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    • Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338)

    Metadata Updated: December 1, 2025

    The data described here, including photographs, genetic sequences, and specimen information, were collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, or ARMS, moored for two years at fixed climate survey sites located on hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in Timor-Leste. Climate sites were established in Timor-Leste in October 2012 to establish ecological baselines for climate change by measuring multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) over time.

    Three ARMS units were typically deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. 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, 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, photographed, and identified to the lowest taxonomic identification possible. The plate photographs, sequences generated from the DNA metabarcoding of the scrapings and the 500- and 100-µm fractions, specimen photographs, and specimen identifications are included in the ARMS dataset. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

    ARMS are used by 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 that 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.

    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 2025-05-16T15:36:14Z
    Metadata Created Date June 25, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) January 19, 2018 (publication), June 14, 2021 (revision)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-05-16T15:36:14Z
    Metadata Created Date June 25, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) January 19, 2018 (publication), June 14, 2021 (revision)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0169338
    Access Constraints Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169338. 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 125.01319
    Bbox North Lat -8.22438
    Bbox South Lat -8.85321
    Bbox West Long 125.49912
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0169338
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 90ae3cfb-7870-4180-b0d1-9ca09d5f7a16
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[125.49912, -8.85321], [125.01319, -8.85321], [125.01319, -8.22438], [125.49912, -8.22438], [125.49912, -8.85321]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2012-10-15
    Temporal Extent End 2014-10-09

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