Evaluating 3D Modeling as a Novel Method for Measuring Structural Complexity in Caribbean Coral Reefs

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate 3D modeling as a method of measuring coral reef structural complexity by comparing it with more traditional methods and testing whether it is an appropriate predictor of other ecological reef metrics. Existing literature provide a very wide variety of methods for measuring reef complexity, and this diversity in methods has likely contributed to inconclusive findings and a lack of comparability between studies. As a result, establishing an accurate and consistent method is necessary for the sake of coral reef research, as well as for conservation and monitoring efforts. Given that coral reef complexity has been shown to mediate species interactions and support reef biodiversity, reef complexity is therefore an important metric to monitor, especially in the face of climate change and human encroachment that threaten reef health. In the Caribbean coral reefs, structural complexity has been an area of focus due to the recent Diadema antillarum die-off, which resulted in phase shifts that caused decreased structural complexity and biodiversity. This new 3D modeling method was developed using data collected from Utila, Honduras in the Caribbean, making it an ideal location to further evaluate this method. Although the traditional linked-chain method was found to be incompatible with 3D modeling rugosity results, the traditional visual HAS method still proved to be a valuable and informative method of data collection. Given the reproducibility and consistency of this new 3D modeling method, there are many powerful applications that can be utilized in the interest of coral reef monitoring and restoration.