On Reefs and Covers: An Experimental Analysis on

Transect and Quadrat Sampling

Bangug, Reine Marjorie V. Lee, Chrystelle Andrea P. Lobregat, Kasey Alexandra B. Lopez, and Michael Daniel P.

ABSTRACT

An experimental analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness of transect and

quadrat sampling methods in determining the composition and abundance of reef organisms. The
study of coral reef ecosystems requires a thorough understanding of the diversity and distribution
of the organisms that inhabit these environments. In order to achieve this understanding,
scientists use a variety of sampling methods, including transect and quadrat sampling. The
experiment aimed to analyze the effectiveness of these two methods in determining the
composition and abundance of reef organisms. The study was conducted in an improvised coral
reef ecosystem, where results suggest that the method with the highest number of total percent
cover would have the most species, and that percent cover is affected by the number of
subsamples but not by the number of replicates. The size of the quadrat also affects percent
cover, with smaller quadrats providing closer values to the true value of the experiment. The
small-quadrat method followed by the Line-intercept transect method were found to be the most
accurate methods, while the Transect-Quadrat method was the most precise and the
Small-Quadrat method was the least precise. These findings provide insights into the use of
different sampling methods for studying coral reef ecosystems. The reefs with over 50% coral
cover are depleting and the Philippine Marine Biodiversity is in need of care.

Keywords: ecosystems, transect-quadrats, line-intercept transect, small quadrat, large quadrat, percent
cover, reef, true value, precise, accurate

Introduction
Coral reefs are one of the most
biologically diverse and complex
ecosystems on the planet, providing critical
habitat for numerous species of fish,
invertebrates, and plants. Human
communities derive many benefits from
coral reefs including food, income,
recreation, coastal protection, cultural
settings, and many other ecological goods
and services (Cinner et al., 2009; Costanza
et al., 2014). Despite the importance of coral
reefs, understanding the composition and
distribution of species within these
environments is a significant challenge. One
aspect of this challenge is the design and
implementation of effective sampling
methods. Transects and quadrats are two
ecological tools that allow us to quantify the
relative abundance of organisms in an area,
particularly coral reef ecosystems.
(Philippoff & Cox, n.d.)
Accurate and precise methods of
monitoring these habitats are essential for
understanding their ecological significance
and changes over time. In recent years, the
use of transect and quadrat sampling has
become a popular method for monitoring
reefs and covers.Traditionally, transects and
quadrats are two tools commonly used when
sampling and monitoring coral reefs. A
transect line is any line marked at regular
intervals, such as a measuring tape, that is
easy to use in the field. Quadrats are framed
areas, such as squares made from PVC
pipes. (Oceanfest, n.d.)
This method is useful for capturing the
overall distribution of species within a reef
environment, but it may not provide an
accurate representation of the abundance
and composition of species within a specific
area.
According to Islam, (2021) It is best
used to estimate the abundance, density,
frequency, and distribution of many slow or
non-moving organisms as these are able to
stay within the quadrat boundaries.
Although no method is bias-free, the most
accurate density estimates are obtained from
complete counts (Davenport et al., 2007;
McNeilage et al.,2001). On the other hand,
quadrat sampling involves dividing the reef
into smaller, stationary areas and collecting
data on the species present within each
quadrat. This method provides a more
detailed representation of species abundance
and composition, but may not accurately
capture the spatial arrangement of organisms
within the reef environment.
These methods allow for the
measurement and analysis of species
richness, abundance, and distribution
patterns within a reef or cover. However, the
effectiveness of these methods has been the
subject of debate in the scientific
community. To address this debate, a series
of experimental studies have been conducted
to compare the efficacy of transect and
quadrat sampling methods. These studies
have shown that the choice of method
depends on the specific goals and objectives
of the study, as well as the characteristics of
the reef or cover being studied.
Objectives quadrats have large gaps and distance
between the lines, therefore the results that
1. Compare the effectiveness of revolve to random large quadrats will be
transect and quadrat sampling precise.
methods for monitoring reef and
cover habitats. Methodology

This experiment aims to determine the

2. Determine the impact of transect and accuracy and precision of coral cover
quadrat size and shape on species estimates from four different benthic survey
richness and abundance estimates. methods involving quadrats and transects.
This will be done by comparing the data
3. Assess the suitability of transect and from the four different methods. Hence,
quadrat sampling methods for these materials were used to assert the
different types of reef and cover objective of this experiment.
habitats. ● Graphing Paper
4. Evaluate the advantages and ● 1 peso coin
limitations of transect and quadrat ● Marker
sampling methods for monitoring ● Ruler
marine ecosystems. ● Plastic cover or film

However, it was decided by the researchers

Hypothesis
arbitrarily to perform the experiment
The researchers have formulated the digitally through Photoshop. The conversion
following hypothesis for this experiment: measurement of the paper, coin and quadrats
were converted from cm to pixels. But the
There is a significant difference between the procedure is the same from the actual
random small quadrat and the random large experiment.
quadrat since small quadrats have smaller
perimeters in a given area or distance
between the line, the measurement will be
accurate. Though random large random
Conversion from cm to pixels:
1. Graphing Paper: 21.5 cm x 27.8 cm
= 812.5984 px (height)
1050.7087px (width)
2. Small Quadrat: 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm
= 94.4881 px (height) and 94.4881
px (width)
0.5 cm apart = 18.8976 px
3. Large Quadrat: 5 cm x 5 cm
= 188.9764 px (height) and 188.9764
px (width)
1 cm apart = 37.7953 px
RANDBETWEEN function. Using
the 1 peso coin, draw 38 corals on
the graphing paper. Coordinates from
and the randomization are used to
perform the tracing per coral. 28 of
the coral species belong to Species
A, 6 belong to Species B, and 4
belong to Species C. The labeling of
the coral species was done through
randomization in Microsoft Excel.
2. Using the plastic film, prepare
2.5x2.5 cm for the small quadrat and
5x5 cm for the large quadrat. The
distance between the lines for the
small quadrat is 0.5 cm apart, while
the distance between the large
quadrat is 1.0 cm apart.

4. Coin size: 22 cm
= 831.4961 px

Results and Discussion

Experiment Procedure
To further help with the assertion of
the objectives of this experiment, these Before discussing the results for each

procedures were followed to ensure that the method, one must note the true value in the

result would be as consistent and precise as experiment. To compute the true value of the

possible. total coral cover in the experiment, one must

multiply the area of the coin by the number
1. The group decided to do the of species then divided by the total area
randomization of tasks, coordinates, which is denoted by length(width). The
and labeling of species using width of the digital graphing paper used is
Microsoft Excel, utilizing the
21.50 cm while the length is 27.80 cm. With =
14 𝑐𝑚
2
597.7 𝑐𝑚
this, the area of the simulated reef is 597.7
2
𝑐𝑚 .
Species C Coral Cover = 2.34%
a) Total Coral Cover
2
3.5 𝑐𝑚 × 38
= 21.5 𝑐𝑚 × 27.8 𝑐𝑚

133 𝑐𝑚
= 2
597.7 𝑐𝑚

Small Quadrat
Total Coral Cover = 22.25%

Figure 1. 30 replicates of Small Quadrat on a simulated reef

b) Species A
2
3.5 𝑐𝑚 × 28
= 21.5 𝑐𝑚 × 27.8 𝑐𝑚

98 𝑐𝑚
= 2
597.7 𝑐𝑚

Species A Coral Cover = 16.4%

c) Species B

2
3.5 𝑐𝑚 × 6
= 21.5 𝑐𝑚 × 27.8 𝑐𝑚

21 𝑐𝑚
= 2
597.7 𝑐𝑚
30 replicates of Small Quadrats are
simulated on a reef. Each box in the Small
Species B Coral Cover = 3.51%
Quadrat is subjected to count 50% cover of
corals. Those under 50% are omitted in

d) Species C
counting the coral cover. Following this
method, the most dominant Species is
2
=
3.5 𝑐𝑚 × 4 Species A, followed by Species B, and
21.5 𝑐𝑚 × 27.8 𝑐𝑚
Species C.
 because the LIT has the most potential for
% Cover % Cover % Cover overlapping over the same coins thus giving
of of of closer values.
Species Species Species % Total
Figure 2. A Bar Graph of Standard Error per Species per
A B C Coral Cover Method

Mean 19.73% 2.53% 0.40% 22.67%

True Value 16.40% 3.51% 2.34% 22.25%

Standard
Error 3.09% 1.88% 0.29% 3.15%

Standard
Deviation 16.94% 10.32% 1.61% 17.27%

Percent
Error 20.30% 27.92% 82.91% 1.89%

Confidence
level
(95.0%) 6.32% 3.85% 0.60%
Table 1. A table containing the results of the Small Quadrat
Method compared to the True Value
On Accuracy and Precision
The Random Small Quadrat is the
most accurate out of all the methods with
1.89% Percent Error. The Percent error has
an indirect relationship with the accuracy of
a method. The less Percent Error it has, the
more accurate it is. The area of the small
quadrats are small, which reduces room for
error in measuring the coral covers.
Followed by the LIT, Random Large
Quadrat, and Transect Quadrat.
Moreover, an analysis of the
6.45% precision per method per species revealed
that for A and B the most precise method is
the Transect-Quadrat while the most
accurate for species C is the Random
Small-Quadrat. The precision for A and B
may be explained by the number of
subsamples that the method contains which
accounts for less room for error and closer
values because the quadrats and lines are
designed in such a way that the cover of the
quadrats overlap.
Figure 3. Bar graph of % Error per Species per
Method

While the most precise is the

Transect Quadrat followed by Random
Large Quadrat, Line Intercept Transect, and
Random Small Quadrat. This may be
Figure 3 reveals the accuracy per method
per Species. The most accurate method for
Species A is the Transect Quadrat while for Figure 4. 30 replicates of Transect Lines with 5 samples

Species B and C it is the Random Large each (150 subsamples)

Quadrat. The large area covered by the big Quadratic-Intercept

quadrats compensates for the small
population of Species B and C, thus still
reaching them.

Figure 3. 30 replicates of Large Quadrat on a Simulated

Reef

Large Quadrat

Figure 5. 30 replicates of Line-Intercept Transect on a

Simulated Reef

Line-Intercept Transect

The most accurate method

is the Small-Quadrat method and the
most precise is the transect quadrat
method. However, it is important to note
that the Small-Quadrat method has a
standard error of 3.15% with 22.67%
actual Total cover while the
Line-Intercept Transect has 22.89%
with only 1.64% standard error. If the
group would abide by the 23% Total
Coral Cover in the Excel File, our most
accurate method would be the
Line-Intercept. However, it must be
noted that the area of our reef is 597.7
cm^2 compared to the 603 cm^2 in the
excel thus, resulting in a different true
value of 22.25%. But if we would have
a theoretical adjustment taking into
account the standard error the range of
the Small Quadrat method would be
19.74-25.82, and the LIT would be
21.15-24.53.
The Small-Quadrat method’s advantage
is its accuracy in total % Cover,
however, it is the least precise one based
on the Total % Cover. The
Transect-Quadrat by the parameters of
this experiment is the best method for
Species A while it is the least accurate
at 7.5% total % cover. The Random
Large Quadrat is the most accurate in
measuring Species B and C but the least
accurate in Species A with this it is also
the second least accurate in total %
cover. Finally, the Line-Intercept
Transect is neither the most accurate nor
precise in each of the Species but it has
the second most accurate Total % cover,
if the standard error would be taken into
account, the Line-Intercept Transect
would be the most accurate of them all.
The most precise technique is the
Transect Quadrat followed by the
Random Large Quadrat, Line-Intercept
Transect and the Random Small
Quadrat. The Transect Quadrat has 150
subsamples which account for
overlapping of the coral cover, which
means the values are closer. Apart from
the number of subsamples, the area of a
method affects its precision, the more
area a method has, the more chance it
would overlap, which means a higher
chance for a more precise value. The
third one would be the concentration of
lines in Transect Quadrat and
Line-Intercept Transect. If the lines are
evenly dispersed around the simulated
reef, it may have different results, thus
affecting accuracy.
A Species can become rare by loss of
habitat, and loss of variation. Human
activities such as illegal logging,
excessive hunting, and more can
lessen the population of a species.
Genetic variation also plays a role,
with less genetic variation of species,
they could be wiped out by a single
disease thus lessening their
population. The effects may differ but
it would not significantly change the
results that the most dominant is
Species A, B, and C because the
experiment was designed to have such
results. A better answer would be the
position of the lines in the Trans Q and
LIT method as it may have slightly
different results. The Species B and C
were rare because it has low
population which is scarce, unline the
Species A.
With this, one must also
note the crude density and the
ecological density. The crude density
is the size of the population in relation
to the total space, for example, the
population of all species is 38 and the
total area of the simulated reef is 597.7
cm^2 and if we would divide this we
would get a crude density of 0.064
Corals per cm^2. Now, the ecological
density is the population in relation to
the occupied space. So a space that
isn’t occupied by the Species cannot
be included in the computation for
ecological density. The number of
Species is 38, and if we would divide
it by the habited area of 133 sq. cm,
we would get an ecological density of
0.286 corals per sq. cm.
Summary Table
The summary table shows the
comparison between the accuracy and precision
of methods.
Conclusion and Recommendations
There is no single best method to determine
coral cover, as the method should align with the
objectives of the experiment. If the objective is
to determine the coral cover within a small area,
the small quadrat method should be used. If it is
for a big area, the large quadrat method should
be used. If the objective is to just measure the
length of a coral, the method would be
line-intercept transect.
To further improve the experiment, the
researchers suggest the following:
1. Provide an objective basis for
considering 50% coral cover to prevent
or minimize observer’s bias. The
researchers could have small boxes of
10 inside the boxes in the quadrats and
consider 5 small boxes as a basis for
50% coral cover.
2. Changing the size of the coins. All the
species have the same size which is not
a natural occurrence. Changing the size
of the coins represented by different
 species would best represent natural https://oceanfest.soest.hawaii.edu/down
occurrence.
loads/6_Coral_Reef_Quadrats.pdf
3. Having more accretions of methods.
Researchers could formulate other forms Owusu, B. (2019). Coral reef ecosystems under
of methods for better comparison and a
more flexible way. These/this method/s
climate change and ocean acidification.
could be used for an array of objectives
that are yet or are already targeted.
Frontiers.
4. Funding and Supporting the scientific
community. With the depleting coral https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.
cover which is evident by 30% of the
reefs having more than 50% coral cover 3389/fmars.2017.00158/full
of Gomez and Alcala (1979) compared
to only 10% of the reefs having more Philippoff, J., & Cox, E. (n.d.). Measuring
than 50% coral cover (Licuanan et al.,
2017). The Philippine government and
Abundance: Transects and Quadrats.
Lawmakers must invest upon the
Filipino Scientific Community to
tps://www.hawaii.edu/gk-12/opihi/class
preserve our nature. Call on
pro-environment and pro-people
scientific ventures and manage room/measuring
commercializing remote marine, and
terrestrial areas for conservation of Alcala, A. C., & Gomez, E.D. (1979).
marine biodiversity and diversity in
general. Recolonization and Growth of

References Hermatypic Corals in

Juva, K., & Et al.,. (2017). Coral reef Dynamite-Blasted Coral Reefs in the
ecosystems under climate change and
ocean acidification. Frontiers. Central Visayas Philippines.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3
http://scinet.science.ph/union/Downloa
389/fmars.2017.00158/full
Oceanfest. (n.d.). Monitoring Coral Reef ds/nast_Gomez%20ED%20&%20Alcal

Ecosystems with Quadrats. Ocean a%20AC%201979%20Recolonization

FEST. %20&%20Growth%20of%20Hermatyp

ic%20Corals%20in%20Dynamite-Blast
 ed%20Coral%20Reefs%20in%20the%

20Central%20Visayas_4424.pdf

Licuanan, W. Y. et. al. .A review of the status of

Philippine reefs. (2017, January 30). A Review

of the Status of Philippine Reefs -

ScienceDirect.

114(2),1135-1140.https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3

26X(94)90427-8