Abstract

The paucity of information on coral reef communities and funds to support full-scale censusing of Caribbean reefs have precipitated the need to explore the utility of volunteer observations for scientific assessment and monitoring. The objectives of this study were to investigate the quality of data collected by volunteers, to use these data to determine some characteristics of upper Florida Keys reef fish communities, and to explore the utility of this information in directing research management and conservation. The fish communities of five sites within the upper Florida Keys tract were surveyed by volunteer and technical observers. Volunteer observers were trained in the identification of fishes through classroom instruction and field work in a course taught by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and by studying Reef Fish identification (Humano and DeLoach, 1989). When collected by 8-10 people surveying the same site at the same time, volunteer data can provide a valuable species list that uniquely characterizes the reef sites. Based on frequency of observation, fish species recorded at the five study sites were separated into three categories. ; 1). Fish species that were observed by greater than 70 percent of all divers at each site; ubiquitous fishes. ; 2) Fish species that were observed by greater than so percent but fewer than 70 percent of all divers at some dive sites; site-specific fishes. ; 3) Fish species that were seen by fewer than 50 percent of all divers at each site; cryptic, rare fishes, occasional reef visitors. ; This frequency of occurrence data was analyzed to address ecological questions such as the distribution of fish at different reef sites and to characterize the reef fish communities of the upper Florida Keys reef tract.

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