2017 saw 63 trained RLS divers complete 1,060 surveys across 3 different countries.
RLS welcomed 14 newly trained divers and 8 new RLS trainers.
The 10 thousandth survey was completed and logged in the RLS database, representing 72,000 hours & $2.2 million worth of in-kind volunteer contributions!
Website engagement grew by up to 79% and social media engagement grew by 139% compared to the 2015/16 financial year.
Key publications:
Bright spots among the world’s coral reefs.Nature (2016) Cinner, JE, Huchery, C, MacNeil, MA et al.
New opportunities for conservation of handfishes (Family Brachionichthyidae) and other inconspicuous and threatened marine species through citizen science.Biological Conservation (2017) Edgar, G.E., Stuart-Smith, R.D., Cooper, A., Jacques, M. & Valentine, J.
Consistent multi-level trophic effects of marine reserve protection across northern New Zealand.PLoS ONE (2017) Edgar GJ, Stuart-Smith RD, Thomson RJ, Freeman DJ.
Assessing National Biodiversity Trends for Rocky and Coral Reefs through the Integration of Citizen Science and Scientific Monitoring Programs, BioScience (2017) Rick D. Stuart-Smith et al.
