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Guam Long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Program Benthic Percent Cover Derived from Image Analysis since 2010

Metadata Updated: March 22, 2025

The Government of Guam's Long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Program, coordinated through the Guam Coastal Management Program until October 2013 and now coordinated through the University of Guam Marine Laboratory, involves the collection of data for a suite of coral reef ecosystem health parameters at several high priority reef sites around the island of Guam. Various coral reef surveys are carried out on an annual or biennial basis along the seaward slope between 7 and 15 m depth in the Tumon Bay Marine Preserve, East Agana Bay, the Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve, the Achang Reef Flat Marine Preserve, and the eastern side of the Cocos Barrier Reef (Cocos-East). Data collection is also carried out on a less frequent basis along the seaward slope (5-8 m) in Fouha Bay and along the reef margin (1-2 m) and slope (2-15 m) of Western Shoals, in Apra Harbor. The surveys, which are conducted by University of Guam Marine Lab and NOAA PIRO biologists at numerous permanent and non-permanent sampling stations within each site, currently include benthic photo transects, quadrat surveys for coral colony size and condition, stationary point count fish surveys, macroinvertebrate belt transects, and chain-length rugosity surveys. The data products described herein document the status and trends for benthic cover and composition at the monitoring sites mentioned above. Benthic cover and coral and algal generic diversity are currently assessed using digital photo transects. The still images provide a permanent record of the transects and are quantitatively analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) point sampling software to obtain benthic cover estimates. Power analyses support the methodological approach, whereby statistically sound benthic cover estimates can be successfully derived. Benthic percent cover is calculated at the sampling station level (= one 25 m transect) for data derived from benthic images. Benthic percent cover has been derived from images collected at sites during surveys from 2010 through 2012 and quality control has been completed for these data. Additionally, benthic cover data has also been derived from images collected at sites during surveys in 2014, but quality control has not yet been completed for these , and analysis of images collected during 2015 surveys is currently underway. Surveys were not carried out in 2013.

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 December 15, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
Metadata Updated Date March 22, 2025
Reference Date(s) September 16, 2015 (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) September 16, 2015 (publication)
Responsible Party University of Guam Marine Lab (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid Guam_LTMP_Benthic_Percent_Cover_from_Image_Analysis
Access Constraints Use Constraints: Please cite the University of Guam Marine Laboratory when using data collected after October 2013 and the Guam Coastal Management Program when using data collected prior to October 2013 (Guam Coastal Management Program, Bureau of Statistics and Plans, Government of Guam), Access Constraints: None
Bbox East Long 144.794727
Bbox North Lat 13.51278
Bbox South Lat 13.449823
Bbox West Long 144.653686
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update ASNEEDED
Harvest Object Id 106120b6-1a1f-4842-a0d0-264a76afba8b
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, the University of Guam Marine Laboratory and the Guam Coastal Management Program 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. The University of Guam Marine Laboratory and the Guam Coastal Management Program make 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": [[[144.653686, 13.449823], [144.794727, 13.449823], [144.794727, 13.51278], [144.653686, 13.51278], [144.653686, 13.449823]]]}
Progress underDevelopment
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2010-08-01
Temporal Extent End 2015-07-01

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