Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessment Quadrat Surveys of Corals around the Marianas Islands from 2003 to 2007

The Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP), established by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), is tasked with documenting and understanding the status and trends of coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. Pacific. Pacific RAMP involves an interdisciplinary series of integrated ecosystem observations of coral reefs around ~ 50 islands, atolls, and shallow-water banks of the Mariana Archipelago, American Samoa, the Hawaiian Archipelago, and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Pacific RAMP surveys are designed to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the distribution, abundance, and diversity of corals, algae, other macro-invertebrates, and fishes in the context of their benthic habitats and oceanographic environments.

As part of this Pacific-wide monitoring effort, CRED conducted its first Pacific RAMP research cruise to the Mariana Archipelago (MARAMP) in 2003, with subsequent cruises to follow on a biennial cycle through 2011, and on a triennial cycle thereafter when Pacific RAMP was implemented as part of NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP).

The coral data described herein were collected via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys following the quadrat method, and conducted at specific reef sites around the islands and reefs of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) during MARAMP 2003, 2005, and 2007. During MARAMP 2003, 2005, and 2007, the majority of REA surveys were conducted along the fore reef slopes of islands at depths of 10-20 m; however, other habitat types were also surveyed. During REA surveys, biological assessment teams---a fish team, a coral team, and a combined algal and macro-invertebrate team---followed highly structured protocols that were repeated at each REA site. REA sites were selected in 2003 and, when possible, revisited during 2005 and 2007; a few additional sites were added in 2005 and 2007, and were chosen based on consultations with the resource management agencies of each jurisdiction.

Quadrat surveys were conducted at all islands surveyed during MARAMP 2003, all but one island during MARAMP 2005, and at 10 of 15 islands during MARAMP 2007. The quadrat method was only employed during surveys in the Mariana Archipelago, and the method was retired from Pacific RAMP following MARAMP 2007.

The quadrat survey data include species/genus identification of individual coral colonies and empirical size measurements (colony length and width) that can provide metrics such as generic richness and composition, coral-colony density, and size distribution (not included in the dataset), and can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0129066.

One of the primary objectives for the Pacific RAMP activities in the U.S. Pacific islands is to employ complementary and overlapping methods to assess and monitor species composition, abundance, percentage of cover, size distribution, diversity, and general health of fishes, corals, algae, and other macroinvertebrates in shallow-water (less than 35 meter) habitats.

The quadrat surveys described herein are part of this long-term monitoring program in which corals, algae, fish, and other macro-invertebrates were co-sampled along the same set of transect lines at biennial intervals. These surveys precede the benthic monitoring methods adopted by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) starting in 2013 and first employed in the Mariana Archipelago in 2014 as part of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program's ongoing Pacific RAMP.

The Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) survey protocol described herein (quadrat method: CNMI in 2003/2005/2007, and Guam 2003) differs substantially from the REA survey protocol (belt-transect method) used on other NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP)-sponsored cruises in other U.S. Pacific locations by CREP since 2002. See 'Chapter 2: Methods & Operational Background' of the "Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report of the Mariana Archipelago: 2003-2007", or "Appendix B. Corals", pg 11 in the Oscar Elton Sette cruise report, 05-12, for further details. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/cruise/Sette/CR0512-1.RES.pdf.

For each quadrat, raw survey data includes individual colonies identified by species or genus and empirical size measurements - measured maximum diameter (centimeter) of each colony (colony length), and diameter (centimeter) measured perpendicular to the maximum diameter (colony width).

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.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015:

CREP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. CREP has a very diverse set of field activities that generates large volumes of data using an array of data collection protocols.

The following recommendations are for your consideration as you use this data:

1) Data analyses should take all field exigencies into account. The most effective way to do this would be active collaboration with CREP principal investigators.

2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by CREP, proper acknowledgement of both CREP and the individuals responsible for data collection is expected. Citing the DOI (if available) is preferred, a non-DOI example is listed below.

3) If you collect or generate data for the same study areas, CREP requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections.

4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the CREP Data Management Team of any errors and discrepancies that are discovered during the course of using these data. They are further urged to bring to the attention of the Team all problems and difficulties encountered in using these data. This information is necessary in order to improve the collections and to facilitate more efficient and economical data processing and retrieval. The users are asked to supply copies of any missing data that may be located, and to provide information as to significant subsets and special aggregations of data that are developed in using the material provided.

Example citation:

"This publication makes use of data products provided by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). The analysis and interpretations presented here are solely that of the current authors”

Data can be accessed via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0129066.

None

Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data.

Example

Cite as: Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2015). Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessment Quadrat Surveys of Corals around the Marianas Islands from 2003 to 2007 (NCEI Accession 0129066). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Unpublished Dataset. [access date]

None

None

Oracle database view: V0_CORAL_OBS_QUAD.

The survey sites were selected to be representative of the dominant habitats at this reef system. Transects may not be representative of a site.

Observations were made by divers who are experts in coral biology. The coral colony survey was conducted one time per site per survey year; it was not replicated.

The non-random nature of site selection places limits on the degree to which biotic metrics can be extrapolated through statistical inference to the larger population around an island or bank.

Because transects were not placed at the exact same location at a Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) site each year and transects may not be representative of a site, interannual site comparisons need to be approached with caution. Variations in survey results between MARAMP survey years can result from transect placement and the addition of REA sites in subsequent years. However, revisiting the same REA sites each cruise does provide a basis for quantifying temporal trends in condition, which is a priority of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program's long-term monitoring efforts.

Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) sites were selected in 2003 for MARAMP 2003 and, when possible, revisited during MARAMP 2005 and 2007; a few additional sites were added in 2005 and 2007. Randomization methods were not used for site selection in 2003. NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) chose REA sites in consultation with the resource management agencies of each jurisdiction. The following aims were considered during REA site selection: (1) a range of survey sites representative of the benthic and reef-fish habitats around each island or reef, (2) a mixture of sites within and outside of marine protected areas, (3) a mixture of sites likely to have been affected significantly by human activities and sites likely to have little human disturbance, (4) some sites adjacent to local villages, and (5) a number of sites that could be compared to and complement previous assessment and monitoring work done by local agencies.

Additionally, it is important to note that wave exposure, weather conditions, and other environmental factors, such as currents, can limit access to REA sites and affect CREP's ability to survey sites again in subsequent MARAMP survey years.

Octocorals were not included in this census, with the exception of the blue coral Heliopora coerulea.

The same methods of data collection were used at each of the sites surveyed as described in this dataset.

Data resides in PIFSC ITS Oracle database. Standard language to be provided by ITS.

The quadrat survey method was used to collect coral assemblage data as part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys. Generic richness, colony density, and size distribution of coral colonies can be calculated from the data.