Visual strip-transect search

a research method for studying fish in which two divers swim side-by-side down either side of a transect, counting all fishes seen within a specified corridor (M4)

Transect

a sample area, usually in the form of a long, continuous strip; in coral reef monitoring, often a marked line across the reef (M4, M5)

Sedimentation

the process of forming or depositing sediment, often caused by soil being eroded and washed into the ocean (C4, M4)

Polyp

characteristic shape of coral and other animals in the phylum Coelenterata, somewhat flower-shaped with a cylindrical body attached at one end and opening at the other through a central mouth (M1, M4)

Point-intercept method

a research technique used to study coral cover or invertebrate species that live on a coral reef; involves identifying the type of cover at various points along a transect (M4)

Photoquadrat method

research technique used to study coral cover or invertebrate species that live on a coral reef; involves photographing portions of the ocean bottom and later analyzing the photographs (M4)

Percent cover

in coral reef monitoring, the proportion of a given area that is covered by coral (M4)

Observer bias

error introduced into scientific investigations because of the person collecting data (M4, M5)

Fixed photoquadrat method

a research technique in which photographs of specified areas of the ocean bottom are studied over time; see ‘photoquadrat method’ (M4)

Extrapolate

project known data to an unknown circumstance or location, as in using a sample to draw conclusions about a broader area (M4)