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General Information

File Identifier:	gov.noaa.nodc.cor:0157564
Metadata Date Stamp:	2018-09
Organization:	DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Organization Role:	custodian

Identification Information

Title:

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, including Marine Debris Sightings, of the Pacific Remote Island Areas from 2015-01-26 to 2015-04-26 (NCEI Accession 0157564)

Abstract:

The towed-diver method is used to conduct benthic surveys, assessing large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching) and quantifying benthic components such as habitat complexity/type and the general distribution and abundance patterns of live coral, CCA, macroalgae, and macroinvertebrates. Surveys are conducted in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). A suitable method for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat, the method involves towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for approximately 50 min following the ~15-m depth contour and covering about 2–3 km of habitat. Each diver is equipped with a towboard and attempts to maintain a constant elevation above the surface of the reef (~1 m) for the duration of the survey. A complete towed-diver survey is divided into 10, 5-min segments, with visual observations recorded by 5-min segment. The visual estimate data provided in this dataset were collected during towed-diver surveys which includes percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall. The data were collected around the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led missions in 2015. These data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Browse Graphic

Browse Graphic URL:	https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0157564
Browse Graphic Caption:	Preview graphic
Browse Graphic Type:	PNG

Data Theme

Theme Topics:

Environment and Conservation, Biology and Ecology

Spatial Domain

West Bounding Longitude:	-176.6267665
South Bounding Latitude:	-0.38272464
East Bounding Longitude:	-159.9717912
North Bounding Latitude:	16.78610853

Data Quality Information

Scope (quality information applies to):

Dataset

Contact Information

Organization:	DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Address:	Federal Building 151 Patton Avenue
City:	Asheville
State:	NC
Postal Code:	28801-5001
Country:	USA
Email:	NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Contact Website:	https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/
Telephone:	301-713-3277
Fax:	301-713-3300

Metadata Reference Information

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