Saunders, Megan I; Roelfsema, Christiaan M; Phinn, Stuart R; Canto, Robert Franklin C; Brown, Christopher J; Leon, Javier X (2013): Benthic and substrate cover data derived from photo-transect surveys in Lizard Island Reef conducted on December 10-15, 2011 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.807404
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Abstract:
Underwater georeferenced photo-transect surveys were conducted on December 10-15, 2011 at various sections of the reef at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. For this survey a snorkeler or diver swam over the bottom while taking photos of the benthos at a set height using a standard digital camera and towing a GPS in a surface float which logged the track every five seconds. A standard digital compact camera was placed in an underwater housing and fitted with a 16 mm lens which provided a 1.0 m x 1.0 m footprint, at 0.5 m height above the benthos. Horizontal distance between photos was estimated by three fin kicks of the survey diver/snorkeler, which corresponded to a surface distance of approximately 2.0 - 4.0 m. The GPS was placed in a dry-bag and logged the position as it floated at the surface while being towed by the photographer. A total of 5,735 benthic photos were taken. A floating GPS setup connected to the swimmer/diver by a line enabled recording of coordinates of each benthic photo (Roelfsema 2009).
Approximation of coordinates of each benthic photo was conducted based on the photo timestamp and GPS coordinate time stamp, using GPS Photo Link Software (www.geospatialexperts.com). Coordinates of each photo were interpolated by finding the GPS coordinates that were logged at a set time before and after the photo was captured.
Benthic or substrate cover data was derived from each photo by randomly placing 24 points over each image using the Coral Point Count for Microsoft Excel program (Kohler and Gill, 2006). Each point was then assigned to 1 of 78 cover types, which represented the benthic feature beneath it. Benthic cover composition summary of each photo scores was generated automatically using CPCE program. The resulting benthic cover data of each photo was linked to GPS coordinates, saved as an ArcMap point shapefile, and projected to Universal Transverse Mercator WGS84 Zone 55 South.
Related to:
Kohler, Kevin E; Gill, Shaun M (2006): Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe): A Visual Basic program for the determination of coral and substrate coverage using random point count methodology. Computers & Geosciences, 32(9), 1259-1269, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2005.11.009
Roelfsema, Christiaan M; Phinn, Stuart R (2009): A manual for conducting georeferenced photo transects surveys to assess the benthos of coral reef and seagrass habitats. Centre for Remote Sensing & Spatial Information Science, School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 4072, Vers. 3.0, 1-33 (pdf 1.1 MB), hdl:10013/epic.39998.d001
Coverage:
Latitude: -14.668900 * Longitude: 145.459400
Event(s):
Lizard_Island * Latitude: -14.668900 * Longitude: 145.459400 * Location: Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef
Comment:
Project: Australia Sea Level Rise Project, ASLRP. A map is linked as kmz file to view the 5,735 data points in a google earth map at hdl:10013/epic.41034.d002.
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File name | File name | Saunders, Megan I | |||
| 2 | File content | Content | Saunders, Megan I | |||
| 3 | Uniform resource locator/link to file | URL file | Saunders, Megan I |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
Size:
6 data points