Last night, I attended a Solitary Islands Underwater Research Group (SURG) meeting to learn what some of the groups that work with the NMSC do and more about the partnerships they have. The SURG is a group of volunteers who collect research to aid in the management of the Solitary Islands Marine Park. The SURG is funded by government grants and has been around since 1985. Surg is currently collecting ongoing research on how ocean acidification and warming is affecting both the corals and fish of the area. For coral surveys, volunteers are taken out to dive in groups of 2 with one experienced scientist and one less experienced individual eager to learn. Belt transects are run and every coral that lies within the transect is identified by the family of coral, and the lightest and darkest colors on the coral are recorded according to the color identification cards the divers carry with them. Water temperature, depth, and location are also recorded. The difference between the lightest and darkest color on each coral is what is critical to determine the level of bleaching and potential for recovery. See the link to the Coral Watch website below for more information. Fish surveys become a little more complex because the divers must be able to quickly identify any of the 50 species of concern before the fish leave the sampling area. Video cameras are also used to ensure that no fish are left unrecorded. The number of each of those 50 species present within the transects are recorded to determine if a shift of marine fishes range is occurring and how they respond to bleaching corals. Below is also the link to the SURG website.
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