Saving Philippine Reefs Monitoring Dive Expeditions

CCE Foundation works in several areas and sectors of the Philippines to encourage good environmental practices and would be glad to receive assistance in their mission from you.You can help in Saving Philippine Reefs by making a donation, becoming a member, or volunteering at the Foundation. For more information and inquiries, check out the related links or email us at info@coast.ph. We'd be glad to have you onboard!

Overview:

The Saving Philippine Reefs (SPR) Project is a reef monitoring expedition initiated in the early 1980s by Dr. Alan White and colleagues. The primary goal of this project is to improve the quality and quantity of information available on coral reefs for use in improving management and creation of appropriate policies for protection and sustainable use of coastal resources. The SPR Project has been doing regular coral reef monitoring assessments mostly within the vicinity of marine protected areas (MPAs) located in selected sites in the provinces of Cebu, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol, Batangas and Palawan over the years.

Objectives:

The objectives are to collect data such as substrate cover, fish abundance and richness, a daily log of human activities, and community surveys, when applicable. This is done through:

Substrate cover.

Systematic snorkeling surveys are carried out in the shallow reef flat at 2-4 meter depth covering a distance of 1-1.5 km parallel to the reef crest. The substrate is evaluated within an estimated area of 1 m2 quadrat at every 50 m stop (station). The following data is recorded:
1. Percent cover of living coral (hard and soft)
2. Percent cover of non-living substrate (e.g., rock, rubble, sand, dead coral)
3. Percent cover of living substrate (e.g., seagrass, algae, sponges)
4. Numbers of indicator species (e.g., butterflyfish, giant clams, lobsters, Triton shells, Crown of thorns starfish and other invertebrates)
5. Presence of large marine life (e.g., sharks, manta rays, Humphead wrasses, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and others)
6. Causes of reef damage

Distances between stations are estimated through kick cycles, wherein, volunteers calibrate their kicks along a transect tape prior to surveys. Each volunteer attempts to make 15 stations on one snorkel survey.

SCUBA surveys are carried out in the deep area (7-10 meters) parallel to the reef crest using a systematic point-intercept method. Transects are laid on sections of a reef flat, reef crest, slope or wall. Substrate is evaluated at 25 cm. intervals along a 50 meter transect. Data gathered during SCUBA surveys are the same type as those collected during snorkel surveys. Distance between transects is 5 to 10 meters.

Fish estimates

Fish abundance and diversity are estimated using an 8 replicate 50 x 10 meter underwater visual census (UVC) technique done by fish visual census specialists. Substrate transects are utilized during UVC. The abundance of large numbers of numerically dominant and visually obvious fish species are recorded using the Log4 abundance category developed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA in Russ and Alcala, 1989).

Community surveys and Log of human activities

The community surveys are done by team members who are guided by forms from the Marine Protected Area Report Guide and Database System.

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