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    • National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification Rates of Crustose Coralline Algae Derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) Deployed at St. Croix from 2014 to 2019

    Metadata Updated: March 16, 2024

    The calcification rate data described here are from calcification accretion units (CAUs) that have been retrieved (and replaced) at existing, long-term monitoring sites during the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) led NCRMP missions around St. Croix in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019 and processed at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. CAUs are PVC settlement plates that facilitate the recruitment and colonization of crustose coralline algae, hard corals, and other reef calcifiers. Laboratory experiments show that CCA and coral calcification rates are strongly correlated with seawater chemistry, and shifts in carbonate chemistry conditions due to ocean acidification could lead to reduced calcification and accretion rates and ecological phase shifts in coral reef communities.

    Coral reef calcium carbonate accretion rates can be estimated by measuring the change in weight of the CAUs between deployment and retrieval. Monitoring net accretion over successive deployments allows for the detection of changes in reef calcification rates over time. Five units were deployed on the seafloor at each CAU site for 4 years. The number of processed CAUs for a site may be less than the number deployed, either because the units were lost or damaged at sea and therefore not recovered, or in rare instances, due to errors during laboratory processing.

    This study provides information about spatial and temporal patterns of reef carbonate calcification and accretion rates and serves as a basis for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. These data can also be used in comparative analyses across natural gradients, thereby assisting efforts to determine whether key reef-building taxa can acclimatize to changing oceanographic environments. These data will have immediate, direct impacts on predictions of reef resilience in a higher carbon dioxide (CO2) world and on the design of reef management strategies.

    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 February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2018 (creation), 2022-08 (revision), 2022 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2018 (creation), 2022-08 (revision), 2022 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:67513
    Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification Rates of Crustose Coralline Algae Derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) Deployed at St. Croix from 2014 to 2019 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67513., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite NOAA's PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division and AOML Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division when using the data. Suggested Citation: Ecosystem Sciences Division at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (2018). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification Rates of Crustose Coralline Algae Derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) Deployed at St. Croix from 2014 to 2019. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/67513, 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 -64.46711
    Bbox North Lat 17.82805
    Bbox South Lat 17.70121
    Bbox West Long -64.89639
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Harvest Object Id 1c28e8a3-760c-4835-bf70-7e8bfd76e5cf
    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 Assembled CAUs are attached to the benthos using stainless steel threaded rods. Five CAUs are deployed at a survey site. Calcareous organisms, primarily crustose coralline algae and encrusting corals, recruit to these CAUs and accrete/calcify carbonate skeletons over 4 year deployments. Once recovered from the seafloor, the CAUs are processed by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division to provide estimates of net calcification. CAUs have been deployed and recovered in accordance with protocols developed by Price et al. 2012.
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-64.89639, 17.70121], [-64.46711, 17.70121], [-64.46711, 17.82805], [-64.89639, 17.82805], [-64.89639, 17.70121]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2014-05-25
    Temporal Extent End 2018-05-06

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