University of Guam students are taking part in a national Coral Reef Monitoring Program survey. Starting today, some household residents can expect surveyors to knock on your doors.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is partnering with UOG to find out how much the local community knows about coral reefs. NOAA management liaison Maria Auyong explained what households can expect, saying, "One of the things we are really looking to do in the survey is to find out how Guam residents and people throughout the United States interact with coral reefs. And also to find out if they are benefitting from the coral reefs."

Part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program, the survey aims to improve coral reef conservation programs at local, regional, and national levels. "There was something very specific about how people perceived wildfires and I know thats kind of helped the Department of Agriculture figure out how they want to change their outreach on wildfires," Autong continued.

A concrete action as a result of the first survey in 2016. Auyong says researchers found out that fewer than half of Guam residents knew that wildfires, which contribute to sediment runoff, threatened coral reef health. The Guam Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry and Soil Resources has since added this information to public service announcements.

"So one of the things we can do as a result of the survey, NOAA and Government of Guam natural resources agencies, they can figure out how to improve coral reef conditions and make sure they continue to provide the benefits," she said.

And now on its second cycle, the surveyors are going door-to-door, village-to-village for these next few months are UOG students. "Students are going to be trained to actually recruit participants for the survey. They're actually going to be implementing the survey with participants, doing data collection and data analysis," she said.

These Tritons are taking to the field, gaining real-world research experience. Plus, bringing cultural competency to the table, noting, "One of the great things about UOG students are that some of them are bilingual. So they can help offer the services in other languages."

Household residents will be randomly selected to participate in the 20-minute survey offered in English, CHamoru, Chuukese and Korean.