Single-beam acoustic remote sensing for coral reef mapping

Several commercial single-beam acoustic seabed mapping systems have come to market in the last decade, but the potential for mapping coral reef habitats with these systems has not been systematically documented. Three datasets from the Florida Keys, USA, and the Bahamas, all acquired by a Quester Tangent Series V (QTCV), revealed that rock and sediment were reliably distinguished across multiple survey sites with accuracy ranging from 74%-86%. The utility of a simple rock/sediment classification scheme for assessing fish habitat and for objectively mapping habitat based on patchiness and relief metrics are discussed.