36154 NCRMP: Benthic Images StRS PRIAs Data Set Published / External 32956 Pacific Remote Island Areas Project On Going 2016-12 2023-11 2024-03 The data described here are benthic habitat imagery that result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) since 2014 as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish. A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems across the region. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (benthic cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution. 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 PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at NOAA Fisheries is leading biological monitoring in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region. The biological component of NCRMP in the Pacific provides a triennial ecological characterization at a broad spatial scale of general reef condition for reef fishes, corals and benthic habitat (i.e., fish species composition/density/size, benthic cover, and coral density/size/condition). Innovative analysis techniques are then 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. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5154fbh NOAA Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Spatial Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN > UNITED STATES MINOR OUTLYING ISLANDS Instrument Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords CAMERA > CAMERA Theme CRCP Project 743 Theme CRCP Project National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Theme CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Visual Images > Habitats 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 Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Rapid assessment studies 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 > Benthic biology Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS biological Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS imagery Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ 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 PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Pacific Reef and Assessment 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 REA Theme Rapid Ecological Assessment Theme Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program Temporal Triennial 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 Instrument NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS photograph Platform NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS HI'IALAKAI Platform NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS OSCAR ELTON SETTE Platform NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS Rainier Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Honolulu HI USA Data Set JPG Files As Needed Updated March 2019 to add imagery collected in 2018 Image (digital) Raw data include ~30 benthic photographs per survey site. Included in the archive package is a list of survey sites, including site, date, latitude (dd), and longitude (dd) where photoquads were collected. The file naming convention for each photo/image is [SITE]_[YEAR]_[TRANSECT]_[PHOTO_NUMBER].JPG (e.g., TUT-903_2012_A_01.JPG). https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/53704 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 Digital camera Not applicable Not applicable 53704 Published / External List of sites associated with benthic images Data Table Yes List of sites associated with benthic images DATE_ DATETIME No No Active date (day, month, year) photograph was taken LATITUDE NUMERIC No No Active Latitude (dd) of the survey site where photoquads were collected. LONGITUDE NUMERIC No No Active Longitude (dd) of the survey site where photoquads were collected. 1 SITE TEXT No No Active Unique id for survey site 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 2022 Person Oliver, Thomas thomas.oliver@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-1287 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5444 Data Steward 2014 2022 Person Vargas-Angel, Bernardo bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5423 Distributor 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information NCEI ncei.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. Online Resource Distributor 2014 2016 Person Kanemura, Troy T troy.kanemura@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5422 Metadata Contact 2021 Person Luers, Lori H lori.luers@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA Metadata Contact 2014 2021 Person DesRochers, Annette M annette.desrochers@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5461 8 am - 5 pm Originator 2014 Organization Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center PIFSC pifsc.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/02apffz65 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 2022 Person Oliver, Thomas thomas.oliver@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-1287 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5444 Point of Contact 2014 2022 Person Vargas-Angel, Bernardo bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5423 Ground Condition Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) including Baker, Howland, Jarvis, and Wake islands, Kingman Reef, and Johnston and Palmyra atolls. -176.6267816 -159.971695 16.780927 -0.382607 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). 166.5937066 166.657759 19.32573345 19.26737797 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 Time frame of surveys at Wake during MARAMP 2014 Range 2015-01-26 2015-04-28 HA1501 Time frame of surveys in the PRIA during ASRAMP 2015 Range 2016-05-16 2016-05-22 SE1602 Time frame of surveys at Jarvis in 2016 Range 2017-04-02 2017-04-23 HA1701 Time frame of surveys at Baker, Howland, Jarvis, and Wake during MARAMP 2017 Range 2018-06-08 2018-08-11 HA1801 Photo-quad surveys conducted at Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Kingman, and Palmyra during ASRAMP 2018. Range 2023-03-15 2023-05-07 RA2301 Time frame benthic images were collected across the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) during AS-NCRMP 2023. Unclassified Not applicable Not applicable NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015: The ESD welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. The ESD 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 ESD principal investigators. 2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by ESD, proper acknowledgement of both ESD 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, ESD requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections. 4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the ESD 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 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. Example: Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2023). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Images from Stratified Random Sites (StRS) across the Pacific Remote Island Areas since 2014. NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36154 None None https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 PIFSC_NTM-PIFSC-71_2018_SOP_Benthic.pdf SOP that describes method to collect benthic images during the surveys. 2018-08-31T00:00:00 PDF PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159153 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 StR Images PRIAs 2015 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2015 by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) JPEG JPEG https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159153 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 Site Info PRIAs 2015.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2015 by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) 2016-12-30T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159157 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 StR Images PRIAs 2014 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across Wake Island in 2014 by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) JPEG JPEG https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159157 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 Site Info PRIAs 2014.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across Wake Islands of the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2014 by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) 2016-12-30T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0176287 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 Site Info PRIAs 2016.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across Jarvis of the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2016 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) 2018-09-11T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0176287 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 StR Images PRIAs 2016 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across Jarvis Island in 2016 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) 2018-09-12T00:00:00 JPEG JPEG https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0176288 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 Site Info PRIAs 2017.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2017 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) 2018-07-29T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0176288 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 StR Images PRIAs 2017 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2017 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) 2018-09-11T00:00:00 JPG JPEG https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187564 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 Site Info PRIAs 2018.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2018 during mission HA1801 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division. 2019-03-30T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187564 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 StR Images PRIAs 2018 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2018 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD). 2019-03-30T00:00:00 JPG JPEG https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0289904 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 NCRMP_STRS_IMAGES_PRIA_2023 Photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2023 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) JPEG 18.5GB Zip https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0289904 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 NCRMP_STRS_SITEINFO_PRIA_2023.csv Metadata (site, date, and location) for photoquadrat benthic images collected at stratified random sites across the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2023 by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/ National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Online Resource HTML NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) website. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/ecosystems/coral-reefs-pacific PIFSC ESD: Coral Reefs in the Pacific Online Resource HTML Overview of NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division, Archipelagic Research Program's methods to assess corals. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/ecosystem_sciences/ Ecosystem Sciences Division Online Resource HTML PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division website PIFSC network/file system: \\picQueenFish\optical\OPTICAL\ \\picQueenFish\general\Cruise\CruiseData Handheld GPS units were used to locate random sites and mark site locations. Image data include ~30 benthic photographs per survey site from both the fish and benthic team surveys. The fish team conducts the photoquadrat surveys along one 30-m transect. The benthic team conducts the surveys along 2 independent 18-m transects. Therefore, the site level image data contain one transect (A) for fish team surveys and two transects (A and B) for benthic team surveys. Appropriate site level image grouping should include all 30 images. Only shallow water (0 to 30 meter depth range) hard-bottom habitats are surveyed. The survey sites were randomly selected using a systematic process based on available habitat and bathymetric data. Although efforts are made to include broad spatial coverage of surveys at each island, weather conditions and other environmental constraints may have prevented the team from surveying exposed reef areas. The same methods of data collection were used at each surveyed site. The photos are reviewed by the diver for accuracy and usability. The data management team also uses a optical validation script to re-name photos and enforce several validation checks. Yes Unknown Yes No Unknown NCEI-MD Unknown The images reside on a file server maintained and regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS. The stratified random sampling (StRS) design and benthic photoquadrat survey methodology, employed by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) since 2013. Benthic imagery is collected at stratified random sites. These photos are color-corrected (if necessary) prior to analysis. The data management team also uses a optical validation script to re-name photos and enforce several validation checks. Swanson D, Bailey H, Schumacher B, Ferguson M, Vargas-Angel B. 2018. Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-71, 63 p. Organization Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Originator 2018-08-31 https://doi.org/10.25923/39jh-8993 NOAA Institutional Repository Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys The SOP describes the method to collect benthic images during the survey. 1 A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems through the U.S. Pacific regions. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth in all regions, as well as habitat structure type in the Main Hawaiian Islands. The habitat structure types included simple, complex, and coral-rich. Depth categories of shallow (0-6 m), mid (> 6-18m) and deep (>18-30 m) were also incorporated into the stratification scheme. Allocation of sampling effort was proportional to strata area. Sites were randomly selected within each stratum. A geographic information system (GIS) and digital spatial databases of benthic habitats (NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science NCCOS), reef zones (IKONOS satellite imagery, NDGC 1998) bathymetry (NDGC 1998, CREP benthic mapping data), and marine reserve boundaries (NOAA) were used to facilitate spatial delineation of the sampling survey domain, strata, and sample units. Map resolution was such that the survey domain could be overlain by a grid using a GIS with individual cells of size 50 m by 50 m in area. A two-stage sampling scheme following Cochran (1977) was employed to control for spatial variation in population parameters at scales smaller than the grid cell minimum mapping unit (2,500 m2). Grid cells containing hard-bottom reef habitats were designated as primary sample units (referred to as sites). Person Swanson, Dione W dione.swanson@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5417 Swanson D, Bailey H, Schumacher B, Ferguson M, Vargas-Angel B. 2018. Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-71, 63 p. 2 Photoquadrat surveys were conducted by both the fish and benthic teams. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along the transect lines with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Overall, 30 photoquadrat images are collected at each site. The fish team conducts these surveys along one 30 meter transect that spans the length of two stationary point count (SPC) cylinders used to assess fish abundance (30 images total, Transect A). Benthic substrate photos are taken at one meter intervals along the right hand side of the 30 m transect line. The benthic team conducts the photoquadrat surveys along two, independent 18 meter transects. Photos of the benthic substrate are taken at one meter intervals starting at meter 1, along the left hand side of each 18 meter transect (15 images/transect; 30 images total; Transect A and B). 3 Raw data include ~30 benthic photographs per survey site. Included in the archive package is a list of survey sites, including site, date, latitude (dd), and longitude (dd) where photoquads were collected. The file naming convention for each photo/image is [SITE]_[YEAR]_[TRANSECT]_[PHOTO_NUMBER].JPG (e.g., TUT-903_2012_A_01.JPG). Unknown Not Applicable 53704 Entity 36157 Data Set Cross Reference 25247 Data Set Cross Reference 36152 Data Set Cross Reference 36153 Data Set Cross Reference gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:36154 Troy Kanemura 2016-12-30T16:31:24 SysAdmin InPortAdmin 2026-03-04T19:17:28 2024-03-05 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center PIFSC 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA 808-725-5300 https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 1001 Public No No 2017-01-23 1 Year 2018-01-23