[Coral-List] Request for Assistance on Research on Coral Reef Management

[Ellsworth LeDrew]

Greetings:

Last spring I sent out a request by way of this list-serve for assistance in research into coral reef management using remote sensing being carried out by the "Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management Program<http://www.gefcoral.org/>"  The Remote Sensing Working Group of that program, directed by Dr. Peter Mumby is interested in the development of management practices incorporating remote sensing information.

Unfortunately, the response from the entire coral reef community on this list was ZERO!

We had a short on-line survey and we did not record any entries; and we did check several times that the software was working!

If you have any experience in management of coral reef communities, we are hoping that the New Year will bring to you a renewed sense of participation which will provide some quantitative basis for our study.

The survey is attached to this email in its entirety so you will see that it is not onerous.  But please do NOT use this as the links are not live!  The live-linked survey is found at <http://www.polardata.ca/survey/> where the buttons and free-form text entry boxes will record your information.

The Remote Sensing Working Group thanks you in advance for your input.

If you have any questions or problems, please email me directly at the address noted below (remove the spaces to make a valid address).  I will get back to you with an answer.

Regards
Ells

Dr Ellsworth LeDrew, F.IEEE, F.CASI,
University Professor,
University Research Chair,
University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3G1

Phone: 519 888 4567 X32783
FAX: 519 746 0658

ells @ connect . uwaterloo . ca


Coral Reef and Remote Sensing Management Survey
>From the CRTR Remote Sensing Working Group

The 'Remote Sensing Working Group' (RSWG) of the Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management Program<http://www.gefcoral.org/> wishes to assess any change in approaches to management of Coral Reefs that may have occurred over the past decade as a result of incorporation of remotely sensed information. This builds upon the survey completed in 1996 by Peter Mumby and colleagues as well as more recent surveys by Karen Joyce, Chrisopher Roelfsema and Stuart Phinn of The University of Queensland. The results of this survey will provide a similar benchmark for future surveys of coral reef management. This will also help direct the scope and focus of the work of the participants of the RSWG over the next few years.

The following short questionnaire is web based and designed to be answered with clickable radio buttons, entry of short phrases into a data base, or selecting items in a pull-down menu. Any reporting will be based upon aggregation of data by region so that individuals will not be identified. Submission of a name is optional and would only be used for follow up if appropriate.

We hope that you will take a few minutes to provide us with information based upon your experience. This information will assist in improving the research and application of remote sensing for coral reef management.

Note: We plan to compile the results approximately four weeks from the time of distribution of this questionnaire. All responses are saved in our database after you click on 'Submit' at the end.

Section 1 - General Background
1. What is the name of the coral reef area under your agency’s management?
2. What is the approximate size of the coral reef area under your management?
East-West Dimension (km)
North-South Dimension (km)

OR

Area (km²)
3. Within which countries are these reef areas located?
4. What is the agency or authority that you represent?
5. What type of agency is this?

 1.  a. NGO
 2.  b. Research
 3.  c. Government Federal
 4.  d. Government Local
 5.  e. Government Other
 6.  f. Other

If other, please specify

6. Are other agencies or authorities in partnership with you for management?
Yes No
a. If yes, how many?
b. What type(s) of agencies are these? (Please check all that apply)

 1.   a. NGO
 2.   b. Research
 3.   c. Government Federal
 4.   d. Government Local
 5.   e. Government Other
 6.   f. Other

If other, please specify

7. What are your responsibilities within your position?
 Locating Marine Reserves
 Fisheries Management
 Water Quality
 Monitoring Coral Habitat
 Mapping Habitats
 Recreational Use
 Evaluating Permits for Coastal Development
 Conservation of Key Species (i.e. turtles, manatees, nesting birds)
 Enforcement
 Other

If other, please specify

8. May we cite you as contributing information towards publications resulting from this survey?
Yes No

If yes then please answer question 10.
9. Do you wish to receive results from this study
Yes No

If yes then please answer question 10.
10. If you answered yes to questions 8 or 9, please provide your name and address:
Name:
Email:
Address Line 1:
Address Line 2:

Section 2 - Remote Sensing for Marine Management
11. Who has performed any remote sensing work in your area during the past decade?
 University Scientists
 Private Consultant
 Foreign Scientists/Consultants
 Other
 Nobody

If other, please specify


For the following management categories, check under the appropriate column to best identify your involvement in each issue.
        I do this       I am familiar with this but do not do it myself I am not familiar with this activity    My agency is not involved in this activity
11. Locating Marine Reserves
12. Fisheries Management
13. Water Quality
14. Monitoring Coral Habitat
15. Mapping Habitats
16. Recreational Use
17. Evaluating Permits for Coastal Development
18. Conservation of Key Species (i.e. turtles, manatees, nesting birds)
19. Enforcement

If you perform, or are familiar with, any activities in numbers 11 to 21, please answer the matching questions below.
Note: Buttons are greyed out if a response is not required.

I do this or am familiar with this activity and the importance of Remote Sensing is (1 = not important; 5 = critical)   1       2       3       4       5
20. Locating Marine Reserves
21. Fisheries Management
22. Water Quality
23. Monitoring Coral Habitat
24. Mapping Habitats
25. Recreational Use
26. Evaluating Permits for Coastal Development
27. Conservation of Key Species (i.e. turtles, manatees, nesting birds)
28. Enforcement

I do this or am familiar with this activity     Remote Sensing products are used        Remote Sensing products are not used but we would like to use them      Remote Sensing products are not used
29. Locating Marine Reserves
30. Fisheries Management
31. Water Quality
32. Monitoring Coral Habitat
33. Mapping Habitats
34. Recreational Use
35. Evaluating Permits for Coastal Development
36. Conservation of Key Species (i.e. turtles, manatees, nesting birds)
37. Enforcement

I do this or am familiar with this activity and the major reason for not using Remote Sensing products is:      Lack of knowledge       Lack of training        Lack of physical resources      Lack of funding Lack of access to imagery
38. Locating Marine Reserves
39. Fisheries Management
40. Water Quality
41. Monitoring Coral Habitat
42. Mapping Habitats
43. Recreational Use
44. Evaluating Permits for Coastal Development
45. Conservation of Key Species (i.e. turtles, manatees, nesting birds)
46. Enforcement

47. Which sensors have been used in areas under your jurisdiction?
 Airborne Spectrometer (e.g. CASI)
 AVHRR
 Colour Aerial Photography
 DMSP
 Formosat
 Geostationary Satellites
 Ikonos
 IRS
 Landsat MSS
 Landsat TM
 Lidar
 MODIS/SeaWiFS
 Monochrome Aerial Photography
 OrbView
 Quickbird
 QuickSCAT
 RADARSAT
 RapidEye
 SPOT Panchromatic
 SPOT XS
 Terra
 WorldView
 Other
 None

If other, please specify

48. If Remote Sensing was used for mapping, what was the purpose?
 To provide information on the distribution of marine and wetland biotic resources
 To update or improve accuracy of maps
 Other
 None

If other, please specify

49. How have you used remote sensing for marine resource management?
Please ensure that your answers describe ACTUAL rather than potential uses.
(The following are suggestions; please feel free to add more and elaborate.)
 As general background to a management plan
 Assessment of habitat representativeness (e.g. Have management plans attempted to protect examples of particular habitats, thus requiring information on the type and locations of habitats present. If so, which habitats are considered? Please answer below in the details box.)
 Delineation of boundaries to management zones and/or location of moorings
 Stock assessment tool (if the abundance of species is related to habitat type)
 Selection of sites that may be regarded as fragile (e.g. Shallow reefs, shallow seagrass)
 Selection of sites for other conservation criteria such as rarity, biodiversity, size etc.
 Location of fishing banks, spawning areas or nusery grounds
 Scientific use in planning monitoring studies
 Educational or interpretative material
 Detection of changes in habitat cover (e.g. mangrove clearance, beach erosion etc.)
 Location of suitable trawl fishing zones and shipping lanes
 Planning geological surveys (e.g. for oil exploration)
 Planning recreational usage on account of topography etc. (e.g. good dive sites)
 None

Details:

50. Which (if any) of the following do you consider to be the main hindrances to the practical use of Remote Sensing?
 Cost
 Ground resolution (pixel size) too coarse
 Wave bands of the sensor inappropriate
 Satellite data collected too infrequently for a given area
 Satellite data not collected for your area of interest
 Cloud cover
 Training of staff
 Inadequate time available
 Access to facilities
 Difficulty in obtaining ground-truthing data
 No need for data from Remote Sensing
 Other
 None

If other, please specify


Details:


Most significant limitation:

51. Do you consider Remote Sensing to be cost-effective as a means of providing information on coastal resources?
Yes No

Why or why not?

52. When were you first aware of the potential for remote sensing data for coral reef management?
Before 1990
1991 to 1995
1996 to 2000
2001 to 2005
2006 to Present
53. When did you first start to use remote sensing data for coral reef management?
Before 1990
1991 to 1995
1996 to 2000
2001 to 2005
2006 to Present

You are almost there!


Section 3 - Your Assessment of Remote Sensing for Marine Management

This is the last set of questions, and many thanks for your participation in the survey.


54. The following methods are an important part of coral reef management in this area:
a. Remote Sensing on its own
Yes No
b. Products derived from Remote Sensing
Yes No
c. Remote Sensing as a component with GIS<http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.html>
Yes No
d. Remote Sensing combined with field surveys
Yes No
e. Remote Sensing with computer modelling
Yes No
55. You believe that you or your organization are well informed about the range of Remote Sensing resources available.
Yes No
56. You believe that you or your organization could utilise a broader range of Remote Sensing resources if:
a. More funding was available
Yes No
b. More staff time was available
Yes No
c. More technical support was available
Yes No
d. More training workshops were available
Yes No

Please use the following fill-in box to provide any comments or additional information that you feel would be appropriate.


We appreciate the time that you have spent on this. If you have provided your name and address, we will ensure that you receive a copy of our report. We hope that with this and previous questionnaires that we will be able to write a journal article on the evolution of the state of remote sensing for Coral Reef Management. We will also ensure that you receive a copy of this..

If, after submission of this file, you have any questions or information that you would like to add, please do not hesitate to contact the lead on this project who will make certain that it is considered in the evaluation.

Sincerely

On behalf of the CRT Remote Sensing Working Group,
Dr. Ellsworth LeDrew F.IEEE, F. CASI
University Professor
Department of Geography and Environmental Management
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3G1
ells at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:ells at uwaterloo.ca>