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Benthic percent cover derived from image analysis for selected locations in the Pacific Ocean

Metadata Updated: March 22, 2025

The data products described herein are part of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded projects aimed at documenting the status and trends for benthic cover and composition on coral reef ecosystems across the U.S. Pacific States and Territories, conducted, by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). Benthic habitat imagery collected as a part of Towed-diver Surveys (TDS) and Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish are quantitatively analyzed implementing the Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software, whereby 10 stratified random points are projected on each image and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point will be identified to three functional groups levels: 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.). Power analyses support the methodological approach outlined above, whereby statistically sound sub-jurisdictional (island) level, benthic cover estimates can be successfully derived from REA and TDS photos. Benthic percent cover at the island level can be determined from data derived from towed-diver survey images while benthic percent cover is calculated at the site level for data derived from stratified random sampling images. Benthic percent cover has been derived from imagery collected during TDS every other year in American Samoa from 2004 to 2010, Guam from 2005 to 2011, and the Main Hawaiian Islands from 2006 to 2010 as well as 2005, and during REA surveys in American Samoa in 2010, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in 2011, and the Main Hawaiian Islands in 2010 and 2013, survey imagery for Guam and the CNMI collected in 2014 is currently being analyzed (as of the publication date of this record).

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

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Dates

Metadata Date December 15, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
Metadata Updated Date March 22, 2025
Reference Date(s) October 9, 2014 (publication)
Frequency Of Update ASNEEDED

Metadata Source

Harvested from CoRIS FGDC Metadata

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date December 15, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
Metadata Updated Date March 22, 2025
Reference Date(s) October 9, 2014 (publication)
Responsible Party Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid CRED_ImageAnalysis
Access Constraints Use Constraints: Please cite CRED when using data. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Access Constraints: None
Bbox East Long -154.8093939
Bbox North Lat 22.24683668
Bbox South Lat -14.88716
Bbox West Long 144.6203727
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update ASNEEDED
Harvest Object Id dd158f7f-f688-493f-8300-08df00330d5a
Harvest Source Id d96f14c5-3e35-4b0a-a3b8-9392afeb50fa
Harvest Source Title CoRIS FGDC Metadata
Licence 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.
Lineage
Metadata Language eng; USA
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[144.6203727, -14.88716], [-154.8093939, -14.88716], [-154.8093939, 22.24683668], [144.6203727, 22.24683668], [144.6203727, -14.88716]]]}
Progress underDevelopment
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2004-02-01
Temporal Extent End 2014-05-01

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