Coral Reefs: A Reef Resilience Toolkit Module

Monitoring Protocols

The appropriate monitoring protocol to use depends on the purpose of the monitoring program. Photo © Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Choosing a Protocol

The most appropriate protocol to use will depend on the aim of the monitoring program. There are two critical questions to ask which will help identify the monitoring protocol best suited to the needs of the site:

1. What are the questions about the site that need answered?
2. What are the available resources (e.g., financial capacity, expertise, equipment, etc.)?

Defining the Questions

Carefully framed questions provide the foundation and focus of monitoring programs. Here are some examples.

• What is the extent and severity of coral bleaching?
  Several monitoring protocols are available to address this question. You should choose the option that best suits your available resources.
• How much coral died and/or recovered from the bleaching event?
  Few coral reef monitoring protocols specifically address this question. One that does provide additional methods for monitoring coral reef recovery after major bleaching events is that of the Global Coral Reef Management Network (GCRMN).
  One way to assess how much coral died as a result of a bleaching event is to perform repeated surveys on three occasions (using one of the methods described below), including:
  1. A baseline survey of coral communities prior to bleaching;
  2. A survey of the extent and severity of coral bleaching at the height of the bleaching event (usually one to three months after the onset of bleaching); and
  3. A survey six months after the bleaching event to determine how much coral survived or died as a result of bleaching.
  Unless there have been other major disturbances during that period, the differences in coral communities during and after the bleaching event should be an indication of the impacts of bleaching (i.e., what percentage died and recovered).
• Has bleaching affected coral community composition?
  This can be assessed using the survey methods described in 1 and 2 above, but requires some expertise in identifying species and/or groups of species (e.g., by growth form).
• Are there any areas that appear to be naturally resistant and/or resilient to coral bleaching?
  This can be assessed by monitoring areas during and after bleaching events, to look for signs of recovery and places that did not bleach.
• What are the socioeconomic impacts of bleaching?
  This can be assessed using one of the several socioeconomic survey methods available.

Some Example Protocols

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