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Marine plant dispersal and connectivity measures differ in sensitivity to biophysical model parameters

Biophysical models simulate dispersal and connectivity in marine environments by combining numerical models that represent water circulation with biological parameters that define the attributes of species. The effects of parameters on model outputs, such as the number of particles released to simulate the trajectories of individual organisms, is potentially large but is rarely tested. In this study, we develop a framework to measure the optimal number of particles required to capture variability in dispersal and connectivity of the marine plants, seagrasses.

The study location was Torres Strait. Spatial (geographic information system [GIS]) layers of seagrass distribution in Torres Strait were sourced from Carter et al. (2014, 2016). These layers were supplemented with information on the potential distribution of seagrass in the unmapped area between Badu and Boigu Islands derived from a model of dugong distribution and relative abundance (Marsh et al. 2015).

The biophysical model data were generated with the SLIM model. Analyses were conducted in Python3 (version 3.6.5) and Gephi 0.9.2. Seagrass shapefile, model run files, raw outputs, model output analysis files, and analysis results are provided - see associated readme.txt                                                                                                  

Carter, A.B., Taylor, H.A. & Rasheed, M.A. (2014) Torres Strait mapping: Seagrass consolidation 2002 – 2014. Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) report no. 14/55. James Cook University, Cairns. 47pp.

Carter, A.B. & Rasheed, M.A. (2016) Assessment of key dugong and turtle seagrass resources in north-west Torres Strait. Report to the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) and Torres Strait Regional Authority. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns. 41pp.

Marsh, H., Grayson, J., Grech, A., Hagihara, R., Sobtzick, S. (2015) Re-evaluation of the sustainability of a marine mammal harvest by indigenous people using several lines of evidence. Biological Conservation. 192: 324 – 330. 
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    Data Record Details
    Data record related to this publication Marine plant dispersal and connectivity measures differ in sensitivity to biophysical model parameters
    Data Publication title Marine plant dispersal and connectivity measures differ in sensitivity to biophysical model parameters
  • Description

    Biophysical models simulate dispersal and connectivity in marine environments by combining numerical models that represent water circulation with biological parameters that define the attributes of species. The effects of parameters on model outputs, such as the number of particles released to simulate the trajectories of individual organisms, is potentially large but is rarely tested. In this study, we develop a framework to measure the optimal number of particles required to capture variability in dispersal and connectivity of the marine plants, seagrasses.

    The study location was Torres Strait. Spatial (geographic information system [GIS]) layers of seagrass distribution in Torres Strait were sourced from Carter et al. (2014, 2016). These layers were supplemented with information on the potential distribution of seagrass in the unmapped area between Badu and Boigu Islands derived from a model of dugong distribution and relative abundance (Marsh et al. 2015).

    The biophysical model data were generated with the SLIM model. Analyses were conducted in Python3 (version 3.6.5) and Gephi 0.9.2. Seagrass shapefile, model run files, raw outputs, model output analysis files, and analysis results are provided - see associated readme.txt                                                                                                  

    Carter, A.B., Taylor, H.A. & Rasheed, M.A. (2014) Torres Strait mapping: Seagrass consolidation 2002 – 2014. Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) report no. 14/55. James Cook University, Cairns. 47pp.

    Carter, A.B. & Rasheed, M.A. (2016) Assessment of key dugong and turtle seagrass resources in north-west Torres Strait. Report to the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) and Torres Strait Regional Authority. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns. 41pp.

    Marsh, H., Grayson, J., Grech, A., Hagihara, R., Sobtzick, S. (2015) Re-evaluation of the sustainability of a marine mammal harvest by indigenous people using several lines of evidence. Biological Conservation. 192: 324 – 330. 

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  • Other Descriptors
    • Descriptor
      • Descriptor type
    • Data type dataset
  • Keywords
    • dispersal
    • connectivity
    • seagrasses
    • biophysical models
    • SLIM model
    • ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
  • Funding source
    • Australian Research Council
    • The Ian Potter Foundation
    • Sea World Research & Rescue Foundation
  • Research grant(s)/Scheme name(s)
    • 21109 - ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies
    • Research themes
    Tropical Ecosystems, Conservation and Climate Change
    FoR Codes (*)
    SEO Codes
- Specify coverage
    Specify spatial or temporal setting of the data
    Temporal (time) coverage
  • Start Date
  • End Date
    • Time Period
    Spatial (location) coverage
  • Locations
    • Torres Strait
- Data
    Data Locations

    Type Location Notes
    Physical Location QCIF Collection Q3871
    The Data Manager is: Jodie Schlaefer
    College or Centre ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
    Access conditions Conditional: Contact researchdata@jcu.edu.au to request access to this data.
  • Alternative access conditions
    • Data record size 1.1 TB
- Related resources
  • Related publications
      Name Carter, Alex, Taylor, Helen, and Rasheed, Michael (2014) Torres Strait mapping: seagrass consolidation: 2002-2014. Report. TropWATER, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
    • URL https://research.jcu.edu.au/tropwater/publications/technical-reports/
    • Notes Source for layers of seagrass distribution in Torres Strait
      • Name Carter, A.B. & Rasheed, M.A. (2016) Assessment of key dugong and turtle seagrass resources in north-west Torres Strait. Report to the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) and Torres Strait Regional Authority. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns. 41pp.
    • URL http://bit.ly/2q7FrUZ
    • Notes Source for layers of seagrass distribution in Torres Strait
      • Name Marsh, Helene, Grayson, Jillian, Grech, Alana, Hagihara, Rie, and Sobtzick, Susan (2015) Re-evaluation of the sustainability of a marine mammal harvest by indigenous people using several lines of evidence. Biological Conservation, 192. pp. 324-330.
    • URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.10.007
    • Notes Source of information on the potential distribution of seagrass in the unmapped area between Badu and Boigu Islands
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- Citation
    Citation Schlaefer, Jodie; Grech, Alana; Choukroun, Severine; Carter, Alexandra; Coles, Robert; Rasheed, Michael; Tol, Samantha; Kay, Critchell; Jonathan, Lambrechts (2021): Marine plant dispersal and connectivity measures differ in sensitivity to biophysical model parameters. James Cook University. https://doi.org/10.25903/1vje-6c38