Reliability and utility of citizen science reef monitoring data collected by Reef Check Australia, 2002–2015

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 117; no. 1-2; pp. 148 - 155
• Main Authors: Done, Terence, Roelfsema, Chris, Harvey, Andrew, Schuller, Laura, Hill, Jocelyn, Schläppy, Marie-Lise, Lea, Alexandra, Bauer-Civiello, Anne, Loder, Jennifer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15.04.2017
• Subjects: Animals; Anthozoa; Australia; Benthos; Citizen science; coasts; Community Participation; Coral monitoring; Coral Reefs; corals; data collection; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Great Barrier Reef, subtropical reefs; monitoring; Queensland; Reproducibility of Results; Queensland; Coral monitoring; Benthos; Citizen science; Great Barrier Reef, subtropical reefs
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.054

Reef Check Australia (RCA) has collected data on benthic composition and cover at >70 sites along >1000km of Australia's Queensland coast from 2002 to 2015. This paper quantifies the accuracy, precision and power of RCA benthic composition data, to guide its application and interpretation. A simulation study established that the inherent accuracy of the Reef Check point sampling protocol is high (<±7% error absolute), in the range of estimates of benthic cover from 1% to 50%. A field study at three reef sites indicated that, despite minor observer- and deployment-related biases, the protocol does reliably document moderate ecological changes in coral communities. The error analyses were then used to guide the interpretation of inter-annual variability and long term trends at three study sites in RCA's major 2002–2015 data series for the Queensland coast. •Reef Check Australia conducts a major coral reef monitoring program in Queensland.•Inherent accuracy of the monitoring protocol used is high (<±7% error).•Ecologically important changes are detectable because measurement biases are low.