Relationship between reef fish communities and remotely sensed rugosity measurements in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA
Kuffner IB, Brock JC, Grober-Dunsmore R, Bonito VE, Hickey TD, Wright CW. Relationship between reef fish communities and remotely sensed rugosity measurements in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA. DOI 10.1007/s10641-006-9078-4. St. Petersburg, Florida
The realization that coral reef ecosystem management must occur across multiple spatial scales and habitat types has led scientists and resource managers to seek variables that are easily measured over large areas and correlate well with reef resources. Here we investigate the utility of new technology in airborne laser surveying (NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL)) in assessing topographical complexity (rugosity) to predict reef fish community structure on shallow ( < 10 m deep) patch reefs. Marine portions of Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA, were surveyed remotely using the EAARL, and reef fish populations were visually surveyed on 10 patch reefs at independent, randomly selected stations (n = 10–13 per reef).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kuffner, Ilsa; Brock, John; Grober-Dunsmore, Rikki; Bonito, Victor; Hickey, T.; Wright, C.
- Units
- BISC
- Keywords
- coral reef management, Habitat, Mapping, marine protected areas, Remote Sensing, topographic complexity