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Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea from 2009 to 2012

Metadata Updated: March 16, 2024

Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) are used by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity across the Pacific. Developed in collaboration with the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems (CReefs), ARMS are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract/collect colonizing marine invertebrates. The key innovation of the ARMS method is biodiversity is sampled over precisely the same surface area in the exact same manner. Thus, the use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community over time.

The data described here were collected by CREP from ARMS units moored at fixed climate survey sites located in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Climate sites were established by CREP to assess multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) from September 2009 to September 2012, and three ARMS units were deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Each ARMS unit, constructed in-house by CREP, consisted of 23 cm x 23 cm gray, type 1 PVC plates stacked in alternating series of 4 open and 4 obstructed layers and attached to a base plate of 35 cm x 45 cm, which was affixed to the reef. Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms and scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 µm, and 100 µm. The 500 µm and 100 µm fractions were bulked and also preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies. This dataset includes information on the species counted and identified in the 2 mm fraction.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 1, 2021
Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2021 (publication)
Frequency Of Update notPlanned

Metadata Source

Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

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Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 1, 2021
Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2021 (publication)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:64757
Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea from 2009 to 2012 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/64757., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data. Suggested citation: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2021). Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea from 2009 to 2012. NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/0237816., Distribution Liability: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
Bbox East Long 150.131315
Bbox North Lat -5.28353
Bbox South Lat -5.308874
Bbox West Long 150.126428
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update notPlanned
Graphic Preview File https://origin-apps-pifsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/cred/images/arms_install_sm.jpg
Graphic Preview Type JPEG
Harvest Object Id bf579f6e-090b-4e26-b59d-c5602361539b
Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
Lineage Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) are assembled, deployed on the benthos for 1-3 years during which time they are colonized with marine organisms, recovered and processed as described below. The > 2-mm organisms are identified and counted, and the data is recorded in an MS Access database.
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[150.126428, -5.308874], [150.131315, -5.308874], [150.131315, -5.28353], [150.126428, -5.28353], [150.126428, -5.308874]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2009-09-01
Temporal Extent End 2012-09-12

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