Data Management Plan

The data described here result from coral bleaching surveys across the Hawaiian Archipelago from August 20 to December 7, 2019. The data provide information on live coral cover and the percentage and average severity that was bleached, as well as taxa-specific metrics (live cover and the percentage and severity that was bleached). The data were collected during a multi-institutional effort by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative (HCBC) to build a comprehensive dataset of the spatial extent and severity of bleaching in the Hawaiian Archipelago during the peak of the forecasted 2019 coral bleaching event. This dataset is a compilation of data supplied by: NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD); State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR); Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Sandin Lab; Arizona State University (ASU), Asner Lab; National Park Service (NPS), Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN); Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), Coral Reef Ecology Lab; and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawaii.

Coral bleaching surveys were conducted at both fixed and random sites using varying methods per institution that included: rapid visual assessments, photoquadrat assessments, and transect-intercept assessments. Metrics that were recorded include live coral cover, the percentage of living coral that was bleached, and the average severity of bleached corals. Surveys conducted in the Main Hawaiian Islands were conducted during shore-based missions, whereas surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were performed opportunistically during the regularly scheduled NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) mission.

Random sites were selected by each institution in their own ways, as follows:

- NOAA ESD: A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was used; the StRS method effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site

- DAR: Randomly chose sites by covering shorelines at depths from 1-15ft with hard bottom substrate, and aligned transects with shoreline access points

- TNC: Sites were randomly selected using ARC-GIS within a polygon bounded by 15' and 50' depth clines and clipped to hard bottom habitat, based on NOAA habitat maps

- HIMB: Method described in lineage source

- ASU: Sites were selected based on two factors: (1) bleaching reports sent into hawaiicoral.org (ASU, DAR, NOAA website) to locate potential hotspots on the Big Island; and (2) areas not reported as potential coldspots. At each selected "site", randomly selected location GPS points constrained only by isobaths of 5, 10, and 15m

- PACN: Method described in lineage source

Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), including Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), including French Frigate Shoals, Lisianski Island, Pearl & Hermes Reef, and Kure Atoll.

Lineage Statement:
Each organization in the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative used one of three survey methodologies: rapid visual assessments, photoquadrat assessments, and transect-intercept assessments - with nuances described in the Dataset Method List.

Process Steps:

• NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) conducted rapid visual assessments and photoquadrat assessments of coral bleaching using the methodology outlined by the NOAA Coral Bleaching standard operating procedure for 2019. The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii (TNC) conducted rapid visual assessments of bleaching following the NOAA Coral Bleaching standard operating procedure for 2019, and photoquadrat assessments following methodology outlined in Survey of Marine Resources at Kīpahulu, Maui. Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO)'s Sandin Lab conducted coral bleaching surveys using the methodology outlined by the NOAA Coral Bleaching standard operating procedure for 2019. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Islands conducted rapid visual assessments of coral bleaching following the DAR and NOAA Coral Bleaching standard operating procedures for 2019. DAR Oahu also conducted photoquadrat assessments following the DAR Mitigation Monitoring Protocol (Draft) and the DAR CoralNet Protocol. Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology's Coral Reef Ecology lab conducted coral bleaching surveys in Kaneohe Bay following methods outlined in the publications Bahr et al. 2015 and Bahr et al. 2017. The Arizona State University (ASU)'s Asner Lab conducted transect-intercept surveys, the method of which are further described in the Dataset Method List. The National Park Service (NPS) National Park Service Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN) conducted photoquadrat assessments of coral bleaching using the methods outlined in the PACN NPS Coral Bleaching Overview 2019, NPS_PACN_BenthicMonitoringSOP, and NPS_PACN_BenthicImageAnalysisSOP. The slight differences in metrics collected between organizations, and any changes to methodologies over time, are documented in the Dataset Method List.

Quality control of the data occurred at a few stages from initial data entry per institution, to data compilation into a single Excel spreadsheet. Observations, including species identification, were periodically checked during expeditions for consistency between and among divers. Data entry was usually conducted on the same day as the surveys using a data entry interface with several data controls employed, and were quality controlled by individual divers checking entry errors at a separate time. Following a mission, the data was run through rigorous quality control checks. The data was quality controlled against the physical data sheets following data entry.

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

The data is captured in both physical data sheets, an external hard drive, and a NOAA Fisheries server at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). The physical data sheets are housed at PIFSC. PIFSC servers are regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS.