| During long-term monitoring, protocols suitable in the initial context may have to change afterward because of unforeseen events. The outcome for management can be important if the consequences of changing protocols are not understood. In Tuamotu Archipelago atolls, French Polynesia, the density of giant clams (Tridacna maxima) has been monitored for 12years, but massive mortalities and collapsing densities forced to shift from a line-intercept transects and quadrats (LIT-Q) method to a belt-transect (BT) method. We investigated with a simulation approach the conditions (density, size structure, aggregation of giant clam populations) under which the two methods provided different results. A statistical model relating the BT density to the LIT-Q density was... |
