Though it is precise, Hippo-HABITAT photographic protocol is quite an easy task: five observation data, a series of photos (to be taken according to specific instructions) and that’s all !
When you meet a seahorse or a pipefish, you have to take (at least):
• One photo of the animal (to enable checking species and gender, and describing colour and morphological features).
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• Two photos of its near environment (taken from two different angles).
• Photos of four spots around the specimen (taken crosswise one meter away from the animal).
You must also write down:
• The specimen size.
• The depth of the meeting point.
• The slope gradient (using a simple code, see memory-aid sheet).
• The convexity of the bottom (see memory-aid sheet).
• The kind of substrate: sand, mud, rock…(which is not always easy to determinate on a picture).
