In this study, we used archived, high-resolution SPOT 6/7 satellite imagery to asses the distribution of eelgrass, Zostera marina habitats in Port Mouton Bay, Port Joli Bay, and Jordan Bay in Atlantic Canada. Eelgrass is recognized as an ecologically significant species and recent declines have spurred the need for methods to quantify large-scale eelgrass distribution and monitor changes in this important underwater habitat. Our study provides bay-wide distribution maps can be used for monitoring, conservation and management of eelgrass habitats in Atlantic Canada, and an image classification framework that requires no field survey points for ground truthing.
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September