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    • National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic cover derived from analysis of images collected during stratified random surveys (StRS) across the Pacific Remote Island Areas

    Metadata Updated: December 1, 2023

    The benthic cover data in this collection result from the analysis of images produced by benthic photo-quadrat surveys. These surveys were conducted along transects at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014 as a part of the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program's (NCRMP) Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish. Benthic cover data and the associated images are both included in this collection.

    A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems throughout the U.S. Pacific regions. 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. 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.

    Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software in 2014 and a web-based annotation tool called CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015) thereafter. In general, images were 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.).

    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 2023-08-01T12:34:29Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
    Reference Date(s) March 7, 2018 (publication), July 30, 2021 (revision)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Series
    Metadata Date 2023-08-01T12:34:29Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
    Reference Date(s) March 7, 2018 (publication), July 30, 2021 (revision)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:NCRMP-StRS-Images-PRIA
    Access Constraints Cite as: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division (2018). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic cover derived from analysis of images collected during stratified random surveys (StRS) across the Pacific Remote Island Areas. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5154fbh. 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 -159.972
    Bbox North Lat 19.3257
    Bbox South Lat -0.382556
    Bbox West Long 166.594
    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-StRS-Images-PRIA
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id b0fa7943-bedd-48aa-a278-e2acd997a717
    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": [[[166.594, -0.382556], [-159.972, -0.382556], [-159.972, 19.3257], [166.594, 19.3257], [166.594, -0.382556]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2014-03-16

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