westward range extensions of urchin C. rodgersii, in response to increased ocean temperatures and the potential conflict with existing abalone commercial fishing grounds is discussed.