Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia.
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2021 Jul 1;289:112375. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112375. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
The much-publicized threats to coral reef systems necessitate a considered management response based on comprehensive ecological data. However, data from large reef systems commonly originate from multiple monitoring programs that use different methods, each with distinct biases that limit united assessments of ecological status. The effective integration of data from different monitoring methods would allow better assessment of system status and hence, more informed management. Here we examine the scope for comparability and complementarity of fish data from two different methods used on Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR): underwater visual census (UVC) and baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS). We compared commonly reported reef fish measures from UVC and BRUVS on similar reef slope habitats of three central GBR reefs. Both methods recorded similar estimates of total species richness, although ~30% of recorded species were not common to both methods. There were marked differences between methods in sub-group species richness, frequency of species occurrences, relative abundances of taxa and assemblage structure. The magnitude and orientation of inter-method differences were often inconsistent among taxa. However, each method better categorized certain components of fish communities: BRUVS sampled more predatory species in higher numbers while UVC was similarly better at sampling damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Our results suggest limited scope for direct or adjusted comparisons of data from UVC and BRUVS. Conversely, complementary aspects of the two methods confirm that their integration in monitoring programs will provide a more complete and extensive assessment of reef fish status for managers than from either method alone.
广为宣传的珊瑚礁系统威胁需要基于全面的生态数据进行深思熟虑的管理应对。然而，来自大型珊瑚礁系统的数据通常来自多个使用不同方法的监测项目，每个方法都有独特的偏差，限制了对生态状况的统一评估。不同监测方法的数据的有效整合将允许更好地评估系统状况，从而进行更明智的管理。在这里，我们研究了澳大利亚大堡礁（GBR）两种不同方法（水下视觉普查（UVC）和诱饵远程水下视频站（BRUVS））的鱼类数据的可比性和互补性。我们比较了 UVC 和 BRUVS 在 GBR 三个中心珊瑚礁的相似珊瑚坡生境中通常报告的常见珊瑚礁鱼类指标。两种方法都记录了相似的总物种丰富度估计值，尽管约 30%的记录物种在两种方法中都不常见。在亚群物种丰富度、物种出现频率、分类群的相对丰度和集合结构方面，两种方法之间存在明显差异。方法之间的差异程度和方向在不同分类群中往往不一致。然而，每种方法都更好地对某些鱼类群落组成部分进行了分类：BRUVS 以更高的数量采集了更多的掠食性物种，而 UVC 则更适合采集雀鲷（Pomacentridae）。我们的结果表明，UVC 和 BRUVS 数据的直接或调整比较的范围有限。相反，两种方法的互补方面证实，将其整合到监测计划中，将为管理者提供比单独使用任何一种方法更全面和广泛的珊瑚礁鱼类状况评估。
