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a will be located at monuments R- 113 and R- 115 . Final transect positions will be adjusted to maximize the amount of hard bottom habitat along each transect . A total of 17 photoquadrat [0 . 5 m square (0 .25m2)] stations will be positioned along each transect. Photoquadrat stations will be positioned at 5 m intervals from the western end of the transect to the 50-m mark ( 11 quadrats) and at 60 , 70, 80 , 90 , 140 , and 180 m marks . Stainless steel pins with an attached numbered tag shall be installed at the above-described intervals and used for placement of the lower left comer of the quadrat, with all quadrats placed alongside and to the south of the transect. Stainless steel rods ( 1 . 25 cm diameter by 75 cm length) will be installed with at least 50 cm visible above the seafloor at the nearshore and offshore end of each transect and in areas of low-relief hard bottom at approximately 20 m and 50 m along the transect. These rods will not be placed in areas of high vertical relief (ledges) . They will be used to measure sediment accumulation along the transects. Within the quadrats the following parameters will be measured and estimated in situ: 1 . Percent sediment cover within the quadrat; 2 . Sediment thickness (maximum thickness - will be measured up to 30 cm ; average sediment thickness - will be measured at 10 intersections on the 10-cm quadrat grid ; a continuous layer of sediments of < 1 cm in the matrix of micro- or macroalgae will be recorded as < 1 cm) ; 3 . Maximum relief of hard bottom (recorded as difference in height from the lowest point of hard bottom to the highest point of hard bottom within the quadrat) ; 4 . Percent cover by dominant groups of benthic organisms (leafy algae , encrusting algae , sponges , hydroids, Phragmatopoma , stony corals, bryozoans, tunicates) using the 10-cm grids within the quadrat frame ; 5 . Individual counts and taxonomic identification for stony corals , octocorals, sponges , tunicates, and urchins. Maximum dimensions will be recorded for all stony corals , octocorals, and sponges; 6 . Maximum and average (by five haphazard measurements) algal thallium (algal height) ; 7 . Percent cover of algae, broken down into dominant species (or at least to genus- level) ; and 8. Digital photograph of the entire quadrat. Up to 12 additional quadrats will be established along the 12 transects for the monitoring of individual large colonies of stony corals ( Oculina varicosa , O. robusta , Siderastrea siderea , etc. ) which are visible from the transect during station installation . These colonies will be marked with a numbered tag attached to a stainless steel pin epoxied into the bottom adjacent to each colony . The health status of each colony along with size, possible sand burial , and/or presence of sand around each colony within the quadrat frame will be recorded , and a photograph will be taken during each survey . Quadrat photographs will be analyzed to calculate percent cover of algae and attached biota using Point Count software, a random point percent cover analysis program . Species richness , total percent cover, and community structure (rank orders of species abundance) will be compared between transects (and between surveys following subsequent sampling efforts) . The percent cover results from the post-survey random point analysis will be compared to the in situ diver estimates of percent cover. If results CADoe mens and SettingsyonethangUcal SettingsUemporary Internet FIIesXOLK2EWrnendment 13 scope.doc 7