Information regarding the composition and extent of benthic habitats on the South East Australian continental shelf is limited. In this habitat mapping study, multibeam echosounder (MBES) data are integrated with precisely geo-referenced video ground-truth data to quantify benthic biotic communities at Cape Nelson, Victoria, Australia. Using an automated decision tree classification approach, 5 representative biotic groups defined from video analysis were related to hydro-acoustically derived variables in the Cape Nelson survey area. Using a combination of multibeam bathymetry, backscatter and derivative products produced highest overall accuracy (87%) and kappa statistic (0.83). This study demonstrates that decision tree classifiers are capable of integrating variable data types for mapping distributions of benthic biological assemblages, which are important in maintaining biodiversity and other system services in the marine environment.

Depth range
10- 57 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
0 x (total of 5453 words)

Classification
* Presents original data
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
* Focused on 'temperate mesophotic ecosystem'

Fields
Acoustics
Community structure

Focusgroups
Overall benthic (groups)

Locations
Australia - Southeastern Australia

Platforms
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
Sonar / Multibeam