NOAA NCCOS Assessment: Agency priorities for mapping coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii, 2022-07-08 to 2022-08-01

Point of Contact

LTJG Jennifer Kraus, Jennifer.kraus@noaa.gov, US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

NCCOS Data Manager, nccos.data@noaa.gov, US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Principal Investigator:

LTJG Jennifer Kraus, Jennifer.kraus@noaa.gov, US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Additional Principal Investigator:

Tim Battista, Tim.battista@noaa.gov, US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Kraus, Jennifer; Buckel, Christine; Williams, Bethany; Urqhart, Karina; Dorfman, Dan; Hile, Sarah; Pagan, Francisco; Towle, Erica. NOAA NCCOS Assessment: Agency priorities for mapping coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii, 2022-07-08 to 2022-08-01. 2023. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7615964

US Shallow Coral Reef Mapping Priorities Data Viewer

Kraus, J., Buckel, C., Williams, B., Urqhart, K., Dorfman, D., Hile, S., Pagan, F., & Towle, E. (2023). NOAA NCCOS Assessment: Agency priorities for mapping coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii, 2022-07-08 to 2022-08-01 [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7615965

NCCOS Project Webpage: Defining Future Seafloor Mapping Priorities to Inform Shallow Coral Reef Management

Kraus, J., Buckel, C., Williams, B., Urqhart, K., Dorfman, D., Hile, S., Pagan, F., & Towle, E. (2023). NOAA NCCOS Assessment: Agency priorities for mapping coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii, 2022-07-08 to 2022-08-01 [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7615965

Example of the online tool used to identify seafloor mapping priorities in Hawaii. Each cell can be selected and populated with virtual coins based on the participants data needs. The tool also allows the participants to input a justification for why those cells were selected, as well as specific data product needs. Credit: NOAA NCCOS.

Reviewed/Updated Metadata, Edited URLs

Kraus, J., C.A. Buckel, B. Williams, K. Urqhart, D. Dorfman, F. Pagan, E.K. Towle, and S.D. Hile. 2022. Agency Priorities for Mapping Coral Reef Ecosystems in Hawaii. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 311. Silver Spring, MD. https://doi.org/10.25923/csw1-xw45

Associated Manuscript

Spatial Prioritization Widget: A Tool to Identify Mapping Priorities

An advisory group was established which included individuals from NOAA CRCP and NOAA Fisheries. This advisory team customized the prioritization process specifically to meet the needs of CRCP and local coral reef manager priorities. In the online prioritization tool, the study area was divided into 1786 hexagonal grid cells 2.6 km2 in size. Existing relevant spatial datasets (e.g., bathymetry, protected areas, etc.) were provided as a digital atlas to help participants understand information and data gaps within the project area and to identify locations they wanted to prioritize for future data collections. Each participant was provided with 540 virtual coins to place into grid cells to denote their mapping needs. They were instructed to place more coins in grid cells that were higher priority. A maximum of 54 coins could be placed into an individual grid cell by each respondent. Participants also selected from a drop-down list of predefined management uses from the following list: endangered species management (e.g.,), habitat restoration, monitoring, coastal vulnerability planning, watershed management, fisheries management, consultations and permitting, emergency response, and spatial protection and management. Respondents also selected what map product requirements were needed in priority cells by selecting a minimum of one, to a maximum of two choices from the following list: delineations of large topographic features, delineations of hard vs. soft bottom, models of habitat suitability for key taxa or communities, delineations of substrate type (e.g. sand, mud, coral, rock), models of presence/absence or density of corals, identification of coral species and their local environments, documentation of individual specimen condition. Coin values were summarized and mapped to identify high priority areas, reasons for those priorities, and information needs. This ESRI shapefile contains the 2.6 km2 grid cells used in this prioritization and their associated coin values overall, as well as by management use and map product requirement. Other summary values include the number of participants, number of participating groups, number of management uses, and number of map product requirements. Additionally, coins for microscale (identification of coral species and their local environments and documentation of individual specimen condition), mesoscale (delineations of substrate type, models of presence/absence/density of corals), and regional (delineations of topographic features, delineations of hard vs. soft bottom, models of habitat suitability) requirements were summarized. Also included is a ranking of each grid cell based on the total number of coins, management uses, and participating groups allocating coins in the respective cell. For a complete description of the process and analysis see: Kraus et al. 2023, in prep.