Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T06:37:27.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Using community-based monitoring with GIS to create habitat maps for a marine protected area in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2008

Jacquomo Monk*
Affiliation:
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia
Daniel Ierodiaconou
Affiliation:
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia
Alecia Bellgrove
Affiliation:
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia
Laurie Laurenson
Affiliation:
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Jacquomo MonkSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia email: [email protected]

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increase in community-based monitoring programmes developed and implemented worldwide. This paper describes how the data collected from such a programme could be integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create temperate subtidal marine habitat maps. A differential Global Positioning System was utilized to accurately record the location of the trained community-based SCUBA diver data. These georeferenced data sets were then used to classify benthic habitats using an aerial photograph and digitizing techniques. This study demonstrated that trained community-based volunteers can collect data that can be utilized within a GIS to create reliable and cost-effective maps of shallow temperate subtidal rocky reef systems.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allinson, G.W., Lubchenco, J. and Carr, M.H. (1998) Marine Parks are necessary but not sufficient for marine conservation. Ecological Applications 8, S79S92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Babcock, R.C., Kelly, S.N.T., Shears, J., Walker, W. and Willis, T.J. (1999) Changes in community structure in temperate marine reserves. Marine Ecology Progress Series 189, 125134.Google Scholar
Ball, D., Blake, S. and Plummer, A. (2006) Review of marine habitat classification systems. Parks Victoria Technical Series. Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, No. 26, 50 pp.Google Scholar
Bowen, R.E. and Depledge, H.H. (2006) Rapid Assessment of Marine Pollution (RAMP). Marine Pollution Bulletin 53, 631639.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bureau of Meteorology. (2007) Climate statistics for Australian locations. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_090082.shtml [Accessed: 3 July 2007.]Google Scholar
Campbell, M.L. and Hewitt, C.L. (2006) A hierarchical framework to aid biodiversity assessment for coastal zone management and marine protected area selection. Ocean and Coastal Management 49, 133146.Google Scholar
Chauvaud, S., Bouchon, C. and Maniere, R. (1998) Remote sensing techniques adapted to high resolution mapping of tropical coastal marine ecosystems (coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves). International Journal of Remote Sensing 19, 36253639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Congalton, R. and Green, K. (1999) Assessing the accuracy of remotely sensed data: principles and practices. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.Google Scholar
Dahdough-Guebas, F., Zetterstrom, T., Ronnback, P., Troell, M., Wickramasinghe, A. and Koedam, N. (2002) Recent changes in land-use in the Pambala-Chilaw Lagoon complex (Sri Lanka) investigated using remote sensing and GIS: conservation of mangroves vs. development of shrimp farming. Environment, Development and Sustainability 4, 185200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darwall, W.R.T. and Dulvy, N.K. (1996) An evaluation of the suitability of non-specialist volunteer researchers for coral reef fish surveys. Mafia Island, Tanzania—a case study. Biological Conservation 78, 223231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dayton, P.K., Currie, V., Gerrodette, T., Keller, B.D., Rosenthal, R. and VenTresca, D. (1984) Patch dynamics and stability of some California kelp communities. Ecological Monographs 54, 253289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edgar, G.J., Moverly, J., Barrett, N.S., Peters, D. and Reed, C. (1997) The conservation-related benefits of a systematic marine biological sampling programme: the Tasmanian reef bioregionalization as a case study. Biological Conservation 79, 227240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engel, J. and Kvitek, R. (1998) Effects of otter trawling on a benthic community in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Conservation Biology 12, 12041214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster-Smith, J. and Evans, S.M. (2003) The value of marine ecological data collected by volunteers. Biological Conservation 113, 199213.Google Scholar
Green, E.P., Mumby, P.J., Edwards, A.J. and Clark, C.W. (1996) A review of remote sensing for the assessment and management of tropical coastal resources. Coastal Management 24, 140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hockey, P.A.R. and Branch, G.M. (1997) Criteria, objectives and methodology for evaluating marine protected areas in South Africa. South African Journal of Science 18, 369383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, G., Maun, L. and Shuman, C. (2003) Reef Check Survey Manual for Coral Reefs of the Indo Pacific, Hawaii, Atlantic/Caribbean, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. Reef Check, Institute of the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Holmes, K.W., Radford, B., Van Niel, K.P., Kendrick, G.A., Grove, S.L. and Chatfield, B. (2007) Mapping the benthos in Victoria's Marine National Parks, Volume 1: Cape Howe. Parks Victoria Technical Series. Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, No. 40, 57 pp.Google Scholar
Ierodiaconou, D., Burq, S., Reston, M. and Laurenson, L. (2007) Marine habitat mapping using multibeam data, georeferenced video and image classification techniques: a case study in south west Victoria. Journal of Spatial Sciences 52, 93104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ierodiaconou, D.A. and Laurenson, L.J.B. (2002) Estimates of Heterozostera tasmanica, Zostera muelleri and Ruppia megacarpa distribution and biomass in the Hopkins Estuary, western Victoria, by GIS. Australian Journal of Botany 50, 215228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelleher, G. and Kenchington, R. (1992) Guidelines for establishing Marine Protected Areas. A marine conservation and development report. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN, 80 pp.Google Scholar
Koss, R., Bellgrove, A., Ierodiaconou, D.A., Gilmour, P. and Bunce, A. (2005a) Sea Search: community-based monitoring of Victoria's Marine National Parks and Sanctuary: subtidal monitoring. Parks Victoria Technical Series. Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, No. 18, 41 pp.Google Scholar
Koss, R., Gilmour, P., Miller, K., Bellgrove, A., McBurnie, B., Wescott, G. and Bunce, A. (2005b) Community-based monitoring of Victoria's Marine National Parks and Sanctuary: subtidal monitoring. Parks Victoria Technical Series. Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, No. 19, 64 pp.Google Scholar
LMMA Network. (2006) Enhancing LMMA effectiveness through continued learning. The LMMA Network 2006 Annual Report.Google Scholar
Long, B.G., Bode, L., Mason, L. and Pitcher, C.R. (1997) Seabed current stress predicts the distribution and abundance of epibenthos in Torres Strait. Report to Australian Fisheries Management Authority. CSIRO, Division of Marine Research, Australia.Google Scholar
Lunney, D. and Matthews, A. (2002) Community-based research: where are the rewards? In Lunney, D., Dickman, C.R. and Burgin, S (eds) A clash of paradigms: community and research-based conservation. Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, pp. 819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenzie, L.J., Lee Long, W.J., Coles, R.G. and Rodger, C.A. (2000) Seagrass-Watch: community-based monitoring of seagrass resources. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 7, 393396.Google Scholar
Mayakun, J. and Prathep, A. (2005) Seasonal variations in diversity and abundance of macroalgae at Samui Island, Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Songklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology 27, 653663.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. and Gramman, J.H. (1988) A theoretical basis for predicting effectiveness in wildlife education programs. In The Second Symposium on Social Science in Resource Management Conference Urbana, Illinois.Google Scholar
Overeem, R. and Wallis, R. (2003) Little penguin Eudyptula minor at Middle Island, Western Victoria: current status. The Victorian Naturalist 120, 7683.Google Scholar
Pasqualini, V., Pergent-Martini, C., Clabaut, P. and Pergent, G. (1998) Mapping of Posidonia oceanica using aerial photographs and side scan sonar: Application off the Island of Corsica (France). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 47, 359367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parks Victoria. (2007) Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries—research and monitoring. http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1process_content.cfm?section=113&page=28 [Accessed: 24 October 2007.]Google Scholar
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guenette, S., Pitcher, T.J., Sumaila, U.R., Walters, C.J., Watson, R. and Zeller, D. (2002) Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature 418, 689695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollnac, R.B., Crawford, B.R. and Gorospe, M.L.G. (2001) Discovering factors that influence the success of community-based marine protected areas in the Visayas, Philippines. Ocean 44, 683710.Google Scholar
Pomeroy, R.S. and Carlos, M.B. (1997) Community-based coastal resource management in the Philippines: a review and evaluation of programs and projects, 1984–1994. Marine Policy 21, 445464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reef Watch. (2006) Reef Watch Victoria—take a dive that counts. http://www.reefwatchvic.asn.au/Home.htm [Accessed: 24 October 2007.]Google Scholar
Robbins, B.D. (1997) Quantifying temporal change in seagrass areal coverage: the use of GIS and low resolution aerial photography. Aquatic Botany 58, 259267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roff, J.C. and Taylor, M.E. (2000) National frameworks for marine conservation—a hierarchical geophysical approach. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 10, 209223.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stepath, C.M. (1999) Does community-based monitoring promote awareness? In Proceedings of the Hawaii Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop—a tool for management, June 9–11, 1998. East–West Center, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu. 1999, pp. 3338.Google Scholar
Stepath, C.M. (2002) Awareness and community-based monitoring. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali 23–27 October 2000. Volume 2, pp. 807811. http://www.saveourseas.org/stepath.htmGoogle Scholar
Stepath, C.M. (2006) Coral reefs as sites for experiential environmental education: learning with Australian students—a foundational study. PhD thesis, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.Google Scholar
Stevens, T. (2002) Rigor and representativeness in marine protected area design. Coastal Management 30, 237248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, T. and Connolly, R.M. (2005) Local-scale mapping of benthic habitats to assess representation in a marine protected area. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 111123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A.J. and Chapman, M.G. (2002) Conservation of coastal organisms depending on scientific realism, not community ‘monitoring’. In Lunney, D., Dickman, C.R. and Burgin, S. (eds) A clash of paradigms: community and research-based conservation. Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, pp. 2037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walmsley, S.F. and White, A.T. (2003) Influence of social, management and enforcement factors on the long-term ecological effects of marine sanctuaries. Environmental Conservation 30, 388407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. (1998) Speech about community based monitoring. In Proceedings of Hawaii Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop Honolulu, Hawaii June, 1998.Google Scholar
Williamson, D.H., Russ, G.R. and Ayling, A.M. (2004) No-take marine reserves increase abundance and biomass of reef fish on onshore fringing reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Conservation 31, 149159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar