Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 13 sites at Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) during 15 March - 8 April 2006 in the NOAA Hi'ialakai Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise (HI0604). Raw survey data included species presence and relative abundance, colony counts and size classes by genus, and determination of benthic cover using the line-intercept method. Depending on colony density, 0.5 or 1 m on each side of the transect lines was included in the belt (for a total of 25-100m2 per site).
Part of a long-term monitoring program at biennial intervals in which corals, algae, fish, and other macroinvertebrates are co-sampled along the same set of transect lines.
Maximum depth was 16 meters. Common Name Species/Genus Family Order Class Phylum/Division Kingdom Coral Porites Poritidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia Coral Pocillopora Pocilloporidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia Coral Pavona Agariciidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia
Ground condition
Please cite CRED when using the data. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Observations were made by two divers who are experts in coral biology. The population parameter survey is conducted one time per site per survey year; it is not replicated.
With the exception of the non-quantitative survey along the backreef, the same methods of data collection were used at each of the sites surveyed at this location, and were conducted by the same scientists.
The survey sites were selected to be representative of the dominant habitats at this reef system. Efforts were made to include broad spatial coverage of the reef area, but weather conditions or other environmental constraints may have precluded the team from surveying windward or exposed sites.
GPS unit
Instrument parameters
Dive computer and SCUBA depth gauge
A diver swam along the length of three 25m transect lines that had previously been laid out along an isobath by a fish survey team and haphazardly tossed a 0.5m x 0.5m quadrat 16 separate times. The diver identified all corals whose center fell within the quadrat to the species level and listed coral species occurring within 0.5 m2 of each side of the transect lines and the size class to which the maximum diameter of the colony belongs (5 cm; 5-10 cm; 10-20 cm; 20-40cm; 40-80 cm; 80-160 cm; or greater than 160 cm). For each coral colony, the maximum diameter and diameter perpendicular to the maximum was measured using a hand-held tape measure. A random swim is then conducted in the vicinity of the transect lines within an area of about 5,000m2 in which all coral species are listed and assigned a DACOR abundance code based on visual estimation (D equals Dominant, A equals Abundant, C equals Common, O equals Occasional, R equals Rare). If bottom time permits, corals showing signs of disease, bleaching, or abnormal growth are tallied, described, and photographed.
While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
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