Halimeda composition and biomass across the central Great Barrier Reef

Halimeda communities from six reefs of the central Great Barrier Reef (Broadhurst Reef, Davies Reef, Flinders Reef, Myrmidon Reef, Pandora Reef and Rib Reef) were sampled to provide information on biomass and community composition.For the biomass samples, scuba divers collected all Halimeda from a belt of 0.25 x 0.25 quadrats (3415 in total): plants were air-dried, sorted into species, oven-dried and weighed. Variables were: (% dry weight), total biomass (kg), total area (m2), number of samples, distance offshore (km), time of year (Feb/Mar, Apr/May, Jun/Aug, Oct/Dec).Halimeda community habitat variables were: hole, bommie, leeward slope, windward slope. To describe the Halimeda communities of reefs across the central Great Barrier Reef. Complements a study of Halimeda on reefs along the length of the Great Barrier Reef, see separate metadata record.