Standard Presentation (12 minutes) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2025 Conference

Northern Australia's Amazing and Diverse Seagrass Habitats: From Historical Insights to Future Priorities (120069)

Alex Carter 1 , Catherine Collier 1 , Rachel Groom 2 , Kathryn McMahon 3 , Lucas Langlois 1 , Rob Coles 1 , Timothy Smith 1 , Caitlin Smith 1 , Alejandro Navarro 1 , Christophe Cleguer 1 , li-Anthawirriyarra Sea Rangers . 4 , Normanton Rangers . 5 , Burketown Rangers . 5 , Numbulwar Numburindi Rangers . 6 , Yugul Mangi Rangers . 6 , Torres Strait Regional Authority Land and Sea Rangers . 7 , Madeina David 7 , Girringun Rangers . 8 , Seven Rivers Aboriginal Corporation . 9 , Tiwi Rangers . 10 , Jessica Armstrong 11 , Frances Verrier 12 , Jonathan Vea 13 , Laura Angus 13 , Karajarri Traditional Lands Association . 14 , Wellesley Islands Rangers . 15
  1. Tropwater, James Cook University, Smithfield, QLD, Australia
  2. Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia
  3. Edith Cowen University, Perth, WA, Australia
  4. li-Anthawirriyarra Sea Rangers, Mabunji Aboriginal Resource Indigenous Corporation, Borroloola, NT, Australia
  5. Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Normanton, QLD, Australia
  6. Northern Land Council, Darwin, NT, Australia
  7. Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), Thursday Island, QLD, Australia
  8. Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, Cardwell, QLD, Australia
  9. Seven Rivers Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC , Bamaga, QLD, Australia
  10. Tiwi Resources, Casuarina, NT, Australia
  11. Migratory Species Section, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  12. North Marine Parks Network, Parks Australia, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  13. Parks and Wildlife Commission, Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Northern Territory Government, Darwin, NT, Australia
  14. Karajarri Traditional Lands Association , Bidyadanga, WA, Australia
  15. Wellesley Islands Rangers, Mornington Island, QLD, Australia

Northern Australia's amazing and diverse seagrass habitats face complex challenges requiring innovative solutions for conservation and management. Despite tropical seagrass’ significant economic, conservation and cultural values, knowledge of these ecosystems across northern Australia has historically been fragmented and the data frequently inaccessible. This talk describes some of the large multi-institution partnerships and projects that have invested in overcoming these barriers in recent years. We’ve compiled and made publicly available historical spatial data from the Great Barrier Reef to Ningaloo and modelled seagrass species distribution for the Reef. We’ve been filling knowledge gaps mapping seagrass with Traditional Owners and rangers in the Kimberley, Tiwi Islands, South East Arnhem Land, the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, West Cape York, Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef. We’re developing new methods for establishing seagrass baselines and monitoring using drones and remote sensing. And we’re discovering more about seagrass species-specific associations for tropical fish communities and megafauna. This work has transformed our understanding of species distributions in tropical Australia, identified knowledge gaps for future research, shed light on the role of marine reserves in seagrass conservation, and highlighted the central role of Indigenous rangers in monitoring and managing Sea Country in northern Australia.