Appraisal of visual assessments of habitat complexity and benthic composition on coral reefs |
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Authors: | S K Wilson N A J Graham N V C Polunin |
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Institution: | (1) School of Marine Science and Technology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK;(2) Australian Institute of Marine Science, TMC, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia |
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Abstract: | Visual assessments of topographic habitat structure and benthos on coral reefs were appraised using quantitative data collected
from 16 replicate surveys within each of 21 sites on Seychelles reefs. Results from visual assessments of reef benthos were
similar to those obtained using techniques frequently used to assess benthic complexity and composition. Visual estimates
of habitat topography were correlated with rugosity, reef height and holes of 10–70 cm diameter, whilst visual estimates of
benthic composition were very similar to those obtained from line intercept transects. Visual estimates of topography correlated
strongly with species richness of fish communities and explained 42% of the variation in these data. The relationship between
visual estimates of topography and species richness is strongest with fish 10–30 cm total length (TL), abundance of fish within
this size category also correlating positively with topographic visual assessments. Visual techniques are prone to observer
bias, however with regular training they can be used to quickly provide a reliable and effective means of assessing habitat
complexity and benthos on coral reefs. |
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Keywords: | |
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