The REEF Volunteer Survey Project

What is the REEF Volunteer Survey Project?

REEF's mission, to educate and enlist divers in the conservation of marine habitats, is accomplished primarily through the Volunteer SurveyProject. The Project was developed in 1990 with support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and guidance by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The project allows volunteer SCUBA divers and snorkelers to collect and report information on marine fish populations as well as selected invertebrate and algae species along the West Coast of the US and Canada. The data are collected using a fun and easy standardized method, and are housed in a publicly-accessible database on REEF's Website. These data are used by a variety of resource agencies and researchers. To find out more about the REEF Invertebrate & Algae Monitoring Program, click here.

How do I conduct a REEF survey?

To collect data for the Project, REEF volunteers use the Roving DiverTechnique (RDT), a visual survey method specifically designed forvolunteer data. The only materials needed are an underwater slate andpencil, a scantron form available at no charge from REEF, and a good reference book.

The Survey Method

During RDT surveys, divers swim freely throughout a dive site and record every observed fish species that can be positively identified. Species and approximate abundance scores are recorded on an underwater slate. The search for fishes begins as soon as the diver enters the water. The goal is to find as many species as possible so divers are encouraged to look under ledges and up in the water column. Any sea turtle species seen during your dive should also be marked. More about the Sea Turtle Program. Each recorded species is assigned one of four abundance categories based on about how many were seen throughout the dive [single (1); few (2-10), many (11-100), andabundant (>100)].

Submitting the Data

Following the dive, each surveyor transfers the information about their survey dive, including survey time, depth, temperature, and other environmental information, along with the species sightings data, to the REEF database. Information is submitted through an online data entry interface or on a REEF scansheet specific for the region the survey was conducted in. Scansheets are available from the REEF online store and are returned to REEF HQ in Key Largo, FL. The location of the survey is recorded using the common dive site nameand the REEF Geographic Zone Code. The Zone Codes are a hierarchical list of codes. A separate survey submission is done for each dive.

Click here to view a short instructional video of the REEF survey method.

Be sure to also visit these very informative tutorial pages written by two of REEF's regional partners: the Project S.E.A.-Link tutorial webpage and the Pacific Northwest Scuba tutorial webpage. Even though these were written for surveyors in Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest, the information is valid for all of REEF's regions.

Online Data Entry

REEF volunteers are highly encouraged to submit their survey data online at http://www.reef.org/dataentry. Processing time is must faster for online submissions versus survey data submitted on the REEF scanforms.

Where can I get Scantron forms?

You can order scantron forms and other surveying equipment from the REEF store.

Can I Submit Data Online?

Yes, beginning in January 2005, data from surveys conducted in thetropical western Atlantic and Northeast US region can be submitted online; and beginning in October 2007 REEF added online entry capabilities for the US & Canadian West Coast and Hawaiian regions. Submit data online at www.reef.org/dataentry. For more information on this process,visit the Online Q&A page. Of course, REEF continues to supply and process scanforms from all regions.

When and where are surveys conducted?

REEF surveys are conducted as part of a diver's regular diving activities; anytime they are in the water.

REEF surveys can be conducted in any of REEF's Project areas:

• Tropical Western Atlantic/Northeast US & Canada (Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico), southern Atlantic states (Georgia and South Carolina), and Virginia through Newfoundland
• West Coast of the United States and Canada (California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia)
• Tropical Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands).
• Hawaiian Islands.

Each project area has different scanforms and survey materials.

What happens to the survey after it's returned to REEF HQ?

REEF personnel review the completed forms and then scan the forms intoa computer. A series of quality control programs are run on thedatafiles and then the survey data are loaded into REEF's onlinedatabase. From this database, a variety of reports can be generated onspecies distribution and population trends, for a specific reef orlarge geographic regions. The time frame from receipt of a survey at REEF HQ to uploading to the database is usually between 4-8 weeks.

How can I access the data?

All data collected by REEF volunteers is returned to REEF andentered into our database. This database is accessible online, via this Webpage, and a variety of reports can be generated. A summary reportcan be generated for a given location or region, with data on all species that have been documented there. Distribution reports can begenerated for a specific species or family. And you can view your ownlifelist of fish sightings using your REEF member ID number.To visit the REEF database, click here.

What are the different levels of surveyor experience?

REEF fish survey data are separated into two categories based on experience level- Novice and Expert. These experience levels are determined by number of surveys completed and examination scores. Click here to read more about these experience levels.

How do I interpret the data and the reports?

Roving diver survey data generate a species list along with sighting frequency and abundance estimates for each species. Click here for information on interpreting these frequency and abundance estimates.

Are the data accurate and useful?

Yes! From the beginning, the program was designed in conjunction withmarine scientists from NOAA, the University of Miami, and The Nature Conservancy. For over two years, a team of marine ecologists andfisheries managers monitored and carefully evaluated REEF's field methods and reporting procedures. Their study, published in the Bulletin of Marine Science in 1996, confirmed that the collected dataare of extreme value to the scientific community. They found that fish surveys conducted using the REEF roving diver method meet several objectives:

• Ability to collect large quantities of presence/absence and relative abundance data
• Indication of species distribution throughout a geographical area based on sighting frequency and abundance
• Specific species presence/absence and abundance lists may be presented for any given region, subregion, zone or site
• Measures of similarity in species composition may be computed between any combination of geographical areas

Today, marine ecologists from NOAA, the State of Florida, Caribbeanand Bahamas government environmental protection offices, marine park management, and conservation groups are already putting informationfrom REEF's database to good use.

What are the data used for?

As the REEF Fish Survey Project has grown, several papers andproducts have been produced using the roving diver survey method andthe REEF database. In addition, the REEF Fish Survey Project has becomeintegrated into several projects. These collaborations have includedthose with management agencies and other non-profit organizations. Toread more about these papers and projects and about using volunteers indata collection, visit our Monitoring and Research page.

Why collect fish survey data?

Once you start conducting fish surveys, your diving experience will change. Suddenly you will start to notice things on your dives that have always been there, but the difference is that now you will know them. You will realize when a species you encounter is a great find,and who are the usual suspects. Another reason- it allows you to participate, become a scientist, become an explorer. It gives you avoice to make a difference. We hope you will use it.

Are other animals included besides fish?

While the main focus of REEF's program is marine fish, we haveincorporated two additional components through collaborations withother organizations - the Pacific Invertebrate & Algae monitoring program in the Pacific Northwest and California and the Sea Turtle Sighting Program. Sea turtles are reported in all of REEF's regions.

REEF Database Citation

Please cite REEF's Database as:REEF. year. Reef Environmental Education Foundation Volunteer Survey Project Database. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.reef.org, date of download (day month year).

Contact REEF Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, to request raw data files.