Coral Reef
How do I determine the biodiversity of a coral reef?
I want to do a survey of the biodiversity of a coral reef (coral species only). I am thinking of using 1m^2 quadrants and simply identifying and counting species. Any tips? How do I analyze this data?
I would use interrupted belt transects or quadrats. If you use quadrats though, you need to be sure you aren't biasing for certain types.
You should do more than count species, but also determine abundances. Diversity is more than just presence & absence, but also how rich the diversity is. In other words, if you have two environments and they both have 20 species of coral, but in one there is nearly equal abundance of all species and in the other one species dominates and the other 19 are barely present, then they aren't equally diverse.
There are a number of ways to calculate diversity. This paper (http://www.scribd.com/doc/8283427/Diversity-Index) gives a pretty good description of them.
The other thing to consider is that biodiversity is not just about number of species, but also about habitat usage and genetic diversity. So, depending on how deep you want to get into it, you could also conduct genetic testing on your coral species to determine what level of genetic diversity exists. You should also group your species as to growth pattern, niche, and reproductive mode.
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