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The 150-meter transects shall be sampled using digital video in progressive scan mode. <br /> The diver shall swim at a speed of approximately 6 meter/min with a constant camera <br /> distance of 25 cm above bottom . If the diver is moved off the transect by surge, the <br /> diver shall return to the point where he/she was disturbed by the wave action , and <br /> resume filming at that point. The video transects shall be reviewed during the course of <br /> the survey to ensure that there are no gaps in the data due to diver error and that the <br /> quality of the video is acceptable for video analysis. Any missing video transect data or <br /> poor quality video shall be refilmed during the course of the monitoring event. <br /> Landscape panoramic views shall be recorded with the digital video camera at the start <br /> and end of each transect, and at each interruption of the transect by a sand <br /> gap/recommencement at the next hardbottom ridge. Close-up digital still <br /> video/photographs shall be obtained of representative benthos along the transect to aid <br /> in identification during video analysis. Still photographs shall be obtained using the <br /> digital video camera or digital still camera at all quadrat locations, vertical ledges, large <br /> Oculina spp. colonies or Siderastrea siderea colonies along the transect or adjacent to <br /> transect (within underwater visibility during transect establishment) , and changes in <br /> benthic landscape along the transect. Voucher sampling of macroalgae shall be <br /> conducted to assist with video identification of macroalgae genera . <br /> Video Transect Analysis <br /> During each monitoring even , two, 20-meter long segments of the video transect shall be <br /> quantitatively analyzed using PointCount'99 or a comparable software package based <br /> upon the random point count method for estimation of percent cover from digitally frame- <br /> grabbed underwater video images. The first 20-meter segment shall correspond to the <br /> first 20 meters of hardbottom (commence at the 0 point at the exposed nearshore <br /> hardbottom edge and continue to the 20-meter mark) . The second 20-meter segment <br /> shall cross hardbottom between 50 and 100 meters along each transect. The exact <br /> location of the second 20-meter segment shall be determined at the time of transect <br /> establishment based upon the benthic landscape and location of hardbottom ridges <br /> along the transect, and shall be referenced to the nearest pin along the transect for <br /> repeated occupation of the same stretch of transect for video analysis. DGPS <br /> positioning will be obtained for the start point of the second 20-meter segment along <br /> each transect. <br /> Each 20-meter segment shall result in approximately 100 non-overlapping frame- <br /> grabbed images. A unique set of 20 random points shall be generated at the time of <br /> frame-grabbing and stored with each set of images so that the same points are <br /> assessed during each monitoring event. This also ensures that each person examining a <br /> particular image will view the same points, thereby allowing for double-blind counting for <br /> quality assurance and control purposes. Ten percent (10%) of the images shall be <br /> counted by two scorers to assess inter-observer variability. <br /> An estimate of percent cover (projected to the surface) will be performed for each image <br /> according to the following functional groups/categories: scleractinian corals (to the genus <br /> level), octocorals, macroalgae (to the genus level if possible, if not, then according to the <br /> following breakdown : calcareous red , calcareous green , fleshy brown, fleshy red , fleshy <br /> green) , microalgae/cyanobacteria , sponges, tunicates, hydroids, wormrock, zoanthids, <br /> urchins, holothuroids, and substrate. Substrate shall be broken down into the following <br /> categories: unconsolidated substrate (rubble/shell hash , rhodoliths) , sediment over <br /> C:U)o enls aml Se ngslIona wVkLocal SottugslTemporary traem Fllea\OMEW a FINAL.Eoc <br /> 2 <br />