36100
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations in the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2014 to 2018
NCRMP: Benthic Complexity/Urchin Abundance PRIAs
Data Set
Published / External
32956
Pacific Remote Island Areas
Project
Completed
2016-12
2019-03
2019
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data were collected as part of NOAA's ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). These data were gathered around the Pacific Remote Island Areas as a part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) led missions from 2014 to 2018.
During these missions, the variables of benthic complexity and urchin abundance were recorded by SCUBA divers during visual surveys at NCRMP climate stations. A select number of climate sites were chosen per island in hard-bottom habitat at 15-m depths in a stratified random fashion.
To record benthic complexity, the divers ran a 15-m transect from the reference stake for the site and estimated two maximum vertical relief measurements per meter along the 15-m transect (based on an area of 0.5 m x 1 m to the left and 0.5 m x 1 m to the right of each meter on the transect) for a total of 30 measurements. The measurements were tallied into five substrate height bins, including 0-20 cm, 20-50 cm, 50-100 cm, 100-150 cm, and >150 cm. The total frequency for the five substrate height bins is 30 units for a 15-m transect. Maximum depth, minimum depth, and maximum vertical relief were also recorded for the climate station.
Free and boring urchin abundance was estimated within the climate station and recorded using DACOR, an abundance code based on visual estimation; dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), and rare (R).
Structural complexity is known to be an important component in coral reef ecosystems. Ecosystem relationships that correlate with structural complexity include reef fish density and biomass, live and branching coral cover, urchin abundance and algal cover (Graham and Nash 2013). In many cases, the benthic complexity is an important indicator of benthic and fish communities.
The NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) details a long term approach to provide an ecosystem perspective via monitoring climate, fish, benthic, and socioeconomic variables in a consistent and integrated manner. The NCRMP coordinates various NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) biological, physical, and human dimensions activities into a cohesive NOAA-wide effort. Through the implementation of the NCRMP, NOAA is able to clearly and concisely communicate results of national-scale monitoring to national, state, and territorial policy makers, resource managers, and the public on a periodic basis.
NCRMP is a framework for conducting sustained observations of biological, climate, and socioeconomic indicators at 10 priority coral reefs across the U.S. and its territories. This integrated approach consolidates monitoring of coral reefs under a uniform method in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. NCRMP is funded by the CRCP and supported by NOAA Fisheries, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and many other partners. The Ecosystem Sciences Division at NOAA Fisheries is leading climate monitoring in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region.
The climate component of NCRMP in the Pacific provides a comprehensive view of climate change impacts on coral reef ecosystems and helps identify areas of resilience and vulnerability. The key indicators used to identify and monitor climate-driven trends include 1) thermal stress caused by changes in sea temperature, 2) ocean acidification resulting from changes in carbonate chemistry, and 3) ecological impacts by collecting data on coral growth rates, erosion, and community structure to understand the impacts of thermal stress and ocean acidification on the ecosystem. Each year, ESD scientists work closely with CRCP and partners during Pacific RAMP missions to collect data using moored oceanographic (subsurface temperature recorders) and ecological (calcification accretion units [CAUs] and autonomous reef monitoring structures [ARMS]) instruments stationed at fixed sites in the Pacific Ocean, and water samples collected by divers. The in-situ data and satellite-based observations are also used in modeling efforts. Innovative analysis techniques are used to develop products that give fellow scientists, managers, decision makers and the public a better understanding of a region's resources and how they are changing over time.
doi:10.7289/V5BC3WV3
NOAA
Theme
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
Theme
ISO 19115 Topic Category
oceans
Theme
CRCP Project
743
Theme
CRCP Project
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
Theme
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
Numeric Data Sets > Benthic
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biological Classification > Animals/Invertebrates > ECHINODERMS > SEA URCHINS
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Rugosity
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Macroinvertebrates
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates
Theme
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates
Theme
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS
HABITAT - BENTHIC
Theme
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS
MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS
Theme
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS
benthic
Theme
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS
survey - swimmer/diver
Theme
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS
visual estimate
Theme
NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS
HI'IALAKAI
Theme
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS
CORAL REEF STUDIES
Theme
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS
Coral Reef Conservation Program
Theme
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
Theme
NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS
US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division
Theme
CRED
Theme
CREP
Theme
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
Theme
Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Theme
ESD
Theme
Ecosystem Sciences Division
Theme
PIFSC
Theme
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Theme
RAMP
Theme
Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Baker Island (00N176W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Howland Island (00S176W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Wake Atoll (19N167E0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Baker Island > Baker Island (00N176W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Howland Island > Howland Island (00S176W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Johnston Atoll > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001)
Spatial
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Wake Atoll > Wake Atoll (19N167E0001)
Spatial
NODC Sea Area Names Thesaurus
Equatorial Pacific Ocean
Spatial
NODC Sea Area Names Thesaurus
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
Spatial
PRIA
Spatial
PRIMNM
Spatial
Pacific Remote Island Areas
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Honolulu
HI
USA
Data Set
CSV Files
As Needed
Updated March 2019 to add data collected in 2018
Table (digital)
Raw survey data includes metadata for each survey; frequency of topographic complexity; and a measure of urchin abundance.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36104
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.
PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
36104
View: V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY
V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY
Published / External
Completed
Foundational view for benthic complexity and urchin abundance at climate stations
Data View
Yes
GISDAT
Foundational view for benthic complexity and urchin abundance at climate stations
1
ROUNDID
NUMBER
22
Yes
No
28
0
Active
Unique identifier for ROUND record.
2
MISSIONID
VARCHAR2
30
Yes
No
Active
Mission identifier.
3
REGION_NAME
VARCHAR2
30
No
No
Active
The name of the region surveyed in the Pacific Islands region: American Samoa, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Mariana Archipelago, main Hawaiian Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
4
ISLAND
NVARCHAR2
150
No
No
Active
Name of island or atoll surveyed in the Pacific Islands region (REGION_NAME).
5
SITE
NVARCHAR2
150
Yes
No
Active
The code for the site surveyed at the island or atoll (ISLAND). Combines a 3-letter island code (ISLANDCODE) with a 2-4 digit site number.
6
LATITUDE
NUMBER
22
No
No
38
Active
Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the given SITE.
7
LONGITUDE
NUMBER
22
No
No
Active
Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84 for the given SITE.
8
REEF_ZONE
NVARCHAR2
150
No
No
Active
The zone for the given SITE (Forereef, Backreef, Protected Slope, Lagoon).
9
DEPTH_BIN
NVARCHAR2
60
No
No
Active
Classification of depth (shallow, mid, deep) based on midpoint between minimum and maximum depths of a given SITE. Shallow: >0-6 m, Mid: >6-18 m, Deep: >18-30 m
10
SITEVISITID
NUMBER
22
Yes
No
38
Active
Unique identifier created each time a SITE is surveyed on a DATE_.
11
DATE_
DATE
7
Yes
No
Active
Local date the survey was conducted.
12
OBS_YEAR
NUMBER
22
No
No
38
Active
4-digit year the survey was conducted (DATE_).
13
TRANSECT
VARCHAR2
28
No
No
Active
Type of transect (box or line). Deprecated as of 2017 surveys.
14
PARALLEL_
NUMBER
22
No
No
38
0
Active
Parallel bearing of transect.
15
DOWNSLOPE
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Downslope bearing of transect. Climate sites set up in 'alongshore' lines (usually a result of suitable benthic substrate availability) will not have a down slope heading.
16
SUBSTRATE_HEIGHT_0
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Frequency (0-30) is tallied if the maximum height of the tallest reef structure measured within a 0.5 square meter area on either side of each meter along a 15-m transect is between 0-20 cm elevation. Total frequency for all 5 substrate height bins should equal 30.
17
SUBSTRATE_HEIGHT_20
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Frequency (0-30) is tallied if the maximum height of the tallest reef structure measured within a 0.5 square meter area on either side of each meter along a 15-m transect is between 20-50 cm elevation. Total frequency for all 5 substrate height bins should equal 30.
18
SUBSTRATE_HEIGHT_50
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Frequency (0-30) is tallied if the maximum height of the tallest reef structure measured within a 0.5 square meter area on either side of each meter along a 15-m transect is between 50-100 cm elevation. Total frequency for all 5 substrate height bins should equal 30.
19
SUBSTRATE_HEIGHT_100
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Frequency (0-30) is tallied if the maximum height of the tallest reef structure measured within a 0.5 square meter area on either side of each meter along a 15-m transect is between 100-150 cm elevation. Total frequency for all 5 substrate height bins should equal 30.
20
SUBSTRATE_HEIGHT_150
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Frequency (0-30) is tallied if the maximum height of the tallest reef structure measured within a 0.5 square meter area on either side of each meter along a 15-m transect is >150 cm elevation. Total frequency for all 5 substrate height bins should equal 30.
21
MIN_DEPTH
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Shallowest point in the NCRMP climate station (SITE) in feet.
22
MAX_DEPTH
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Deepest point in the NCRMP climate station (SITE) in feet.
23
MAX_VERTICAL_RELIEF
NUMBER
22
No
No
26
0
Active
Height of tallest reef structure present within the NCRMP climate station (SITE) in centimeters.
24
FREE_URCHIN_DACOR
VARCHAR2
26
No
No
Active
Free urchin abundance within the NCRMP climate station (SITE), estimated by DACOR, an abundance code based on visual estimation: dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), and rare (R). DACOR categories are quantified as:
D: 101-999;
A: 51-100;
C: 21-50;
O: 6-20;
R: 0-5.
25
BORING_URCHIN_DACOR
VARCHAR2
26
No
No
Active
Boring urchin abundance within the NCRMP climate station (SITE), estimated by DACOR, an abundance code based on visual estimation: dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), and rare (R). DACOR categories are quantified as:
D: 501-999;
A: 251-500;
C: 101-250;
O: 26-100;
R: 0-25.
Data Set Credit
2014
Organization
NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
CRCP
1305 East West Highway 10th Floor
Silver Spring
MD
20910-3281
(301) 713-3155
https://coralreef.noaa.gov
Link to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program website
Online Resource
Data Steward
2018
Person
Barkley, Hannah C
hannah.barkley@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
Data Steward
2014
2017
Person
Timmers, Molly A
molly.timmers@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
(808)725-5449
Distributor
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
NCEI-MD
NOAA/NESDIS E/OC SSMC3, 4th Floor, 1351 East-West Highway
Silver Spring
MD
20910-3282
(301) 713-3277
Distributor
2014
2016
Person
Kanemura, Troy T
troy.kanemura@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
(808)725-5422
Email preferred
Metadata Contact
2014
Person
DesRochers, Annette M
annette.desrochers@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
(808)725-5461
8 am - 5 pm
Email preferred
Originator
2014
Organization
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
PIFSC
pifsc.info@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
808-725-5360
https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage
Online Resource
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Point of Contact
2018
Person
Barkley, Hannah C
hannah.barkley@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
Point of Contact
2014
2017
Person
Oliver, Thomas
thomas.oliver@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
(808)725-5444
Ground Condition
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) including Baker, Howland, Jarvis, and Wake islands, Kingman Reef, and Johnston and Palmyra atolls.
-176.623989
-159.97881
16.76343
-0.38241
Phoenix (Baker and Howland) and Line Islands (Jarvis, Kingman, and Palmyra), and Johnston Atoll. These six of the seven PRIA are routinely surveyed as part of the American Samoa RAMP (ASRAMP) missions (Johnston, Baker and Howland during the first leg of ASRAMP, and Jarvis, Kingman, and Palmyra during the last leg of ASRAMP).
166.5109
166.65155
19.31625
19.27069
Wake Island, one of the seven PRIA, is routinely surveyed as part of the Mariana Archipelago RAMP (MARAMP) missions.
Range
2014-03-16
2014-03-20
HA1401
MARAMP 2014
Range
2015-01-26
2015-04-27
HA1501
ASRAMP 2015
Range
2017-04-19
2017-04-23
HA1701
Range
2018-06-08
2018-08-10
HA1801
Time frame of surveys for benthic complexity and urchin abundance conducted at Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Kingman, and Palmyra during ASRAMP 2018.
Unclassified
Not applicable
Not applicable
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 Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD), 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 online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
None
Please cite PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data.
Suggested citation:
Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2019). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations of the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2014 to 2018. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36100.
None
None
https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159146
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY PRIAs 2015.csv
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2015.
2019-04-01T00:00:00
csv (comma-separated values)
CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159160
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY PRIAs 2014.csv
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Wake Island in 2014.
2016-12-16T00:00:00
csv (comma-separated values)
CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0167408
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY PRIAs 2017.csv
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Wake Island in 2017.
2017-09-08T00:00:00
csv (comma-separated values)
CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187898
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY PRIAs 2018.csv
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas during ASRAMP 2018.
2019-04-12T00:00:00
csv (comma-separated values)
CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html
2016
Organization
National Centers for Environmental Information - Silver Spring, Maryland
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) ERDDAP web service for the benthic complexity and urchin abundance data collected by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at sites across the Pacific Islands Region during ESD-led NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program missions from 2013 to 2018.
ERDDAP acts as a middleman between you and various remote data servers. ERDDAP offers an easy-to-use, consistent way to request data: via the OPeNDAP standard. Many datasets can also be accessed via ERDDAP's Web Map Service (WMS). ERDDAP returns data in the common file format of your choice. ERDDAP offers all data as .html table, ESRI .asc and .csv, Google Earth .kml, OPeNDAP binary, .mat, .nc, ODV .txt, .csv, .tsv, .json, and .xhtml. ERDDAP can also return a .png or .pdf image with a customized graph or map. ERDDAP also has web pages (for humans with browsers) and RESTful web services (for computer programs).
ERDDAP Data Server
ERDDAP Data Service
https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/ecosystem_sciences/
Ecosystem Sciences Division
Online Resource
NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website
PIFSC Oracle database view: V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY
Observations at each site were made by divers who have been trained in the benthic complexity and urchin abundance estimate protocols. Between years there may be some variance in the location of the transect tape due to oceanographic conditions. Visual estimates of abundance are useful as a broad indication of the urchin assemblages present at each survey site, but there is scope for error in diver estimates of this type.
The benthic complexity surface relief measurements are recorded as frequencies and binned into 1 of 5 classification categories (0-20 cm, 20-50 cm, 50-100 cm, 100-150 cm, >150 cm).
DACOR (dominant, abundant, common, occasional, rare) abundance codes are used to quantify urchins in the NCRMP climate station. The number of free urchins and boring urchins within the climate station is visually estimated.
Only sites classified as NCRMP climate stations / permanent sites were surveyed in shallow water (0-30 m depths) hard-bottom habitats for benthic complexity and urchin abundance data. The data are complete as entered. Any null values recorded are due to an incomplete field survey and not by omission.
Survey methods were consistent across all sites.
The data is entered in an MS Excel spreadsheet, then quality controlled against the physical data sheets prior to the data considered final. Upon completion of the cruise, the data is migrated to Oracle database during which any errors are flagged based on pre-defined criteria.
Yes
Unknown
Yes
No
Unknown
NCEI-MD
Unknown
The data is captured in several locations: physical data sheets, MS Excel spreadsheets, and PIFSC Oracle database. The physical data sheets are housed at PIFSC. The MS Excel spreadsheets area regularly backed up by the cruise data manager while at sea. The PIFSC Oracle database is regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS.
Benthic complexity (i.e., substrate height) and urchin abundance survey method employed by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) since 2013. ESD's use of the 5-category method for benthic complexity was adapted from the University on North Carolina at Wilmington’s Protocol for Measuring Topographic Complexity. The category delineations for benthic complexity and urchin abundance are the same as those employed by ESD's fish team.
1
Climate Station/Site Selection:
A select number of National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) climate stations per island were established in a stratified random fashion to be roughly equally spaced around the island along the 15-m contour on hard-bottom habitat and at least 1 km away from a river mouth or embayment.
Person
Barkley, Hannah C
hannah.barkley@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
2
Maximum Vertical Relief / Substrate Height:
At the NCRMP climate station SCUBA divers ran a 15-m transect from the reference stake. Along the 15-m transect tape, two maximum vertical relief measurements per meter were tallied (based on an area of 0.5 m x 1 m to the left and 0.5 m x 1 m to the right of each meter on the transect) for a total of 30 measurements. The total frequency # for the five substrate height bins should add up to 30 units for a 15-m transect.
Maximum depth, minimum depth, and maximum vertical relief were also recorded for the climate station. These measurements are defined as:
Maximum depth - deepest point in the NCRMP climate station
Minimum depth - shallowest point in the NCRMP climate station
Maximum vertical relief - height of tallest reef structure present within the NCRMP climate station.
Person
Barkley, Hannah C
hannah.barkley@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
3
Free and Boring Urchin Abundance:
Urchin abundance was estimated by conducting a visual census of free and boring urchins within the NCRMP climate station and was recorded using DACOR, an abundance code based on visual estimation: dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), and rare (R).
For Free Urchins, DACOR categories are quantified as:
D: 101-999
A: 51-100
C: 21-50
O: 6-20
R: 0-5
For Boring Urchins, DACOR categories are quantified as:
D: 501-999
A: 251-500
C: 101-250
O: 26-100
R: 0-25
Person
Barkley, Hannah C
hannah.barkley@noaa.gov
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
36104
Entity
View: V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY
36099
Data Set
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations in American Samoa from 2015 to 2018
Cross Reference
36098
Data Set
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations of the Hawaiian Archipelago since 2013
Cross Reference
25251
Data Set
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations of the Mariana Archipelago since 2014
Cross Reference
gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:36100
Troy Kanemura
2016-12-21T15:12:07
SysAdmin InPortAdmin
2023-10-17T16:12:09
2018-10-27
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
PIFSC
1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
808-725-5300
http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
1001
Public
No
2018-10-27
1 Year
2019-10-27