www.main.net.nz [email protected] September 2013 Manual for the online ‘Seashore Transect Data Entry System’ http://218.185.224.124/php/pc/transects.html The aim of this project is to provide an easy way to collect and archive data in an online repository so it is available for analysis, for comparison between different shorelines, and over time. Students can analyse their own data using Excel, or view the results on the Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society project website. This system of online data entry may be used in any seashore environment as a project administrator can create lists of substrates and species peculiar to each area. 1. To start: ................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Login................................................................................................................................................................ 2 2. Open an existing survey .................................................................................................................................... 2 a. Choose a transect and survey date .......................................................................................................... 2 b. Use the map controls to display different layers on the map ............................................................. 3 c. View the results at each quadrat on a specific date .............................................................................. 3 3. Data Entry ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 4. Validation lists ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Transects Substrates ................................................................................................................................ 5 Species – number Species – percent (colonies) ................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements This project was designed for the Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society who has a role in monitoring rocky shores in Taranaki. The aim is to illustrate the principle of seashore zonation, by recording the substrate and organisms along a transect from high tide to low tide; using the standard equipment of 0.25m 2 quadrats. The Society assists schools with marine studies, and is keen to have information collected over a span of time and places for comparison. Data sets for testing the system were provided from the field research done by Warren Smart, West End School New Plymouth, during his RSNZ Primary Science Teacher Fellowship in 2011. The project was generously funded by the TSB Community Trust and the Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society. MAIN Trust NZ acknowledges the assistance of the volunteers who have tested and refined the system, and the expertise of Tony Stewart who has patiently revised and improved the concept. Teachers in Taranaki are encouraged to use the set of Rocky Shore teaching resources form Taranaki Regional Council, and the guides and other publications from the NZ Centre of Marine Studies, Otago.