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Influence of coral cover and structural complexity on the accuracy of visual surveys of coral‐reef fish communities
Author(s) -
Coker D. J.,
Nowicki J. P.,
Graham N. A. J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.13298
Subject(s) - reef , biology , coral reef , coral reef fish , coral , species richness , fishery , abundance (ecology) , underwater , fish <actinopterygii> , artificial reef , ecology , oceanography , geology
Using manipulated patch reefs with combinations of varying live‐coral cover (low, medium and high) and structural complexity (low and high), common community metrics (abundance, diversity, richness and community composition) collected through standard underwater visual census techniques were compared with exhaustive collections using a fish anaesthetic (clove oil). This study showed that reef condition did not influence underwater visual census estimates at a community level, but reef condition can influence the detectability of some small and cryptic species and this may be exacerbated if surveys are conducted on a larger scale.