The biological community is surveyed in the low tide zone of rocky reef habitats.
A grid is used to estimate the percentage cover of algae and encrusting animals, and the number of larger animals are individually counted. A number of grid areas are surveyed at each site.
The mean number of species reflects the ecological diversity at the site, which is a useful indicator of coastal water quality. The comparison of the biological community between potential impact sites and unaffected control sites is used to assess the compliance of coastal discharges with consent conditions.
Council also uses other types of marine ecological monitoring such as:
- Dive surveys
- Shellfish bacteriological levels
- Shellfish metal levels
- Soft and hard substrate marine ecological surveys