Development of Benthic Sampling Methods for the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) in Hawai'i

Seribu Islands are archipelago within Jakarta Bay built upon the pleistocene coral formation of the Sunda Shelf. The islands are characterized by unique and high biodiversity such as coral reefs. Since coral reef degradation would lead to a decrease of human prosperity, the determination of the coral reef quality is of high importance. Foraminifera offers an early warning system for the coral reef condition, as exemplified by the FORAM Index, i.e. Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring Index. This study compared the foraminiferal community structure and the FORAM Index of two islands between the Damar Besar and Jukung. Both islands were dominated by symbiont-bearing foraminifera of the genera Amphistegina, Calcarina, Heterostegina, Marginophora, and Operculina. However, the number of benthic foraminifers at Jukung Island was higher than that at Damar Besar Island, having 17 individuals per species on average. Jukung Island was a conducive site to reef growth, as indicated by a FORAM Index (between 6,48 and 6,57), and Damar Besar Island was liable to environmental change.

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Evaluation of sampling methods for monitoring effluent phosphorus for on-site wastewater treatment systems

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2012.107 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 65 (11) ◽

pp. 2049-2054 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erik Johannessen ◽

Arild Schanke Eikum ◽

Tore Krogstad

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Sampling Method ◽

Sampling Methods ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Grab Sampling ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Student’S T ◽

Composite Samples ◽

Student’S T Test

More than 1,600 prefabricated on-site wastewater treatment plants are in operation in the Morsa watershed in Norway. As of 2010 a monitoring program on the performance of these plants is in effect. Sampling methods for wastewater treatment plants is discussed, and different methods are compared. The study includes six different plant models, of which all are prefabricated package plants. The parameters investigated were total phosphorus (Tot-P), orthophosphate (PO4-P) and suspended solids (SS). Diurnal curves showed no apparent repetitive variation over 24 h intervals, indicating good equalization and robust design to compensate for highly variable loadings. A comparison of grab samples and time proportional composite samples showed almost identical average values, and a paired two-tailed Student's t-test indicates no statistically significant difference between the sampling methods. The results indicate that equivalent results should be expected irrespective of sampling method, and, as composite sampling is attributed to much higher costs, it is recommended that grab sampling should be used when a large number of plants are evaluated.

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Initial results of a long-term coral reef monitoring program: Impact of Hurricane Hugo at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology ◽

10.1016/0022-0981(93)90096-7 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 172 (1-2) ◽

pp. 171-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

J.C. Bythell ◽

M. Bythell ◽

E.H. Gladfelter

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Virgin Islands ◽

Program Impact ◽

National Monument ◽

Initial Results ◽

Hurricane Hugo ◽

Reef Monitoring

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THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN DAMAR ISLAND AND JUKUNG ISLAND, SERIBU ISLANDS

Marine Research in Indonesia ◽

10.14203/mri.v35i1.10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 9

Author(s):

Suhartati M. Natsir

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Warning System ◽

Reef Growth ◽

Sunda Shelf ◽

Benthic Foraminifers ◽

Reef Degradation ◽

Assessment And Monitoring ◽

Coral Reef Degradation ◽

Reef Condition

Seribu Islands are archipelago within Jakarta Bay built upon the pleistocene coral formation of the Sunda Shelf. The islands are characterized by unique and high biodiversity such as coral reefs. Since coral reef degradation would lead to a decrease of human prosperity, the determination of the coral reef quality is of high importance. Foraminifera offers an early warning system for the coral reef condition, as exemplified by the FORAM Index, i.e. Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring Index. This study compared the foraminiferal community structure and the FORAM Index of two islands between the Damar Besar and Jukung. Both islands were dominated by symbiont-bearing foraminifera of the genera Amphistegina, Calcarina, Heterostegina, Marginophora, and Operculina. However, the number of benthic foraminifers at Jukung Island was higher than that at Damar Besar Island, having 17 individuals per species on average. Jukung Island was a conducive site to reef growth, as indicated by a FORAM Index (between 6,48 and 6,57), and Damar Besar Island was liable to environmental change.

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Reef Foraminifera As Bioindicator Of Coral Reef Health in Pulau Tioman, Pahang, Malaysia

10.21203/rs.3.rs-51033/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Aishah Norashikin Abdul A’ziz ◽

Fatin Izzati Minhat ◽

Pan Hui-Juan ◽

Hasrizal Shaari ◽

Wan Nurzalia Wan Saelan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Dominant Species ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Coastal Development ◽

Assessment And Monitoring ◽

Reef Recovery ◽

Reef Health ◽

Coral Reef Area ◽

Reduced Water

Abstract Pulau Tioman is one of the famous tourism islands in Peninsular Malaysia due to the beautiful terrestrial and coral reefs ecosystem. This study aims to assess and monitor the health of coral reef sites surrounding Pulau Tioman based on the application of Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring (FORAM) Index. A total of ten selected sampling sites from west and east side of Pulau Tioman were setup in front of the major beach areas around Pulau Tioman. At each site, 100 m transect was laid out from shore towards the reef slope and surface sediment samples were collected at 50 m intervals. Eight orders, 41 families, 80 genera and 161 species of benthic foraminifera were identified around Pulau Tioman. Amphistegina lessonii found to be the most dominant species and the least dominant species (< 4%) are Bolivina vadescens, Elphidium neosimplex, Heterolepa dutemplei, Heterolepa subhaidingerii, Mikrobelodontos bradyi, Milliolinella suborbicularis, Operculina discoidalis, Parahourinoides fragillissimus, Quinqueloculina incisa, Quinqueloculina sulcate, Triloculinella bertheliniana and Triloculinella parisa. The highest and lowest numbers of species was recorded at station J3 and station F3. The agglutinated type of foraminifera contributed between 2–8% of the total assemblages. Meanwhile, calcareous hyaline and porcelaneous group represent 79% and 19% of total assemblages respectively. Based on the functional groups, symbiont-bearing taxa were the most common foraminiferal found in most of the stations. The present study indicates that majority of sampling sites around Pulau Tioman are conducive for coral reef growth and could recover from any future bleaching events or temporary damage in the ecosystem. However, several areas with higher coastal development and tourism activities has reduced water quality (FI < 4) and chances of better reef recovery. Thus, the number of visitors and tourists should be revised in order to produce a better condition for coral reefs to grow. This assumption is based on the established results of the FORAM index. Thus, we suppose that FORAM index could be used together with coral reef health index in other reef ecosystems around Malaysia to determine the condition and status of coral reef area.

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Comparing Coral Colony Surveys From In-Water Observations and Structure-From-Motion Imagery Shows Low Methodological Bias

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.647943 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Courtney S. Couch ◽

Thomas A. Oliver ◽

Rhonda Suka ◽

Mia Lamirand ◽

Mollie Asbury ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Structure From Motion ◽

Survey Methods ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Partial Mortality ◽

Method Error ◽

Coral Colony ◽

Reef Monitoring

As the threats to coral reefs mount, scientists and managers are looking for innovative ways to increase the scope, scale, and efficiency of coral reef monitoring. Monitoring changes in coral communities and demographic features provides key information about ecosystem function and resilience of reefs. While most monitoring programs continue to rely on in-water visual survey methods, scientists are exploring 3D imaging technologies such as photogrammetry, also known as Structure-from-Motion (SfM), to enhance precision of monitoring, increase logistical efficiency in the field, and generate a permanent record of the reef. Here, we quantitatively compare data generated from in-water surveys to SfM-derived metrics for assessing coral demography, bleaching, and diversity in the main Hawaiian Islands as part of NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Our objectives were to compare between-method error to within-method error, test for bias between methods, and identify strengths and weaknesses of both methods. Colony density, average colony diameter, average partial mortality, prevalence of bleaching, species richness, and species diversity were recorded using both methods within the same survey areas. For all metrics, the magnitude of between-method error was comparable to the within-method error for the in-water method and between method error was significantly higher than within-method error for SfM for one of the seven metrics. Our results also reveal that a majority of the metrics do not vary significantly between methods, nor did we observe a significant interaction between method and habitat type or method and depth. Exceptions include estimates of partial mortality, bleaching prevalence, and Porites juvenile density–though differences between methods are generally small. Our study also highlights that SfM offers a unique opportunity to more rigorously quantify and mitigate inter-observer error by providing observers unlimited “bottom time” and the opportunity to work together to resolve difficult annotations. However, the necessary investment in equipment and expertise does present substantial up-front costs, and the time associated with curating imagery, photogrammetric modeling, and manual image annotation can reduce the timeliness of data reporting. SfM provides a powerful tool to reimagine how we study and manage coral reefs, and this study provides the first quantified methodological comparison to validate the transition from standard in-water methods to SfM survey methods for estimates of coral colony-level surveys.

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Finding the needle in the haystack: comparing sampling methods for detecting an endangered freshwater fish

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf14346 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 67 (11) ◽

pp. 1740 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Mark Lintermans

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

Sampling Methods ◽

Detection Efficiency ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

False Negatives ◽

Detection Power ◽

Gill Nets ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

High Level ◽

Fyke Nets

Accurately detecting the presence or absence of threatened species is vital for threatened species management, and the detection power of individual sampling methods can vary significantly between species and life stages. The present study compares the detection power of six sampling methods in sampling the endangered Macquarie perch in riverine habitats in south-eastern Australia. In an initial survey in 1998 and 1999, fyke nets captured Macquarie perch at 100% of sites where the species was detected; gill-nets captured the species at 86%; with no other method having >50% detection efficiency. Most Macquarie perch were captured by fyke nets (90% in 1998 and 94% in 1999), followed by gill-nets (7 and 2%). A monitoring program at one of the survey sites over 7 years returned similar results with fyke nets detecting the species in all years. Fyke nets captured primarily young-of-year (YOY) individuals, whereas gill-nets captured adults and subadults. Boat electrofishing returned a high level of false negatives for Macquarie perch. Future sampling for this species should employ fyke and gill-nets to adequately characterise population structure (adults, juveniles, YOY), minimise false negatives and detect the occurrence of successful breeding the previous year.

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Resident Perceptions of Ecosystem Services Provided by U.S. Coral Reefs: Highlights from the First Cycle of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program’s Socioeconomic Survey

Water ◽

10.3390/w13152081 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 2081

Author(s):

Mary E. Allen ◽

Chloe S. Fleming ◽

Sarah B. Gonyo ◽

Erica K. Towle ◽

Maria K. Dillard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

American Samoa ◽

Human Populations ◽

Reef Management ◽

Holistic Understanding ◽

The U.S ◽

Reef Monitoring

Despite being among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth, coral reefs face ongoing threats that could negatively impact the human populations who depend on them. The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) collects and monitors data on various aspects of U.S. coral reefs to provide a holistic understanding of the status of the reefs and adjacent human communities. This paper explores results from the NCRMP’s first socioeconomic monitoring cycle using an ecosystem services framework and examines how these results can be used to improve coral reef management in the following U.S. coral reef jurisdictions: American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Results suggest that residents in the U.S. Pacific coral reef basin may hold stronger cultural and provisioning values, whereas residents in the U.S. Atlantic coral reef basin may hold stronger regulating values. These findings suggest that outreach efforts have been successful in communicating benefits provided by coral reef ecosystems to the public. They also provide insight into which ecosystem services are valued in each jurisdiction, allowing resource managers to make science-based decisions about how to communicate conservation and management initiatives.

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USING A MULTIBEAM ECHOSOUNDER TO MONITOR AN ARTIFICIAL REEF

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xl-5-w5-207-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol XL-5/W5 ◽

pp. 207-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. N. Tassetti ◽

S. Malaspina ◽

G. Fabi

Keyword(s):

Structural Integrity ◽

Sampling Methods ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Artificial Reef ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Northern Adriatic Sea ◽

Northern Adriatic ◽

Fishery Resource ◽

Multibeam Echosounder ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales

Artificial reefs (ARs) have become popular technological interventions in shallow water environments characterized by soft seabed for a wide number of purposes, from fisheries/environmental protection and enhancement to research and tourism. AR deployment has the potential for causing significant hydrographical and biological changes in the receiving environments and, in turn, ARs are strongly affected by the surrounding area in terms of spatial arrangement and structural integrity as well as colonization by benthic communities and finfish. In this context, ARs require a systematic monitoring program that a multibeam echosounder (MBES) can provide better than other sampling methods such as visual dives and ROV inspections that are not quantitative and often influenced by water visibility and diver experience/skills. In this paper, some subsequent MBES surveys of the Senigallia scientifically-planned AR (Northern Adriatic Sea) are presented and state-of-the art data processing and visualization techniques are used to draw post-reef deployment comparisons and quantify the evolution of the reef in terms of spatial arrangement and bulk volume. These multibeam surveys play a leading part in a general multi-year program, started simultaneously with the AR design and deployment and aimed to map how the reef structure quantitatively changes over time, as well as it affects the sea-bottom morphology and the fishery resource. All the data, surveyed over years making use of different sampling methods such as visual and instrumental echosounding observations and catch rate surveys, gain a mechanistic and predictive understanding of how the Senigallia AR functions ecologically and physically across spatial and temporal scales during its design life

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