Monitoring rocky reef biodiversity by underwater geo-referenced photoquadrats

BRAVO, GONZALO; LIVORE, JUAN PABLO; BIGATTI, GREGORIO

Underwater Technology

Society for Underwater Technology

Año: 2021 vol. 38 p. 17 - 24

1756-0543

Digital images are an excellent tool for divers to sample hard-bottom subtidal habitats as bottom time is limited and high-definition images can be collected quickly and accu-rately. The present paper describes a sampling protocol for benthic rocky reef communities using geo-referenced pho-toquadrats and tests the method over several rocky reefs of Atlantic Patagonia. This method was tested in two localities, separated by 100 km in a semi-enclosed gulf, covering a total of 5800 m of 11 rocky reefs using track roaming tran-sects. The protocol is non-destructive, relatively low-cost and can adequately assess changes in marine habitats as rocky reefs. The implementation of artificial intelligence analysis using human expert training may reduce analysis time and increase the amount of data collected. The present study recommends this sampling methodology for programs aimed at monitoring changes in biodiversity.