Monitoring coral bleaching using a colour reference card |
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Authors: | U E Siebeck N J Marshall A Klüter Ove Hoegh-Guldberg |
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Institution: | (1) Vision Touch and Hearing Research Centre, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, QLD, Australia;(2) Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia;(3) Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia |
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Abstract: | Assessment of the extent of coral bleaching has become an important part of studies that aim to understand the condition of coral reefs. In this study a reference card that uses differences in coral colour was developed as an inexpensive, rapid and non-invasive method for the assessment of bleaching. The card uses a 6 point brightness/saturation scale within four colour hues to record changes in bleaching state. Changes on the scale of 2 units or more reflect a change in symbiont density and chlorophyll a content, and therefore the bleaching state of the coral. When used by non-specialist observers in the field (here on an intertidal reef flat), there was an inter-observer error of ± 1 colour score. This technique improves on existing subjective assessment of bleaching state by visual observation and offers the potential for rapid, wide-area assessment of changing coral condition. |
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Keywords: | Coral bleaching Coral colour Coral condition assessment Reef condition Global climate change Monitoring |
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