Rangiroa Field Report
(2014)
Please find an excerpt of the full PDF below
Between March 8, 2013 – March 23, 2013, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a research mission to Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia as part of the Global Reef Expedition. The research focused on coral reefs surrounding Moorea and Rangiroa. The objectives of the mission were to: 1) identify and characterize shallow marine habitats and develop habitat and bathymetric maps: 2) evaluate the composition, structure and health of coral reefs using a standardized assessment protocol; 3) evaluate threats affecting coral and fish populations, the extent of degradation, patterns of recovery from hurricanes and other acute disturbances, and overall resilience to these stressors; 4) quantify the loss of coral skeleton since the 1998 bleaching event and patterns of recovery within the lagoon; 5) quantify the abundance and grazing intensity of herbivorous reef fish; and 5) assess the status of shark populations. You may download the full Rangiroa Field Report below.