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Summary

Short Citation
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2024: Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588.
Full Citation Examples

Abstract

A team from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys. Areas surveyed included south Oahu, west Maui, Lana’i, and west Hawaii island. Over the course of 10 survey days, the team surveyed approximately 90 km of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from 2 to 10 m.

Data provided in this dataset include visual estimates recorded by towed divers of percentage of live coral that was pale and bleached, as well as presence/absence data of condition by generic composition. Analysis of observer data reveals estimates of live coral affected by the event (pale or bleached) show a regional mean of 38.8% (+/- 1.96% CI95), with large variation in impact apparent between transects on the same island separated by as little as 13 km.

Additionally, instruments mounted on the towboards collected other in-situ data that are documented separately. A downward-facing DSLR camera with strobes collected photographic quadrat data by capturing an image of the benthos at 15-second intervals during the surveys. Oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, flourometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen.

The towed-diver visual estimate data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Distribution Information

  • CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)

    Observations from towed-diver surveys of benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted around the Main Hawaiian Islands (HA1602) in 2015.

Access Constraints:

None

Use Constraints:

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

Suggested citation:

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588

Controlled Theme Keywords

biota

Child Items

Type Title
Entity View: VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS

Contact Information

Point of Contact
Thomas Oliver
thomas.oliver@noaa.gov
(808)725-5444

Metadata Contact
Annette M DesRochers
annette.desrochers@noaa.gov
(808)725-5461

Extents

Geographic Area 1

-157.94722922° W, -155.82934199° E, 21.30306893° N, 19.74853696° S

Extent of underwater surveys in Main Hawaiian Islands in November 2015.

Time Frame 1
2015-11-03 - 2015-11-18

Time frame of surveys conducted in Main Hawaiian Islands.

Item Identification

Title: Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015
Short Name: Bleaching: 2015 Towed-Diver Observations
Status: Completed
Publication Date: 2016
Abstract:

A team from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 mass coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys. Areas surveyed included south Oahu, west Maui, Lana’i, and west Hawaii island. Over the course of 10 survey days, the team surveyed approximately 90 km of 15-m wide transects at depths ranging from 2 to 10 m.

Data provided in this dataset include visual estimates recorded by towed divers of percentage of live coral that was pale and bleached, as well as presence/absence data of condition by generic composition. Analysis of observer data reveals estimates of live coral affected by the event (pale or bleached) show a regional mean of 38.8% (+/- 1.96% CI95), with large variation in impact apparent between transects on the same island separated by as little as 13 km.

Additionally, instruments mounted on the towboards collected other in-situ data that are documented separately. A downward-facing DSLR camera with strobes collected photographic quadrat data by capturing an image of the benthos at 15-second intervals during the surveys. Oceanographic data was collected continuously throughout each survey with a suite of mounted sensors recording conductivity, temperature, depth, flourometry (chlorophyll-a), turbidity and dissolved oxygen.

The towed-diver visual estimate data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Purpose:

The 2014–2015 global coral bleaching event brought widespread and severe impacts to the entire Hawaiian archipelago. In 2015, the corals of the Main Hawaiian Islands were subjected to unprecedented levels of thermal stress that resulted in the most severe coral bleaching ever recorded in the islands. To report on the event, local researchers and reef managers conducted free-swimming diver surveys in areas generally accessible via same-day field excursions. In an effort to survey larger high coral cover areas that are difficult for local researchers and managers to access via day-long field trips, a team from CREP deployed on a two-week research cruise in November 2015 aboard the NOAA ship Hi‘ialaka‘i to evaluate the impacts of the 2015 coral bleaching event in the Main Hawaiian Islands via towed-diver surveys.

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Numeric Data Sets > Biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Bleaching > Bleaching Resistance
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Alert Area
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching > Bleaching Thermal Stress
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Photic Zone Corals
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Habitats
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Dead percentage
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities
CRCP Project 31075
CRCP Project Observing and Documenting Predicted 2015/2016 Mass Coral Bleaching Events in Hawaii
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL-BLEACHING
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - biological
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - coral reef
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - swimmer/diver
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS tows
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS visual estimate
NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS HI'IALAKAI
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Coral Reef Conservation Program
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CORAL REEF STUDIES
NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
None CRED
None CREP
None Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
None PIFSC
None TDS
None towboard
None towed diver
None Towed-diver surveys

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Hawaii > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Honolulu > Oahu (21N157W0003)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaii > Maui > Maui Island (20N156W0004)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands (21N157W0027)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii > Hawaii (21N160W0000)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Hawaii Island > Hawaii Island (19N155W0003)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Lanai Island > Lanai Island (20N156W0002)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Maui Island > Maui Island (20N156W0004)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)
NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS North Pacific Ocean
None Main Hawaiian Islands
None MHI

Physical Location

Organization: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
City: Honolulu
State/Province: HI
Country: USA

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Data Set Type: CSV Files
Maintenance Frequency: None Planned
Data Presentation Form: Table (digital)
Entity Attribute Detail URL: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35795
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.

Data Set Credit: PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 325664
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Pomeroy, Noah
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: noah.pomeroy@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5439
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Distributor

CC ID: 351762
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Email Address: ncei.info@noaa.gov
URL: NCEI Contact Information

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 325666
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): DesRochers, Annette M
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: annette.desrochers@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5461
Business Hours: 8 am - 5 pm
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Originator

CC ID: 325667
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: pifsc.info@noaa.gov
Phone: 808-725-5360
URL: https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
Business Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Originator

CC ID: 325668
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
Address: 1305 East West Highway 10th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281
Phone: (301) 713-3155
URL: https://coralreef.noaa.gov

Point of Contact

CC ID: 325665
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Oliver, Thomas
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: thomas.oliver@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5444
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

View Historical Support Roles

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Description:

Main Hawaiian Islands

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 325696
W° Bound: -157.94722922
E° Bound: -155.82934199
N° Bound: 21.30306893
S° Bound: 19.74853696
Description

Extent of underwater surveys in Main Hawaiian Islands in November 2015.

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 325697
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2015-11-03
End: 2015-11-18
Alternate Start As Of Info: HA1602
Description:

Time frame of surveys conducted in Main Hawaiian Islands.

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Security Classification System:

Not applicable

Security Handling Description:

Not applicable

Data Access Policy:

NOAA 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 Access Procedure:

Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Data Access Constraints:

None

Data Use Constraints:

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

Suggested citation:

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). Towed-Diver Observations in the Main Hawaiian Islands to Assess the Mass Coral Bleaching Event in November 2015. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32588

Metadata Access Constraints:

None

Metadata Use Constraints:

None

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 351763
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157624
Distributor:
File Name: VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS.csv
Description:

Observations from towed-diver surveys of benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted around the Main Hawaiian Islands (HA1602) in 2015.

File Type (Deprecated): csv (comma-separated values)
Distribution Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 325703
URL: https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/towboard.php
URL Type:
Online Resource

Technical Environment

Description:

PIFSC Oracle database view: VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS

The latitude and longitude coordinates of the survey track are recorded using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on-board the tow boat. The survey track is georeferenced and a layback model is applied (python script in ESRI ArcGIS for Desktop) that more accurately maps the positions of the recorded observations.

Data Quality

Representativeness:

This survey effort specifically targeted areas of known high coral coverage to evaluate bleaching impact. Although efforts are made to include broad spatial coverage of high coral cover areas at each island, poor weather and sea conditions prevented the team from surveying various reef areas.

Accuracy:

Towed-diver visual observations were made by divers who have been trained in the identification of coral genera and the estimation of area of coverage. Prior to the research cruise, divers calibrated their estimates of area of coverage and judgement of paling or bleaching via free-swimming diver surveys of 10 m x 10 m transect boxes. The positions of observations are determined by (GPS) data collected on the small boat towing the divers that is adjusted with a layback script to account for the actual distance behind the boat the divers are being towed.

Completeness Report:

There are a few scenarios that will affect the completeness of the data:

-If the GPS points are not collected, associated diver's positions and survey tracks are not generated

-If the estimation of the divers' positions are erroneous and it is impossible to make corrections, the tow tracks/points are flagged and removed from further analyses

-If SEABIRD sensor (SB 39) is not operational during surveys, temperature and depth data are not available

Conceptual Consistency:

Visual estimates of coral bleaching are useful as a broad indication of the bleaching impact on the scale of several kilometers. Towed-diver surveys require a trade-off in which the observation detail one might obtain in a free-swimming diver survey is traded for the ability to survey a 2 km x 15 m stretch of reef in about an hour.

Quality Control Procedures Employed:

Observations, including species identification and coverage area estimates were periodically checked during the expedition for consistency between divers. Data entry was usually conducted on the same day as the surveys using MS Access. Data was quality controlled by the divers using a two-person system. The data was then run through rigorous quality control checks by the data management team before the data was migrated to the Oracle database. Given the size of the data set, there remains some possibility of typographical or other errors.

Data Management

Have Resources for Management of these Data Been Identified?: Yes
Approximate Percentage of Budget for these Data Devoted to Data Management: Unknown
Do these Data Comply with the Data Access Directive?: Yes
Is Access to the Data Limited Based on an Approved Waiver?: No
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Dissemination: Unknown
Actual or Planned Long-Term Data Archive Location: NCEI-MD
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Archiving: Unknown
How Will the Data Be Protected from Accidental or Malicious Modification or Deletion Prior to Receipt by the Archive?:

NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets.

Lineage

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 351610
Description:

A pair of scuba divers is towed about 1 m above the reef roughly 30 m behind a small boat at a constant speed of about 1.5 kt. Both divers collect visual observations of the benthos. Towboards are connected to the small boat by a bridle and towline. A tow survey is typically 50 minutes and covers about 2 km of habitat. Each survey is divided into 5-minute segments, with data recorded per segment to allow observations to be georeferenced within the ~200 m covered during each 5-min segment. Throughout a survey, the latitude and longitude of the survey track is recorded at 5-second intervals on the small boat with a global positioning system (GPS). Following a survey, towed-diver tracks are generated using this GPS data and a layback algorithm to account for the position of the diver relative to the small boat.

For each 5-minute tow segment, each diver notes live coral cover, the percentage of that cover that is noticeably pale, and the percentage of that cover that is bleached. They also record the presence/absence of condition classes of each of the five major coral genera/morphologies found in Hawaiian waters, specifically, Pocillopora, Montipora, Porites massive, Porites branching, Pavona, and other. Each genus is also noted as the presence/absence of the conditions: healthy, pale, bleached, and recently dead.

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity View: VS_BENT_TDS_BLEACHING_OBS

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 32588
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:32588
Metadata Record Created By: Troy T Kanemura
Metadata Record Created: 2016-04-27 19:27+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2024-10-03 18:16+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2016-12-20
Owner Org: PIFSC
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2016-12-20
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2017-12-20