COVERater-A Free Application for Training Researchers to Accurately Estimate Species Cover in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems.

Visual estimates of cover are widely used among ecologists, from describing vegetation communities to tracking and monitoring species' abundance. However, despite the known bias associated with visual estimates, no standardised training is available to improve these measurements. We developed a free online training tool, the COVERater, that effectively teaches users to visually estimate the percent cover of species in a variety of ecosystems (including alpine heath, arid lands, coral reefs, temperate reefs and wetlands).