GT-polygon

Three types of benthic marine habitats were mapped for Puerto Rico: 1) coral reefs, 2) hardbottoms, and 3) seagrass beds. These resources were mapped using a variety of data sources and methods. Geographic sources included NWI (National Wetlands Inventory) data, the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Marine Geologic Map series for the Insular Shelf of Puerto Rico, USGS-BRD (Biological Resources Division) benthic habitat maps for Roosevelt Roads and Isla de Vieques, DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) benthic habitat maps for Isla Mona, USGS topographic quadrangles, and other sources. Where previous data or maps did not exist, biologists from DRNA and other groups used bathymetric features shown on USGS topographic maps and NOAA nautical charts to estimate the distribution of reef and seagrass areas. The type of a benthic habitat feature was often described by experts and resource managers and then applied to geographic boundaries from an existing source (e.g., a polygon derived from NWI data was given a new and different classification based on information provided by a resource manager familiar with the area). Classifications were also based on various reports and publications, including Goenega and Cintron (1979), Goenega and Boulon (1992), Garcia et al. (2000), various materials provided by the CFMC (Caribbean Fishery Management Council), and other documents and reports. The reef classification and definitions used by Garcia et al. (2000) were followed as closely as possible. Garcia et al. (2000) also provided a map graphic showing the general distribution of reef types and reef survey areas for Puerto Rico. Hardbottom categories used during this project included: Hardground and Rock Reef. Coral Reef categories included: Coral Patch Reef, Coral Reef, Shelf-edge Reef, and Reef (unclassified). "Hardground" refers to areas of relatively low relief, such as hard calcareous banks or eolianite platforms dominated by encrusting species, turf algae, soft corals, sponges, etc. The "Rock Reef" classification was used mostly for nearshore and emergent reefs found along the northern and northwestern coast of Puerto Rico. These are typically submerged bedrock features of moderate to high relief, mostly colonized by turf algae, encrusting biota, and low coral cover. "Coral Reef" was used for areas containing high cover of living, structure-building, hard-coral species, where an outline of the major reef structure could be approximated (mainly along the southern, southwestern, and eastern coasts of Puerto Rico). Many of the areas mapped would be considered fringing coral reefs. In this project, "Coral Patch Reef" was used for large areas containing numerous coral patch reefs that could not be individually depicted due to lack of information and/or small patch size relative to the mapping scale (roughly 1:20,000 at best; 1:100,000 at worst). In areas where individual patches were differentiated, the "Coral Reef" classification was used. "Shelf-edge Reef" was used for the "drowned" or submerged coral reefs occurring along the southern and southwestern shelf-edge of Puerto Rico, and parts of Vieques and Culebra. Well-developed shelf-edge reef also occurs off the south side of Isla Mona (but was not mapped). Shelf-edge reefs are a major spawning habitat for aggregating reef fish such as red hind, mutton snapper, and tiger grouper. Finally, the "Reef" category was a default category used when reef type could not be differentiated. | Description Source: Research Planning, Inc.

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