Digital Reef Rugosity Estimates Coral Reef Habitat Complexity
Figure 3
DRR transects in rich reef and adjacent rubble sites at Kelor Point.
The fringing reef at Kelor Point alternates between rich undamaged coral reef (KEL2-SC (A and B)) and barren unstable rubble (KEL1-SR (C and D)). The peaks along the rich coral DRR transect (B) reflect the contribution coral colonies make to the canopy morphology. A comparison of the two DRR transects (B and D) illustrates the contribution live coral make to the reef canopy profile. The difference in depth between these two transects approximates the biovolume of the living reef. The transects are nearly equal in linear length, but the rubble transect contains fewer points because it took less time to swim (Table 5). (photos P Dustan).