Regional fish recruitment and benthic habitat surveys, Great Barrier Reef

Fish recruitment was surveyed in 5 regions of the Great Barrier Reef, located between 16°S and 24°S, in April of 1985, 1986 and 1987. Five reefs were surveyed in four regions (Cairns, Townsville, Whitsundays and Swains) and 7 reefs were surveyed in the Capricorn-Bunker region. Within each region, reefs separated by distances of several km to tens of km were sampled. These reefs had been originally selected in 1984 as presenting a consistent reef slope habitat, to minimise habitat differences amongst reefs.The oblique reef slopes of these 27 reefs were sampled. At each of 3 haphazardly-chosen locations, 8 transects (40 x 2m) were laid out parallel to the reef crest, within a depth zone of 5 to 8 m. The transect length was then swum and the new recruits of a selected list of species counted.In addition, the benthos occurring at each 1m interval along each transect was recorded in order to characterize the benthic habitat.
This research was undertaken to investigate spatial and temporal variability in fish recruitment on the Great Barrier Reef.
The reefs surveyed were:Cairns Region; Arlington Reef, Hastings Reef, Michaelmas Cay, Moore Reef and Thetford ReefTownsville Region; Davies Reef, John Brewer Reef, Lodestone Reef, Rib Reef and Wheeler ReefWhitsundays Region; Reef No. 19-131, Reef No. 19-138, Reef No. 20-104, Hook Island and Showers ReefSwains Region; Reef No. 21-583, Chinaman Reef, Dicks Reef, Horseshoe Reef and Sanctuary ReefCapricorn-Bunker Region; Fairfax Island, Fitzroy Reef, Heron Island, Lady Musgrave Island, LLewellyn Reef, One Tree Island and Wistari Reef

1985、1986及1987年4月，研究人员对坐落于南纬16°至24°区间的大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef）5个区域开展了鱼类补充量（fish recruitment）调查。其中凯恩斯（Cairns）、汤斯维尔（Townsville）、圣灵群岛（Whitsundays）与斯温（Swains）4个区域各布设5座采样珊瑚礁，摩羯座-邦克尔（Capricorn-Bunker）区域则布设7座采样珊瑚礁。各区域内的采样礁体间距为数公里至数十公里，所有礁体均于1984年预选，其礁坡生境特征均一，以最大限度削减礁体间的生境差异。

本次共对27座珊瑚礁的倾斜礁坡实施采样。在每座礁体随机选取的3个采样点中，均沿礁脊方向布设8条40×2m的样带（transect），布设深度区间为5至8米。研究人员沿样带行进，对预选定物种的幼体补充个体逐一计数。此外，沿每条样带每1米间隔记录一次底栖生物（benthos），以精准表征礁体的底栖生境特征。

本研究旨在探究大堡礁海域鱼类补充量的时空分布变异规律。

本次调查涉及的珊瑚礁如下：
- 凯恩斯区域：阿灵顿礁（Arlington Reef）、黑斯廷斯礁（Hastings Reef）、迈克尔马斯礁岛（Michaelmas Cay）、穆尔礁（Moore Reef）及瑟福德礁（Thetford Reef）
- 汤斯维尔区域：戴维斯礁（Davies Reef）、约翰·布鲁尔礁（John Brewer Reef）、磁石礁（Lodestone Reef）、里布礁（Rib Reef）及惠勒礁（Wheeler Reef）
- 圣灵群岛区域：19-131号礁、19-138号礁、20-104号礁、胡克岛及肖尔斯礁（Showers Reef）
- 斯温区域：21-583号礁、查尼曼礁（Chinaman Reef）、迪克斯礁（Dicks Reef）、马蹄礁（Horseshoe Reef）及圣所礁（Sanctuary Reef）
- 摩羯座-邦克尔区域：费尔法克斯岛、菲茨罗伊礁（Fitzroy Reef）、赫伦岛（Heron Island）、马斯格雷夫夫人岛（Lady Musgrave Island）、卢埃林礁（LLewellyn Reef）、独树岛（One Tree Island）及威斯塔里礁（Wistari Reef）