• News
  • admin
  • 07 Apr 2014

A team from the University of Queensland (UQ) Catlin Seaview Survey visited the Philippines in March to assess the state of coral reefs across large stretches of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

The Catlin Seaview Survey, a major project of UQ’s Global Change Institute, is a pioneering scientific expedition revealing the impacts of environmental change on the world’s coral reefs. The researchers used a specialized high-resolution panoramic camera system mounted on an underwater scooter to survey extensive reef areas within the park.

The team will also deploy the innovative camera system to other key reef sites in the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Indonesia to create a region-wide survey. The scientific data collected will be available in the Catlin Global Reef Record (external link), a free online research tool.

Catlin Seaview Survey shallow reef team lead scientist, Dr. Benjamin Neal, said the camera system would generate a scientific baseline of information, allowing comparison of local reef health over time. This data is crucial for the future conservation and management of coral reefs in the Coral Triangle and worldwide.

“We are working closely with researchers from the Tubbataha Reefs Management Office so that images and data collected by the project can be used to support science-driven conservation,” Dr. Neal explained. He noted that Tubbataha Park is one of the best-preserved coral areas in the Coral Triangle, a region where 95% of reefs have been affected by overfishing, destructive fishing, coastal development, pollution, and climate change.

Images in the Catlin Global Reef Record are analyzed for coral species and combined with regional coral bleaching data to enable worldwide assessments of reef health. This open-access repository encourages collaboration among scientists, local and international management authorities, and the public.

“The Catlin Global Reef Record will serve as a data and analytical resource that scientists and reef managers around the world can access at their fingertips,” Dr. Neal added.

The Catlin Seaview Survey is supported by funding from international insurer Catlin Group Limited.

Source: University of Queensland (external link)