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    • National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover from Annotated Benthic Images Collected During Photoquadrat Surveys at Climate Stations across the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014

    Metadata Updated: April 19, 2024

    The coral reef benthic community data described here result from the annotation (classification) of benthic images collected during photoquadrat surveys conducted by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD, formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) as part of NOAA's ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). The photoquadrat surveys were conducted at coral reef sites according to protocols established by ESD and NCRMP during ESD-led NCRMP missions to the islands and atolls of the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) from 2014, 2018, and 2023.

    SCUBA divers conducted benthic photoquadrat surveys at permanent sites established in coral reef habitats by ESD. A select number of these sites were chosen in hard-bottom habitat at ~15-m depths, and a subset of the permanent sites (climate stations) were established at north, south, east, and west points around each of the islands and atolls. The divers estimated and delineated each site's rectangular perimeter by temporarily placing measuring tapes with 1-m markers starting from a permanently installed reference stake on the reef. Along the nearshore 10-m side of the survey site and the downslope 5-m side, the measuring tapes marked every meter of the L-shaped 15-m transect used for photoquadrat documentation. The divers photographed the reef at 1-m intervals on both sides of the 15-m tape, generating 30 photographs per survey site.

    The benthic habitat images were quantitatively analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software from 2010-2014 and the web-based annotation tool, CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015), from 2015 to present. Ten points were randomly overlaid on each image and human analysts identified the organism or type of substrate beneath, with 300 annotations (points) generated per site. Benthic elements falling under each point were identified to genus/morphology for hard corals, and to genus/functional group for algae, invertebrates, and other taxa following Lozada-Misa et al. (2017). In general, the analysis resulted in three levels of benthic community data, including taxa group Tier 1 (e.g., coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Coral = massive hard coral, branching hard coral, foliose hard coral, encrusting hard coral, etc.; Macroalga = upright macroalgae), and Tier 3 (e.g., Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.). If Tier 3 resolution is not possible, the next finest resolution is used.. These benthic data can ultimately be used to produce estimates of relative abundance (percentage of benthic cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition, and relative generic richness.

    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 April 10, 2024
    Metadata Created Date April 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date April 19, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2016-12 (creation), 2023-11 (revision), 2024-03 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date April 10, 2024
    Metadata Created Date April 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date April 19, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2016-12 (creation), 2023-11 (revision), 2024-03 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:36148
    Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover from Annotated Benthic Images Collected During Photoquadrat Surveys at Climate Stations across the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36148., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data. Example: Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2019: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover from Annotated Benthic Images Collected During Photoquadrat Surveys at Climate Stations across the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36148., Distribution Liability: 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.
    Bbox East Long -159.97881
    Bbox North Lat 16.76343
    Bbox South Lat -0.38241
    Bbox West Long -176.624
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Harvest Object Id 3982aaea-0e7d-4a03-a6be-502ac713f637
    Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
    Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage Benthic photographs were collected during photoquadrat surveys conducted at permanent sites and climate stations in coral reef habitats by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division. The imagery was later analyzed using Coral Point Count with Excel Extentions (CPCe; 2014 and prior) or CoralNet (starting in 2015) to generate benthic community data.
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-176.624, -0.38241], [-159.97881, -0.38241], [-159.97881, 16.76343], [-176.624, 16.76343], [-176.624, -0.38241]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2014-03-16
    Temporal Extent End 2014-03-19

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