Data Management Plan

Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) are used by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity across the Pacific. Developed in collaboration with the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems (CReefs), ARMS are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract/collect colonizing marine invertebrates. The key innovation of the ARMS method is biodiversity is sampled over precisely the same surface area in the exact same manner. Thus, the use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community over time.

The data described here were collected by CREP from ARMS units moored at fixed climate survey sites located in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Climate sites were established by CREP to assess multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) from September 2009 to September 2012, and three ARMS units were deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Each ARMS unit, constructed in-house by CREP, consisted of 23 cm x 23 cm gray, 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 was affixed to the reef. Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms and scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 µm, and 100 µm. The 500 µm and 100 µm fractions were bulked and also preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies. This dataset includes information on the species counted and identified in the 2 mm fraction.

Three survey locations in the municipalities of Kimbe Bay, New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Lineage Statement:
Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) are assembled, deployed on the benthos for 1-3 years during which time they are colonized with marine organisms, recovered and processed as described below. The > 2-mm organisms are identified and counted, and the data is recorded in an MS Access database.

Process Steps:

• 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. (Citation: PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Survey Methods - Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS))
• 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 or in the field for shore-based/fly-in operations. 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. Further processing of ARMS units to estimate cryptobiotic diversity with disassembled plate scrapings will not be described nor published in this record. See other Coral Triangle Initiative ARMS records in the "Related Items" section below. This record only details the published dataset for the taxonomic identification and count for > 2 mm specimens recovered on ARMS units in this mission. (Citation: PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Survey Methods - Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS))

The data entered in the MS Access database is quality controlled following data entry.

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

NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets. The MS Access database is stored on the PIFSC network and regularly backed up by ITS.