The following polygons were directly re-attributed from their native mapping classes to the CBiCS
class within the CBiCS hierarchy:
• Blake and Ball (2001) seagrass features;
• Boon et al. (2011) saltmarsh and mangrove classes;
• Wetlands 1994 classes;
• GeoHab (2010) classes;
These four layers were integrated to provide the base biotope map for Western Port. For example,
the Wetlands 1994 classes depicted intertidal habitats between channels but not channel bed
features habitat while the Geohab 2010 classes depicted underlying subtidal habitat but no
channels. Therefore, the integration of these feature sets provided the best possible depiction.
With this base case set, addition polygons were inserted where information gains were able to be
made. These included:
• Polygon coverage in Watsons Inlet (French et al. 2014);
• Hand-digitisation of the Rhodolith bed off Newhaven (A. Harvey pers. obs., hand
digitised);
• Hand-digitisation of the littoral rock at Crawfish Rock, Pelican Island and Schnapper Rock
(A. Flynn pers. obs. and interp. from aerial imagery, hand digitised);
• Infralittoral and circalittoral reef at Crawfish and Eagle rocks (A. Flynn pers. obs. and interp. from aerial imagery,
hand digitised);.
• Approximation of circalittoral reef off Corinella, informed by bathymetric relief and towed video.
Blake S and Ball D (2001). Victoria Marine Habitat Database. Seagrass Mapping of Western Port.
Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute Report No. 29. Marine and Freshwater
Resources Institute, Queenscliff.
Boon P, Allen T, Brook J, Carr G, Frood D, Harty C, Hoye J, McMahon A, Mathews S, Rosengren
N, Sinclair S, White M and Yugovic J. (2011). Mangroves and coastal saltmarsh of
Victoria: distribution, condition, threats and management. Institute for Sustainability and
Innovation, Victoria University, Melbourne.
French T, Monk J, Ierodiaconou D, Pope A. and Ball D (2014) Yaringa and French Island Marine
National Park Habitat Mapping. Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 96. Parks Victoria,
Melbourne.
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