Intertidal Flat Surface Area in Victoria, Australia
This study looked into the relationship between shorebird abundance and benthos abundance on the tidal flats of the Western Treatment Plant.
Located in Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia, the Western Treatment Plant (WTP) treats 60% of Melbourne's sewage. Due to the large quantity of nutrients released from the plant, the adjacent shoreline supports a large population of shorebirds. Of particular interest to the study was the relationship between shorebird abundance and benthos abundance on the tidal flats of the WTP. Both have fluctuated in recent years (notably, there has been a decline in benthos abundance). With this in mind the study aimed to quantify the benthos abundance on the WTP tidal flats required to sustain shorebird populations. In order to achieve this, accurate measurements of shorebird density (i.e. number of shorebirds divided by area of tidal flat) were required. Using a high resolution bathymetric and topographic dataset, eCoast was commissioned to crease accurate topographic grids of the Regions of Interest (ROIs) to the study. The grids were used to derive accurate measurements of intertidal surface area exposed at different sea level elevations.
