The Reef Check Mediterranean Underwater Coastal Environment Monitoring Protocol

Since 2001, trained snorkelers, freedivers, and scuba diver volunteers (collectively called EcoDivers) have been recording data on the distribution, abundance, bathymetric range of 43 selected key marine species along Mediterranean Sea coasts using Reef Check Underwater Coastal Environment Monitoring (RCMed U-CEM) protocol. The taxa, including algae, invertebrates, fishes, were by a combination criteria, ease identification being indicator shifts in subtidal habitats due to local pressures climate change. dataset collected RCMed U-CEM protocol is openly accessible across different platforms allows for various uses. It has proven be useful several purposes, such as monitoring ecological status coastal environments, assessing effects human impacts management interventions, well complementing scientific papers distribution modeling, historical series. Also, commitment promotes stewardship environmental awareness conservation. Here, we describe from training recording, delivering, sharing data, quality assurance control (QA/QC) procedures.