Methods for Image-based Surveys of Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Their Habitat Exemplified by the Drop Camera Survey for the Atlantic Sea Scallop

Image based surveying is an increasingly practical, non-invasive method to sample the marine environment. We present the protocol of a drop camera survey that estimates the abundance and distribution of the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus). We discuss how this protocol can be generalized for application to other benthic macroinvertebrates.