A Low-Cost Protocol for Measuring Coral Reef Bleaching Indicators at 475 Sites

Abstract

Recent advances in spectroscopic approaches have opened new routes to studying coral reef bleaching indicators. Our protocol combines spectroscopic estimation with a lightweight validation pipeline designed to be reproducible by student laboratories. Results show a 6% gain in accuracy alongside a marked reduction in variance between replicates. We discuss limitations and outline directions for follow-up work at the undergraduate level.