A Systematic Review of the Research Applications of the CoralWatch Coral Health Chart

Theme: Biodiversity and conservation science, Marine biology and ocean science 

Description: 

CoralWatch is a global citizen science program with outreach in over 130 countries. Founded in 2002 at the University of Queensland’s Heron Island Research Station, CoralWatch began as a reef-based research initiative and has since grown into an internationally recognised citizen science program that combines scientific data collection with accessible, science-based education and outreach. Over the past two decades, the program has expanded to more than 2000 reefs, engaging thousands of volunteers, educators, students and reef managers in coral health monitoring and reef conservation.

The CoralWatch Coral health chart is a widely used citizen science tool for monitoring coral bleaching and coral health globally. Despite its extensive application in education and community-based conservation, there is limited understanding of how and where the chart has been employed in peer-reviewed research. This research project will focus on conducting a comprehensive review of the scientific literature to identify studies that have used the Coral Health Chart (270 peer-reviewed papers to date). The key objective is to develop a typology categorising the contexts in which the tool has been applied (e.g., geographical regions, research questions, integration with other data sources, educational settings, etc.) and the purposes it has served (e.g., long-term monitoring, community engagement, methodological validation). This review is essential for informing future research using the Coral Health Chart, which could be pursued as part of this student project.

Additional Information: 

This project would be done in collaboration with CoralWatch, based in The School of the Environment at UQ. The literature review would form the basis of a analytical project using CoralWatch data.

Contact: Assoc. Prof. Carissa Klein and Dr Courtney Morgans