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Census of Marine Life, Census of Coral Reefs Expedition to French Frigate Shoals (October 2006)

Suction

Lead Scientist: Russel Brainard
Target Habitats: Fore Reef, Back Reef, Reef Crest, Lagoon Patch Reef
Target Organisms: Cryptic Epifauna

Description:
Suction sampling is a small-scale, objective procedure to collect baseline information, particularly on biodiversity, in a given area. A vacuum-type device will be used to suction samples in an area to obtain ‘whole community’ and potential key species information. This type of sampling involves lifting small organisms from exposed hard bottoms through suction generated by compressed air into a 2-4 inch diameter pipe. The gentle current created lifts small, mobile organisms into the pipe, capturing them in a mesh bag tied to the end of the pipe. Suction sampling has been used extensively in benthic ecology and fisheries (e.g., Brett, 1964; Hiscock & Hoare, 1973; Keegan & Konnecker, 1973). Recently the method has been employed very successfully in large-scale biodiversity inventory efforts (Bouchet et al. 2002). Suction sampling is the most effective method for surveying small or cryptic mobile invertebrates from exposed hard bottoms.

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Ship Logs:
Day-by-day activities of the expedition.

Journals:
Daily or semi-daily personal journal entries by the particpants in the expedition. These journals do not necessarily reflect the positions of any of the agencies connected with this project.

Interviews:
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Features:
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