OUCARE Madagascar 2003
The OUCARE team embarked upon an expedition to survey the unexplored fringing coral reefs of Andavadoaka (Madagascar) on July 26th 2003. The team aimed to provide the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines (IHSM) with baseline data needed for the establishment of a World Heritage Site in the area. The studies were designed to investigate marine biodiversity and the potential threats to the coral reefs. Data were collected using a methodology based on methods used by Reef Check, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and IHSM.
Baseline surveys recorded substrate cover, fish abundance and diversity, key invertebrate species abundance and level of coral bleaching, disease and damage. It was found that the coral reefs were degraded and most of the sites were composed of old, dead coral. It had been suggested by reef conservation workers in the area that a rise in sea temperatures might have occurred, causing the bleaching and death of the coral. Despite difficult studies in a previously unexplored area, useful datasets were collected and the aims of the expedition achieved.