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    • 2013 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Reef Crest Benthic and Fish Communities of Stetson Bank, northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NCEI Accession 0246785)

    Metadata Updated: March 17, 2023

    This dataset contains raw and processed data from an annual long-term monitoring study that documents the benthic and fish community changes at Stetson Bank, in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Stetson Bank is an uplifted claystone/siltstone feature, located 75 nautical miles from Galveston, TX in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, that supports a well-developed benthic community of scleractinian coral and tropical marine sponges. Due to a wide range of temperatures and variable light availability, Stetson Bank has marginal environmental conditions for coral reef development and growth. The fish community is similar to other Caribbean reefs but has comparatively lower diversity.

    Monitoring has occurred on the bank crest (17-34 m) of the site since 1993. Bank crest monitoring includes random transect and repetitive photostation photographs of the benthos to estimate percent cover of major taxonomic groups (e.g., coral, sponge, algae). Benthic photographs are analyzed using Coral Point Count (CPCe) and output into Microsoft Excel worksheets. These data are analyzed for temporal community changes in Primer. Fish census surveys are conducted annually using a modified Bohnsack and Bannerot stationary method, both at random and repetitive sites. Fish data are recorded in Microsoft Excel worksheets. Primer software is used to identify any temporal shifts that occur in the fish community. Water quality parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, turbidity, nutrients) are measured with moored conductivity temperature depth (CTD) instruments and quarterly profiles of the water column are performed. Temperature and salinity data are reduced to report daily averages.

    The bank crest benthic community at Stetson Bank has undergone several significant shifts, changing from a habitat predominated by hydrocoral and sponges to one of macroalgae and sponges. The fish community on the bank crest has varied annually. Exotic fish species are present at the bank, including lionfish (Pterois volitans/P. miles) and regal demoiselle (Neopomacentrus cyanomos). Fluctuations in oceanic conditions, macroalgae cover, and continued annual variation in fish communities were documented.

    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.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date 2022-07-25T19:45:23Z
    Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date March 17, 2023
    Reference Date(s) January 28, 2022 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Graphic not available.

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2022-07-25T19:45:23Z
    Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date March 17, 2023
    Reference Date(s) January 28, 2022 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0246785
    Access Constraints Cite as: Blakeway, Raven D.; Nuttall, Marissa F.; Hickerson, Emma L.; Schmahl, G.P.; Sinclair, James (2022). 2013 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Reef Crest Benthic and Fish Communities of Stetson Bank, northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NCEI Accession 0246785). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Unpublished Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0246785. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -94.28
    Bbox North Lat 28.16
    Bbox South Lat 28.15
    Bbox West Long -94.3
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Graphic not available.
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0246785
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id c84812e6-5c67-4b5e-a329-c33954bc11bc
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence Data in this archival information package are not currently available for public download from NCEI. Please contact NCEI directly for access to these data., accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-94.3, 28.15], [-94.28, 28.15], [-94.28, 28.16], [-94.3, 28.16], [-94.3, 28.15]]]}
    Progress pending
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2013-01-01
    Temporal Extent End 2013-12-31

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