About Eureka

Eureka is an open source software to enter and compare SCUBA subtidal monitoring data within fully-protected marine reserves (no-take zones, restoration zones, fishing refuges, core zones) and control sites in a Marine Protected Area (MPA), or a marine area or region with boundaries legally assigned or in a common agreement by govermental agencies, fishing communities, researchers, managers or other users or interested groups.

You can add information (abundance and size) for invertebrate and fish species monitored with transects quadrants or cylinders of any size.

You may also compare the information on abundance and size on any species inside and outside of the no-take zones over time (yearly), and obtain a graphic report of this comparison, and per site.

Eureka was designed flexible enough to be used in any part of the world where invertebrate and fish subtidal monitoring is conducted to evaluate the anthropogenic impact (i.e. fishing, tourism, diving, etc.).

The goal of Eureka is for users to enter information immediately at the end of a monitoring season and obtain basic graphic comparisons quickly to share and discuss with users (e.g. fishers) and managers of the marine area, or other stakeholders interested in these results. In this manner, we will shorten the time it takes experts to analyze the data. In addition, the information in Eureka can be exported to an Excel file for further detailed analyses.

We invite non-governmental organizations, government agencies, fishers, researchers, and other stakeholders interested in using this tool, to enter their information and share it with other groups.

Eureka has four main sections:

Marine Areas. This section lists marine protected areas or marine areas (an area or region of study interest) entered into the system. To add a new marine area it is necessary to enter the Country and Name of the area where the data was recorded, as well as a general description of the area and any other information you may consider important. Likewise, you may edit and search marine areas entered into the system.

Sites. This section lists specific sites with monitoring data within a marine area. You may edit or add a site. The information can be exported to Excel, KML (Google Earth) or Shapefiles. You may also search within sites, or search for sites using the map-based tool.

Surveys. This section lists surveys conducted in each site divided into no-take and take zones (fishing, tourism diving, other zones). You can export site information to Excel. Once the survey information is entered, you will be able to enter information for each observed species (create a record).

Comparisons. In this section you will be able to compare (size and abundance) between no-take and take zones in specific marine areas per species. Graphs will display the data over time inside and outside the no-take zones and per site. A t-test comparing no-take vs. take will also be displayed, in addition to histograms covering all the years (overall, no-take, and take).

Important notes

Size. Our sampling unit is each individual observed. Thus, we estimate the mean size by finding the average of all the individuals per year in and out of the no-take zones and at each site, depending on the comparison.

Abundance (density). Our sampling unit is a transect/quadrant/cylinder. Thus, we estimate the density (individuals/m²) of each transect and then find the average per year inside and outside the no-take zones, or per site, depending on the comparison. An important observation, transects/quadrants/cylinders with zero individuals are included to estimate the mean inside and outside the no-take zones.

On another note, given that transects/quadrants/cylinders will have different sizes, we estimate individuals/m² and then convert to individuals/25m². However, we combine data from transects and quadrants but not from cylinders; these are managed separately.

Using and sharing information

You must register to use Eureka. You will be able to see data summaries of Marine Areas, Sites, and Surveys. In order to access Records, you may: a) request specific data using the Request Form or b) enter and share your monitoring information.

Eureka was developed by Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C. (COBI, www.cobi.org.mx) and Ecotrust www.ecotrust.org) with support from the Marine Ecosystem-Based Management Tool Innovation Fund, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Marisla Foundation, and The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation.

Please email your questions or comments to eureka@cobi.org.mx