Seagrass Abundance by Marine Ecoregion

Relative abundance of seagrass habitat, by marine province.

We extracted seagrasses from version 2.0 of the global polygon and point data set that was compiled by UNEP-WCMC in 2005 (for more information about the source data set, e-mail spatialanalysis@unep-wcmc.org). These same data were originally published in the World Atlas of Seagrasses (Green and Short 2003; see, in particular, the chapter by Spalding et al. 2003). The source data for the habitat map were a mix of point and polygon information gathered from a major literature review as well as from national-level mapping programs. The habitat distribution information was of varying consistency, with likely gaps in information-poor regions. It was not possible to generate accurate area estimates from such data. Instead, we used the data, combined with expert knowledge of patterns of abundance and paucity, to develop a semiquantitative estimate of abundance by province that gives a broadly accurate picture of habitat abundance.

These data were derived by The Nature Conservancy, and were displayed in a map published in The Atlas of Global Conservation (Hoekstra et al., University of California Press, 2010). More information at http://nature.org/atlas.

Data derived from:
Green E. P., and F. T. Short. 2003. World Atlas of Seagrasses. Berkeley: University of California Press.

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2005. Data on extent and location of seagrass beds, v.2.0. Cambridge: Author. Digital media.