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Monitoring of coral reefs and potential for application of SUMARE tools

Emily Corcoran. Monitoring of coral reefs and potential for application of SUMARE tools. Bora Bora Truchet /UNEP /Still Pictures. UNEP Coral Reef Unit (CRU). Established December 2000 within UNEP to help lead international efforts to save the world's threatened coral reefs

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Monitoring of coral reefs and potential for application of SUMARE tools

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  1. Emily Corcoran Monitoring of coral reefs and potential for application of SUMARE tools Bora Bora Truchet /UNEP /Still Pictures

  2. UNEP Coral Reef Unit (CRU) Established December 2000 within UNEP to help lead international efforts to save the world's threatened coral reefs Provides policy link between UNEP-WCMC, ICRI & operational networks Re-located May 2003 to the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), Cambridge / UK Works alongside UNEP-WCMC's Marine and Coastal Programme, the ICRAN Co-ordination Unit and the ICRI Secretariat

  3. Work of UNEP-CRU 1.5 person team, headed by Dr Stefan Hain International coral reef policy support to on the ground needs Remit stipulated by UNEP GC Reaches out to other agencies and MEAs Supports a range of coral reef activities (tropical and deep/cold water) Partner and funder of GCRMN

  4. Tropical Coral Reef Facts (i) Coral reefs cover 284,000km2 world wide 0-50m deep More than one million species (=25%) of marine life and biodiversity depend on coral reefs and associated shallow water ecosystems

  5. Tropical Coral Reef Facts (ii) Livelihood of one billion people depends on coral reefs. Coral reefs account for 25% of the global fish catch. Physical existence, social, economic and even political stability of many small countries and island states is intrinsically linked to coral reefs Coral reefs provide each year about US$30 billion in net benefits to world economies.

  6. Monitoring Coral Reefs Why -major objectives for current monitoring What - are the different aspects of the coral reef ecosystem that we need to look at? How –the methods currently available

  7. WhyObjectives for monitoring reefs • Provide statistically rigorous information for science and management • To look at spatial and temporal patterns in coral reef habitats • Specific objectives depends on who the information is for • Resource users • Reef managers • Scientists • International policy makers

  8. What needs monitoring? • Distribution of coral • Patterns Biodiversity • Reef and ecosystem condition • Seasonality • Threats Monitored over time and space

  9. Satellite Aerial photography Boats Diver operated Above water (remote) On the water Autonomous under water vehicles Below water

  10. Considerations for Method Selection • Resolution • Replicability • Reliability • Site location and characteristics • Available time / resources / capacity (human, financial, institutional) • Effort Vs Accuracy

  11. Costs from CRAMP Hawaii (Brown et al. 1999) • Digital video transect* set up $5,400 • 6 divers for 10 transects at 2 depths – from $2100-4300 per day* • Quadrat surveys $0.01/ data point after 100 surveys • Photo quadrat* $0.21/ data point after 100 surveys

  12. Potential applications for SUMARE • Medium scale monitoring • Conditions/depths not suitable for divers • Sea bed mapping • Surveying cold/deepwater reefs? • Distinguishing between live/dead coral? • Questions

  13. Some questions to consider Practicalities • What is the angle and depth of the sensors (effective distance to the object and aperture • What tools can be employed? (which parameters could it be used to measure)? • To what depth can it be used? • Are there applications that can distinguish between live and dead substrates • Would the rugosity of coral reefs confuse the AUV (given the complexity of the contours)

  14. Costs • What is the life expectancy of the apparatus? • Cost over 10/ 50/ 100 Surveys Post collection analysis • How is data archived • How complex is the analysis of data? • What are the maintenance and training requirements?

  15. Future directions? • Further evaluation for potential coral reef applications – contact point for SUMARE? • Putting the tools to the test • Tropical reefs? • Cold/deep water reefs?

  16. Thank you for your attention

  17. Considerations and constraints • Costs • Accuracy • Site accessibility • Site conditions • Diver dependency • Capacity (human, institutional, financial) TRADE OFFS

  18. Whatto monitor • 5 areas of coral reef monitoring • The benthos • Population ecology • Reef biodiversity • Pollutants and anthropogenic impacts • Community interactions

  19. Emily Corcoran Application to coral reef monitoring Questions To be competitive, any method must be robust and easily used What are the next steps from here - further discussions with CRU? Putting SUMARE tools to the test - tropical reefs/ cold/deepwater reefs

  20. The role for new technologies • sdgfdfghtdg

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