Skip to main content
Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Coral reef fish biomass and benthic cover data from Timor-Leste in June 2013 (NCEI Accession 0165354)

browse graphicPreview graphic
Coral reef fish and benthos were surveyed at 150 shallow-water coral reef sites across the north coast of Timor-Leste and around Atauro Island in June 2013 during a 21-day survey mission. This project was conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) using consistent methods, survey design, and personnel.

Fish biomass and benthic cover were estimated at all survey sites using the stationary point count (SPC) method. The SPC method catalogs the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density) and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages in shallow-water (less than 30 m) hard-bottom habitats. Visual estimates of benthic cover and topographic complexity are also recorded, with benthic organisms grouped into broad functional categories (e.g., 'Hard Coral', 'Macroalgae'). A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed, similar to surveys conducted by NOAA CREP of the coral reef ecosystems throughout the U.S.-Pacific regions.

The goal of the survey work was to generate baseline data on the nearshore coral reef fish assemblages and associated benthic communities around Timor-Leste's north coast and Atauro Island. Surveys were concentrated around these areas due to (1) limited time and resources, but also (2) low water visibility and safety concerns for potential dive survey operations along the south shore. In addition to the visual observations of reef fish and the associated benthos, photographs of the seafloor were taken using a photoquadrat method and were later analyzed for benthic cover. These two additional datasets are documented separately.

The reef fish and benthic estimate data collected during the 2013 mission in Timor-Leste can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Coral reef fish biomass and benthic cover data from Timor-Leste in June 2013 (NCEI Accession 0165354). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0165354. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0165354
Full Text · XML
Download Data
  • HTTPS (download)
    Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download.
  • FTP (download)
    These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).
Distribution Formats
  • Originator data format
Ordering Instructions Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2013-06-04 to 2013-06-27
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: 124.108
East: 127.341
South: -9.31186
North: -8.13593
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2015: Coral reef fish biomass and benthic cover data from Timor-Leste in June 2013, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32998.
  • Desrochers, Annette; Ehses, Julia; Huntington, Brittany; McCoy, Kaylyn; Moews, Megan; Oliver, Thomas; Sudnovsky, Max; Suka, Rhonda R.; Timmers, Molly A.; Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo; Brainard, Russell; Kimball, Justine. Interdisciplinary baseline ecosystem assessment surveys to Inform ecosystem-based management planning in Timor-Leste: final report. PIFSC special publication; SP-17-002. 2017. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5/sp-pifsc-17-002
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2017-09-08
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Purpose In 2011, NOAA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Timor-Leste Mission formed a 5-year bi-lateral partnership agreement from 2012 to 2016, in support of the Government of Timor-Leste—particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF)—by addressing significant information gaps in their nearshore marine ecosystems. Specifically, MAF asked NOAA to address the following questions: 1. Where are the nearshore marine resources? 2. What are the nearshore marine resources? 3. How are they changing over time and what threats are potentially causing these changes? 4. What approaches are needed to manage and conserve the nearshore marine resources? With financial support from USAID and in-kind support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (NOAA-CREP) conducted baseline ecosystem assessment surveys to inform ecosystem-based management planning in Timor-Leste. The primary activities conducted by NOAA to answer these questions included: 1. satellite mapping of nearshore habitats, 2. conducting coral reef ecosystem assessments, 3. establishing ecological baselines for climate change, and 4. building management capacity by developing a spatial data framework The reef fish survey data described herein resulted from the second activity to conduct coral reef ecosystem assessments.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Coral reef fish biomass and benthic cover data from Timor-Leste in June 2013 (NCEI Accession 0165354). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0165354. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Collaborators
Contributors
Resource Providers
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Funding Agency: US DOS; United States Agency for International Development
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Fish Census
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species Richness
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Rapid Assessment Studies
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Reef Fish Census
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Reef Fish Census > Stationary
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish > Fish Assemblages
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Macroinvertebrates
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Provider Keywords
  • REA
  • Rapid Ecological Assessment
  • Reef Fish
  • SPC
  • Stationary Point Count
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Contributing Data Centers
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Indian Ocean > Timor Sea > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords Provider Place Names
  • Atauro
  • Baucau
  • Bobonaro
  • Dili
  • Lautem
  • Liquica
  • Manatuto
  • Oecusse
  • Timor-Leste
  • Vila MPA
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Send2NCEI Submission Package ID
  • FCAXAH
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Coral reef fish biomass and benthic cover data from Timor-Leste in June 2013 (NCEI Accession 0165354). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0165354. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2017-09-08T23:09:22Z - NCEI Accession 0165354 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Data Type: REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER (measured); Units: percent; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS (measured); Units: count; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Urchin and boring urchin categorized as dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), or rare (R).
  • Data Type: FISH CENSUS (measured); Units: count; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: INDIVIDUAL FISH EXAMINATION - LENGTH (measured); Units: centimeter; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: FISH BIOMASS (calculated); Units: gram/meter^2; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • swimmer/diver
  • visual observation
Last Modified: 2024-09-10T00:08:15Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov