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National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic cover derived from analysis of images collected from climate stations across the Mariana Archipelago

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 08:14 AM | Dataset Last Updated: June 30, 2023 at 12:00 AM
The benthic cover data in this collection result from the analysis of images produced during benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at climate stations and permanent sites across the Mariana Archipelago. These sites were identified by the Ocean and Climate Change team and the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software from 2010-2014 and a web-based annotation tool called CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015) from 2015 to present. 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.). The imagery analyzed in order to produce the benthic cover data is also included in this collection.

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  • CRCP Benthic Cover Climate Stations Pacific

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  • NCEI Dataset Landing Page

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  • Granule Search

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  • https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36144

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  • https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157633

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  • https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36147

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  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2005.11.009

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  • https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130312

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  • GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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  • NCEI Contact Information

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0157721 0157759 0202138 0202299 0279414 0279443 BENTHIC COMMUNITIES BENTHIC SPECIES

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description The benthic cover data in this collection result from the analysis of images produced during benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at climate stations and permanent sites across the Mariana Archipelago. These sites were identified by the Ocean and Climate Change team and the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software from 2010-2014 and a web-based annotation tool called CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015) from 2015 to present. 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.). The imagery analyzed in order to produce the benthic cover data is also included in this collection.
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/NCRMP-Climate-Images-Marianas.xml
issued 2017-01-04T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "0157721",
  "0157759",
  "0202138",
  "0202299",
  "0279414",
  "0279443",
  "BENTHIC COMMUNITIES",
  "BENTHIC SPECIES",
  "BENTHIC SPECIES - TAXA COUNTS",
  "BENTHIC SPECIES - TAXA IDENTITIES",
  "biological data",
  "CORAL",
  "CORAL - CENSUS",
  "CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION",
  "HABITAT - BENTHIC",
  "PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES",
  "REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER",
  "camera",
  "laboratory analysis",
  "photograph",
  "biological",
  "imagery",
  "in situ",
  "laboratory analyses",
  "visual estimate",
  "NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai",
  "NOAA Ship Rainier",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
  "CORAL REEF STUDIES",
  "National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP)",
  "Pacific Reef and Assessment Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP)",
  "North Pacific Ocean",
  "Philippine Sea",
  "oceanography",
  "CRED",
  "CREP",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division",
  "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
  "ESD",
  "Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "PIFSC",
  "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "RAMP",
  "Reef Asessment and Monitoring Program",
  "Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS > National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "743",
  "National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP)",
  "Numeric Data Sets > Benthic",
  "Visual Images > Habitats",
  "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 > Baseline studies",
  "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 > Belt Transect",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Linear Transect (point)",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect monitoring",
  "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",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Climate Change",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES > CORAL REEFS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS > CORAL REEFS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING > VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS > VISIBLE IMAGERY",
  "CAMERA > CAMERA",
  "Ships",
  "Hi'ialakai (call sign: WTEY, ICES code: 33HL, 2004-)",
  "RAINIER (call sign: WTEF, ICES code: 315R, 1968-)",
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  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Maug > Maug Island (20N145E0001)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Pagan > Pagan Island (18N145E0001)",
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  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Saipan > Saipan Island (15N145E0002)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Tinian > Tinian Island (14N145E0005)",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Asuncion Island > Asuncion Island (19N145E0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Farallon de Pajaros > Farallon de Pajaros (20N144E0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Mariana Archipelago > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Maug Island > Maug Island (20N145E0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Pagan Island > Pagan Island (18N145E0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Rota Island > Rota Island ( Luta ) (14N145E0007)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Saipan Island > Saipan Island (15N145E0002)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Tinian Island Reefs > Tinian Island (14N145E0005)",
  "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN",
  "CNMI",
  "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands",
  "Mariana Archipelago",
  "Marianas",
  "Triennial",
  "7FWYWA",
  "9DYJ61",
  "C215AX",
  "RHRMTG",
  "UY4HRJ",
  "Y86E3K"
]
landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2023-06-30T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
[
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36144",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157633",
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36147",
  "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2005.11.009",
  "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130312"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial 145.816,13.2413,144.626,20.0354
temporal 2014-03-25T00:00:00+00:00/2014-03-25T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic cover derived from analysis of images collected from climate stations across the Mariana Archipelago

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