Rapid Swath Mapping of Reef Ecology and Associated Water Column Chemistry in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panamá

Abstract

Abstract-This paper describes a novel method for rapid high-resolution ecological survey to characterize pristine and degraded coral reef habitats using automated 3-D imaging and feature classification, in-situ chemical sensing, and acoustic mapping In February 2006 these technologies were deployed along the Western Isthmus of Panama. Over the course of two weeks, chemical (CTD, fluorometry, and in-situ mass spectrometry) and acoustic bathymetric transects mapped approximately 300 km, collecting over 25,000 chemical samples, with spatial resolution on the order of 10 meters. Automated seafloor imaging successfully mapped another 5 km of seafloor habitats, with resolution on the order of 1 cm. The results from these surveys provide insight into reef structure, bathymetry, spatial heterogeneity of marine organisms, and fundamental metabolic processes of photosynthesis and respiration. This information has proven useful for understanding both natural and human dynamics affecting tropical reef systems within the eastern Pacific Ocean. Results of this survey also provide baseline ecological information for identifying priority conservation areas in the Veraguas and Chiriqui marine provinces that are biologically linked, although outside Panama's Coiba National Park.