Reef Status of Semporna Priority Conservation ... - WWF Malaysia

Materials and Methods
Reef Check monitoring protocols were employed for all monitoring activities. Reef
Check monitoring protocols are designed to assess baseline reef status and monitor the
reef status periodically. The methods focus on the abundance of particular coral reef
organisms (indicators) that best reflect the condition of the ecosystem and that are easily
recognizable to the general public. This method is designed to be accessible to beginners
and amateurs yet provides a regionally consistent data set which has biological
significance. Global and regional indicators serve as specific measures of human impacts
on coral reefs (Hodgson 2006). Reef Check, a partner of the International Coral Reef
Initiative (ICRI) and Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), supplies data to
Reef Base and GCRMN for status reports (Hodgson & Liebeler 2002).
Surveys are conducted with at least 1 pair of divers doing a full Reef Check survey in one
single site. However, 2 pairs of divers are preferred to complete a single Reef Check
survey in 1 single dive; 1 pair of divers conduct the survey in shallow depth, another pair
of divers will conduct the survey at a mid-water depth. Standard SCUBA equipment is
utilised for all surveys. Additionally, WWF-Malaysia uses underwater slate, waterproof
paper with printed data sheet, pencil, eraser, pointer, 100m fibreglass measuring tape,
GARMIN GPS and Semporna Waters Marine Chart.
At each site a description of environmental conditions and ratings of human impacts are
collected along with fish indicators, invertebrate indicators and substrate. First, fish
counts up to 5 m above a 20 m by 5 m belt along a 100 m transect are counted, after the
laying of the transect. Next, invertebrates are counted over four 20 m x 5 m belts along
the 100 m transect and human impacts are documented. Lastly, a measure of the
percentage of the substrate cover along four 20 m sections of a 100 m transect is
collected. All human impact classifications are based on the regional categories of
resource use and substrate. Human impact classifications include documenting evidence
of blast fishing, boat and anchor damage, fishing gear, and other damages.
Live coral cover is classified according to Table 1.
Category Live Coral Cover (%) Coral Cover Conditions
1 0 – 24.9 Poor
2 25 – 49.9 Fair
3 50 – 74.9 Good
4 75 – 100 Excellent
Table 1: Coral cover category with percentage and conditions.
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