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Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected in the Hawaiian Archipelago During the 2019 Bleaching Event

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 11:23 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 01, 2022 at 12:00 AM
The data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites (StRS), as well as climate stations and permanent sites, surveyed across the Hawaiian Archipelago during the 2019 bleaching event. Benthic habitat imagery was quantitatively analyzed using the web-based annotation tool CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2016) with the addition of codes for bleaching of hard coral. In general, images are analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1 (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting, etc.; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda, etc.), and Tier 3 (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.). For each category of hard coral, a bleached and non-bleached option existed during analysis to facilitate the collection of coral bleaching percent cover data. In the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and some sites in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), a StRS design was employed to select random sites. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth in all regions, as well as habitat structure type in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (percent cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution. Surveys conducted in the Main Hawaiian Islands were conducted during shore-based missions and were all StRS, whereas surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were performed opportunistically during the regularly scheduled NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) mission and encompassed StRS as well as fixed sites, which include climate stations and permanent sites The data from the benthic cover surveys can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

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31283 Hawaii coral bleaching assessment and analysis Numeric Data Sets > Benthic EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Microbiota > Blue-green Algae EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae

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@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
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  "hasEmail": "mailto:datagovsupport@gsa.gov"
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describedByType application/octet-steam
description The data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites (StRS), as well as climate stations and permanent sites, surveyed across the Hawaiian Archipelago during the 2019 bleaching event. Benthic habitat imagery was quantitatively analyzed using the web-based annotation tool CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2016) with the addition of codes for bleaching of hard coral. In general, images are analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1 (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting, etc.; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda, etc.), and Tier 3 (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.). For each category of hard coral, a bleached and non-bleached option existed during analysis to facilitate the collection of coral bleaching percent cover data. In the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and some sites in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), a StRS design was employed to select random sites. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth in all regions, as well as habitat structure type in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (percent cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution. Surveys conducted in the Main Hawaiian Islands were conducted during shore-based missions and were all StRS, whereas surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were performed opportunistically during the regularly scheduled NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) mission and encompassed StRS as well as fixed sites, which include climate stations and permanent sites The data from the benthic cover surveys can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
distribution 
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    "description": "Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites (StRS)  and fixed sites across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) during the 2019 bleaching surveys",
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/iso/xml/59195.xml
issued 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "31283",
  "Hawaii coral bleaching assessment and analysis",
  "Numeric Data Sets > Benthic",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Microbiota > Blue-green Algae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Turf Algae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Quadrat Monitoring > Photograph Analysis",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Point Counts",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Photographic Analysis",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Rapid Assessment Studies",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Mollusks > Tridacna",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Octocoral Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Plants > Seagrass",
  "REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER",
  "RAINIER",
  "CORAL REEF STUDIES",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program",
  "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > French Frigate Shoals (24N166W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Kure Atoll (28N178W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Lisianski Island (25N173W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Oahu (21N157W0003)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Pearl and Hermes Reef (27N176W0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Maui Island (20N156W0004)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii Island > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Lanai Island > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Maui Island > Maui Island (20N156W0004)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > French Frigate Shoals (24N166W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Kure Atoll (28N178W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Lisianski Island (25N173W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Pearl and Hermes Reef (27N176W0001)",
  "North Pacific Ocean",
  "Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument",
  "CRED",
  "CREP",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "ESD",
  "Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "PIFSC",
  "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "bleaching",
  "coralnet",
  "MHI",
  "Main Hawaiian Islands",
  "NWHI",
  "Northwestern Hawaiian Islands",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "Ocean and Climate Change"
]
landingPage https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/59195
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
rights otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial -155.88832,19.31344,-178.383718,28.459215
temporal 2019-10-08T00:00:00+00:00/2019-11-14T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected in the Hawaiian Archipelago During the 2019 Bleaching Event

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