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Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Conclusion
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John
Smith Bay John Smith Bay was researched on October 14, 2002. I had previously tried to gather data at Tobacco Bay, but due to Northeastern winds John Smith Bay provided a more protected site and clearer waters. At the beach I chose a random spot and waded into the ocean until water level was shoulder height. I then swam out ten kicks of approximate equal strength. The direction of travel was in a line perpendicular to the shore. At every tenth kick I would stop and view the area directly before me. Peripheral vision was not considered. At each interval Diploria strigosa, healthy and diseased, were counted. The approximate size of death relative to the healthy tissue in diseased corals was also recorded on an underwater writing board. It is important to note that in order to obtain a correct size of death in diseased corals I had to snorkel around the coral heads, so that all dead tissue was accounted for. However, I always returned back to the original spot of viewing to continue the 10-kick intervals. The direction of travel changed three times due to complications of the ocean floor topography. The first direction change occurred 100 kicks from shore. The depth was too deep to clearly see the amount of disease tissue; therefore I swam back to the last location of found corals, 60 kicks, and turned 90 degrees to the right, swimming parallel to the shoreline. Turning to the right was chosen over left because I was snorkeling along the outer edge of the reef. Left would have resulted in swimming over a sandy bottom with few to no coral heads. 50 kicks later a giant rock was blocking the direction of travel. Brain corals found on the rock were counted and then I swam 10 kicks 90 degrees left of the rock. Turning right would have caused me to hit a coastline cliff, thus left was chosen. Ten kicks out from the rock I pivoted 90 degrees, so the direction of travel would be parallel with the coastline preventing another encounter with deep water. Brain corals were counted at the 90 degree pivot point while I was facing the direction parallel with the shore, so transect line data would be consistent.
Natural Arches
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