APPENDIX B 



SITE ANALYSIS RESEARCH METHODS 



Next to the ecological complexity of a coral reef, its size poses the 

 most difficult problem for research. Since coral reefs are usiially 

 much too large to be quantitatively assessed as a whole, a statistically 

 significant number of samples has to be selected for analysis. This 

 number has to be high enough to be truly representative for the entire 

 reef, but small enough to remain manageable. In order to achieve 

 this goal, a variety of field methods have been developed by 

 the scientific community. Diverse as they are, they can easily 

 be divided into two groups, one working with sample-plots, the 

 other with plotless lines. 



The latest synopsis of sample-plot techniques (Stoddart, 1969) lists 

 over a dozen different methods. They all have in common the establish- 

 ment of fixed-area, permanent sample plots, inside of which all components 

 can be measured, mapped, photographed, etc., and the life-history of 

 their sessile organisms monitored over long periods of time. Dating 

 back to the beginning of this century, these methods have proved useful 

 scientifically, but also extremely time-consuming in terms of fieldwork 

 man-hours. In terrestrial phytosociology, it was finally discovered 

 (Cottam and Curtis, 1956) that sampling along plotless transect lines 

 yields no less valuable data, but saves up to 90% of working time. 

 This discovery was later adopted by some coral reef ecologists, 

 working on similar problems, but constantly hampered by the inherent 

 expense of underwater work. Plotless line techniques have been 

 used successfully for purely scientific purposes by several authors 

 (e.g. Loya and Slobodkin, 1971; Loya, 1972; Porter, 1972). 



For the somewhat different goals of coral reef resource management, 

 plotless line techniques were recently adapted by Antonius (Antonius, 

 1974). Using these modified plotless line techniques, sample points 

 are recorded in evenly spaced intervals technique), as opposed to measur- 

 ing continuously under the transect line. Because of underwater operating 

 constraints, and the need to analyze large reef areas with transects in 

 the order of magnitude of kilometers, sample point intervals of one 

 meter were chosen for the Looe Key Reef Resource Inventory (Florida Reef 

 Foundation, 1978), the baseline study used in the Looe Key Affected 

 Environment site analysis. 



The Looe Key Resource Inventory, used in the EIA, was directed 

 towards identifying the main components of the reef ecosystem 

 in terms of biomass, area coverage, and importance. In the field, 

 this strategy was manifested in an attempt to accurately sight- 

 identify dominant reef components. 



B-1 



