Port of Bundaberg Seagrass and Benthic Monitoring Survey 2020

1. A baseline survey of seagrasses and associated benthic communities was conducted in the Port of Bundaberg from the 27th – 30th October 2020. 2. Seagrass formed large deep‐water meadows of Halophila decipiens, H. ovalis and H. spinulosa in offshore areas of the Port of Bundaberg but was absent from shallower coastal and estuarine areas of the port. 3. Deep‐water seagrass meadows covered 5,788 ± 975 ha or 35% of the port limits area. Seagrass was mapped to the port limits boundary but was likely that the meadows extended much further outside the port limits. 4. Average biomass of deep‐water seagrass across all meadows was 1.08 ± 0.16g DW m‐2 ranging from 0.06 to 3.69 g DW m‐2 for individual meadows. Seagrass biomass in the Port of Bundaberg was similar to seagrass meadows in other deep‐water areas in North Queensland. 5. Macroalgae occurred throughout the port but at very low cover. Filamentous algae was common seaward of the spoil grounds often as epiphytes on seagrass and erect macrophytes were more common in the coastalzone with turf algae in the estuary and shipping channel. 6. Seagrass meadows and their associated epiphytes in the Port of Bundaberg likely provide a foraging area for dugongs and turtles and habitat for a range of fauna. 7. It is likely that these deep‐water meadows found in the Port of Bundaberg are highly variable seasonally and between years. This survey can form a baseline from which a regular monitoring program forseagrasses and macro‐ algae could be developed if required