Shrnutí

Popis

The goals of the cruise were to collect a variety of data to assess the status of mesophotic corals in the Auau Channel, off the west coast of Maui. Camera surveys of corals and fish were conducted by a live feed video camera attached to a Towed Optical Assessment Device (TOAD). Two instrument arrays were deployed to monitor environmental variables (temperature, salinity, currents) for a period of one year. In addition, two smaller arrays were deployed to monitor temperature and occurrences of transient large fish that have been tagged previously. CTD casts were conducted at predetermined stations off a small boat, and light measurement profiles were taken at midday over a period of 4 days. Biological backscatter were recorded using an EK60 echosounder system operating at 38, 70, & 120 kHz along predetermined transects.