2022-04-12-P&E Agenda - Item 6 - Attachment 3- Appendix 2 - Current and Historical Distribution of Seagrass in the Noosa Estuary

                                                                                                                                  Ecological Service Professionals
                                                                                                                                                        Sustainable Science Solutions

Appendix A                Value of seagrass to fisheries

    Table 7.1    Criteria used to determine the fisheries habitat value of seagrass based on review of available literature4

 Seagrass Patch          Criteria Score
 Characteristic /
 Feature

                                          1                                   2                                 3                                   4

 Meadow extent            Patchy <5m2 of seagrass bed          Patchy bed either intertidal or                                     Continuous bed extending from
                         surrounded by bare substrate          subtidal areas only (patches                                        intertidal to subtidal areas
                         (no other seagrass bed within         separated by more than 5m)
                         5m of the patch)

 Proximity to            Poorly connected to other             Moderately connected to           Well connected to other           Well-connected up- and down-
 another structural      structural fish habitat (Intertidal   other structural fish habitat     structural fish habitat           shore to other known structural fish
 habitats (based on      seagrass proximal to                  (Intertidal seagrass proximal     (Intertidal seagrass proximal     habitats (Intertidal seagrass
 wetland proximity       mangroves, subtidal seagrass,         to mangroves, subtidal            to mangroves, subtidal            proximal to mangroves, subtidal
 score - Price et al     macroalgae rocky reef, coral          seagrass, macroalgae rocky        seagrass, macroalgae rocky        seagrass, macroalgae rocky reef,
 2007)                   reef, or another structured           reef, coral reef, or another      reef, coral reef, or another      coral reef, or another structured
                         habitat) No natural structural        structured habitat) Structural    structured habitat) Structural    habitat). Structural ecosystem
                         ecosystem merged with                 ecosystem merged with up to       ecosystem merged with 25          merged with >50% of meadow
                         meadow boundary. (i.e.                25% of meadow boundary or         to 50% of meadow boundary         boundary or within 100m of other
                         >1000m to another structural          within 1000m of other             or Within 100m of other           structural habitat within 100m of
                         habitat and surrounded by             structural habitat                structural habitat                other structural habitat
                         bare habitat)

 Proximity to            >1km                                  200 to 1000m                                                        <200m
 nearest continuous




Assessing Distribution of Seagrass in the Noosa Estuary                                                  A-32