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National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessing and monitoring cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites across the Mariana Archipelago

Metadata Updated: December 1, 2023

This collection includes species identification data gathered from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS). These ARMS are used by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity in the Mariana Archipelago as part of the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). 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.

This data was gathered at specific reef sites across the Mariana Archipelago. At these sites, divers entered the water and deployed and/or recovered the ARMS unit. Each unit used to gather this data consists 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 is affixed to the reef. They are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract colonizing invertebrates. Please see the data to determine how long a particular unit was underwater as soak times can vary by location.

Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed on-board the research ship. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms and scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for future DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were then sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 um, and 100 um. The 500 um and 100 um fraction was bulked and preserved in 95% ethanol for future DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies. These DNA sequencing data are not included in this collection.

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 2023-08-01T12:32:03Z
Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
Reference Date(s) March 7, 2018 (publication), September 28, 2018 (revision)
Frequency Of Update asNeeded

Metadata Source

Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

Graphic Preview

Preview graphic

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Series
Metadata Date 2023-08-01T12:32:03Z
Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
Reference Date(s) March 7, 2018 (publication), September 28, 2018 (revision)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nodc:NCRMP-ARMS-Marianas
Access Constraints Cite as: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division (2018). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessing and monitoring cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites across the Mariana Archipelago. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5hx1b0k. 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 145.791
Bbox North Lat 20.0296
Bbox South Lat 13.3053
Bbox West Long 144.626
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:NCRMP-ARMS-Marianas
Graphic Preview Type PNG
Harvest Object Id 06947390-ec32-493b-829d-42eb0b294022
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": [[[144.626, 13.3053], [145.791, 13.3053], [145.791, 20.0296], [144.626, 20.0296], [144.626, 13.3053]]]}
Progress onGoing
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2011-04-07

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