Description: Data presented in this shapefile are compiled from several sources that cover a broad temporal range. A list of these sources, and the manipulations made, are listed below:1. Blake and Ball (2000) Port Phillip Bay habitat mapOriginal mapping classes re-labelled to the CBiCS hierarchy. Shoreline extremities manipulated to conform to the Victorian 2008 coastline shapefile. 2. Boon et al. (2013) Victorian Saltmarsh and MangrovesOriginal mapping classes in the Boon et al. (2013) GIS product (terreesstrial vegetation EVCs) manipulated where necessary to conform to EVCs listed in the Boon et al. (2013) report.No shoreline extremity manipulation. 3. Interpreted Sediment ClassificationHand-digitised interpretations of epifauna and infauna classes published by various authors as listed in the attribute table. 4. Biotope classification for central bay areasNew data analysis by Deakin University, Australian Marine Ecology Pty Ltd and Fathom Pacific Pty Ltd based on segmentation of contemporary remote sensing data, namely statewide LiDAR bathymetry and reflectance, Port Phillip Bay multibeam data and aerial imagery.Hierarchy Coding Biotopes are listed as per biotope component of the CBiCS hierarchy as follows: bc_1 - Level 1-Environmentbc_2 - Level 2 - Broad habitatbc_3 - Level 3 - Habitat complexbc_4 - Level 4 - Biotope complexbc_5 - Level 5 - Biotopebc_6 - Level 6 - Sub-biotopeLimitations and RestrictionsHistorical datasets were used to develop this compilation of Port Phillip Bay habitats and biotopes. The "author" field of the attribute table lists the historical basis of polygons. For historical data, spatial extents and biotope labelling of polygons related to temporally variable biotopes such as seagrass orbiotopes that haveecologically important variations in condition states such as reefs, may not reflect modern states. The intertidal zone is not discerned from the subtidal zone in this compilation. Canyon habitats are spatially deliminated in this compilation. The canyon habitats are labelled by their commonly used names: Port Phillip Heads Entrance Canyon, Portsea Hole and Schnapper Deep Canyon. These areas are not differentiated on the basis of biotopes. However, it must be acknowledged that these habitats are highly diverse and comprise endemic fauna and biotopes. These circalittoral habitats were discerned for the purposes of this compilation on the basis of the 20 m depth contour. This depth contour suitably distinguishes canyon wall features from the surrounding geomorphology, although it must be acknowledged that the circalittoral zone is distringuished ont he basis of biological transition from macroalgae dominated biotopes to those dominated by sessile filter feeding invertbrates, notably sponges and bryozoansand this transition occurs at varying depth intervals.Further, it must be acknowledged that biotopes in Portsea Hole, Schnapper Deep and Entrance Canyon differ considerably.