Reef Check Draft Protocols
gregorh at hk.super.net
gregorh at hk.super.net
Sat Dec 14 11:53:32 EST 1996
Reef Check 1997 Draft Protocols
Site selection: choose reef sites that are considered to be the
best available, with high coral cover and dense fish populations.
Demonstrating anthropogenic impacts at these sites will reinforce
the message that even the best sites are showing wear and tear.
Survey locations should be marked on a chart and submitted.
Basic design: two 20 m long line transects at both 3 m and 10 m
depth below Chart Datum or low low water, and two 20 m long
transects at -4 and -11 m depth. The transects should follow the
designated depth contour one after the other i.e. the -10 and -11
m transects should not be parallel. Start and end points should
be separated by 5 m, so the distance between the start of the
first transect and end of the last will be 20 + 5 + 20 + 5 + 20
+ 5 + 20 = 105 m.
Substrate types including coral cover: Point sampling will be
done along each transect to characterize the substrate types. A
nail or other sharp object will be tied onto a 1 m long string
and dropped at each 0.5 m along the line and the substrate type
under the tip of the nail recorded as follows:
Hard coral
Soft coral
Dead coral (still standing and intact)
Fleshy seaweed
Rock
Rubble
Sand
Silt/clay
Other
The four line transects also will be used as belt transects and
surveyed for indicator organisms and objects. Each belt transect
will have the dimensions of 2.5 m on either side of the transect
line, or 5 m wide, and (for fish) at most 5 m above the transect
line. Counts will be made of the following:
Whole world:
Diadema long-spined black sea urchins
Lobster
Trash
Recently broken coral (anchor, blast, divers) (estimate area)
Indo-Pacific:
Tridacna giant clams (give size)
Trochus shells
Edible beche-de-mer (sea cucumbers), trepang, holothurians
Acanthaster (Crown of thorns starfish)
Triton shell Charonia tritonis
Caribbean:
Queen conch Strombus gigas
Helmut conch Cassis madagascariensus
Fish transects:
The same belt transects will be used as above. A buddy pair of
divers will do the survey, one behind the other. At least 15
minutes should have elapsed since the last disturbance prior to
starting the survey. The leader will swim slowly along the
transect and then will stop to count and size target fish every
5 m, and wait at least 5 minutes for target fish to come out of
hiding, before proceeding to next stop point.
Target fish:
Indo-Pacific
Any grouper/coral trout over 30 cm
Barrimundi cod Cromileptes altivelis
Sweetlips Plectorhincus spp.
Humphead (Napolean) wrasse Cheilinus undulatus
Bumphead parrotfish Bolbometapon muricatum
(Note: off-transect records of the wrasse and the parrotfish will
be accepted).
Caribbean:
Nassau Grouper
Any grouper over 30 cm
Sweetlips (Haemulidae)
Gregor Hodgson, PhD
Reef Check Coordinator
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clearwater Bay, Kowloon
Hong Kong
e-mail: rcgregor at usthk.ust.hk
Fax: (852) 2358-1582
Tel: (852) 2358-8568
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