Coral Diseases & Compromised Health Monitoring

The Coral Disease & Compromised Coral Health Monitoring course is a prestigious certification card for those students who are able to complete all aspects of our Ecological Monitoring Program, and Coral Taxonomy and Identification in theory and practice. When performed to a high level of proficiency, coral health assessment can be incorporated into the surveys. This card recognizes your ability to identify all states of coral health, and contribute to coral disease and overgrowth monitoring, and research.

Prerequisites

  • Be 12 years of age or older
  • Be certified as an Advanced diver under a leading diving organization (PADI, SSI, RAID, etc) or an Open Water diver who has satisfactorily completed a buoyancy appraisal with a professional diver
  • Demonstrate proper diving ability at an advanced Level and be proficient in buoyancy and self-awareness
  • Be certified in our Ecological Monitoring Program
  • Be certified in our Coral taxonomy & Identification course

Standards

  • Understand how predation, competition, and parasitism play a role in the structure and population dynamics of the coral reefs
  • Be Proficient in various survey techniques used by reef managers to monitor the health of coral reef ecosystems
  • Be able to identify various common coral disease of the region
  • Be familiar with, and able to identify common causes of coral mortality or compromised health states

Requirements

  • Attend the Compromised Coral Health Assessment and Monitoring lecture and any related knowledge building sessions
  • Read and complete the chapter reviews for the Coral Disease and Coral Bleaching Chapter of the Ecological Monitoring Manual
  • Complete and pass all the written exams for the courses listed above (80% and above)
  • Complete and pass the written exam for the Compromised Coral Health and Monitoring course
  • Successfully perform at least one Coral Disease and Comprised Health Monitoring Survey
  • Complete data entry, in the form of hard copy data sheets or the online database, as required

Approximate course time is 8 hours, with at least 1 dive

Certification Card

Training Centers