National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessing and Monitoring Cryptic Reef Diversity of Colonizing Marine Invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS) Depl...

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Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), including Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), including French Frigate, Kure, Lisianski, and Pearl & Hermes.

ARMS across the Main Hawaiian Islands, deployed in 2010 and recovered in 2013

ARMS across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, deployed in 2010 and recovered in 2013 (units at FFS-32, FFS-33, and FFS-35 were deployed in 2008)

ARMS across the Main Hawaiian Islands, deployed in 2013 and recovered in 2016

ARMS across the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, deployed in 2013 and recovered in 2016

Specimens recovered by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from ARMS units deployed across the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2010 and recovered in 2013. The file also contains specimens recovered by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from ARMS units deployed across French Frigate Shoals in 2008 and recovered in 2013.

Specimens recovered by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from ARMS units deployed across the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2013 and recovered in 2016.

Information on NOAA PIFSC's official website

A NOAA diver installing an ARMS unit.

ARMS recruitment after 2 years

ARMS Deployment - The ARMS platform consists of 23 cm x 23 cm grey, type 1 PVC plates stacked in alternating series of 4 open and 4 obstructed layers and attached to a base plate of 35 cm x 45 cm which is affixed to the reef. They are affixed to the sea floor with either four stainless steel stakes or weights and zip ties and are typically deployed on mid-depth (10-15 meters) forereef habitats in replicate sets of three. Each ARMS unit is typically separated by 2-5 meters. A GPS waypoint of the site is obtained by swimming over the site to get a point directly above the ARMS unit.

The ARMS site and ARMS units are photo documented; pictures of the surrounding habitat as well as the deployed ARMS are captured. Close-up images of the dominant benthic cover around the ARMS units are captured. ARMS remain on the bottom for a set period of time during which they become colonized with marine organisms. The soak time varies by unit model. Please see the data to determine how long a particular unit was underwater.

ARMS Recovery and Processing - Photo documentation occurs of the ARMS and recovery site before the ARMS units are removed off of the benthos. The ARMS unit is detached from the substrate, encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed onboard the research ship.

Disassembled plates are photographed to document recruited sessile organisms. The plates are rinsed lightly in a container to remove sand particles thereby providing a cleaner surface for imaging the sessile organisms on the plates. Each plate is placed in a shallow tray containing seawater to be photographed. An initial photo of the plate is obtained along with a close up image of each quarter of the plate, the center, and of anything of interest. Photos are obtained of the top and bottom of each plate in the unit. Images are used for analyses of sessile recruitment and composition.

When all of the plate layers in the ARMS unit have been photographed and set aside (in seawater), the seawater from the disassembly tub, photo tray, and rinse bucket is sieved through adjoining 2 mm and 500 um sieve pans and an attachable 100 um mesh hand net. Material collected in the 500 um sieve and 100 um net are bulk preserved into two separate jars. Jars are filled with EtOH and labeled accordingly. The preserved 500 and 100 um sample fractions undergo mass sequencing techniques. The > 2 mm size fraction can either be bulked preserved, like the 500 and 100 um fractions, with the understanding that they will be sorted at a later date or can be sorted at the time of processing into morphospecies.

Sorting the > 2 mm size fraction is more efficient immediately after processing because the organisms are alive, intact, and colorful. Ethanol, as a preservative, fades away specimen coloration, can separate annelid segments and can detach crustacean limbs when bulk preserved. Immediate processing of the > 2 mm size fraction also provides you with the opportunity to photograph the specimens for vouchering. When photographing specimens, the first image has the unique specimen label in the image. Subsequent images may be taken without the label for finer details. When images and identifications are complete, the specimen(s) are preserved in ethanol.

All plates from an individual ARMS unit are scrapped en masse. Once all plates have been scraped, all the scrapings are transferred into a blender (Brevill; BBL600XL). The scrapings are blended for 45-60 seconds on maximum power until sample is homogenized. The sample is then transferred from the blender to a 40 um net. The sample in the net is rinsed with filtered (< 40 um) seawater until all discharge from net is clear (takes ~2 gal). Four ~10 ml samples are preserved in 50 ml falcon tubes with DMSO or 95% EtOH, secure lid and shake. The remaining sample is stored in a sterile whirlpak at -20C. Between the processing of each ARMS unit the blender is rinsed in fresh water to remove any remaining homogenate. The blender is then placed in a 10% bleach solution for 15 minutes. Finally all parts thoroughly rinsed with DI water if available or fresh water.

All recovered ARMS units are processed to the above step. When possible, ARMS samples are analyzed molecularly and taxonomically. Genetic analysis of ARMS samples using 454 Illumina mass sequencing techniques are currently under development through partnerships with the Smithsonian, San Diego State University, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.