Tropical marine life organisms
The field of interest of the French Polynesian Coral Reef Observation Service - SO CORAIL - is oriented towards coral ecosystems to detect, monitor, analyse and model their evolution in relation to environmental changes induced by human activities and climate change.
The variables measured are:
- Polynesia Mana: fish (species, size, number); substrate (genus, proportion); image (20 m2, 1 panorama); temperature; swell; pH; oxygen; turbidity; fluorimetry; salinity
- ATPP: fish (species, size, number); substrate (genus, proportion); mobile benthic invertebrates (species, number)
- MPA: fish (species, size, number); substrate (genus, proportion); mobile benthic invertebrates (species, number)
- Coral recruitment (number of larvae per family)
- Nutritive salts (Nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, silicates, ammonium)
- Galzin series: fish (species, size, number); substrate (genus, proportion)
SO CORAIL acquires physico-chemical and biological data through the application of 11 methods:
- "Manta tow" coral surveys
- Ichthyological surveys
- Landscape Photographic Surveys
- Monitoring of substrate coverage and temporal distribution of barrier reef populations and stands
- Monitoring of benthic invertebrates and fish
- Coral recruitment monitoring
- Nutrient salt monitoring
- Sampling techniques
- Coral sampling techniques
- Fish and benthic sampling techniques
- Photo-quadrat coral transects
