Roving Diver Survey as a Rapid and Cost-Effective Methodology to Register Species Richness in Sub-Antarctic Kelp Forests

Underwater sampling needs to strike a balance between time-efficient and standardized data that allow comparison with different areas times. The roving diver survey involves divers meandering actively searching for species has been useful producing fish lists but seldom implemented benthic taxa. In this study, we used non-destructive technique register associated kelp forests at the sub-Antarctic Bécasses Island (Beagle Channel, Argentina), detecting numerous while providing first multi-taxa inventory area, including macroalgae, invertebrates, fish, supporting photographs of each observation hosted on citizen science platform iNaturalist. This research established timely cost-effective methodology surveys scuba diving in cold waters, promoting obtention new records, sharing, transparency taxonomic curation. Overall, 160 taxa were found, 41 not reported previously area three records southernmost distribution. Other studies nearby extensive efforts arrived similar richness estimations. Our findings reveal using is good approach creating inventories marine species, which will serve better understanding underwater biodiversity future long-term monitoring assess health environments.