National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected during Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) across the Main Hawaiian Islands from 2019-04-21 to 2019-10-31 (NCEI Accession 0217940)
The coral reef benthic community data described here result from the annotation (classification) of benthic images collected during photoquadrat surveys conducted by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD, formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) as part of NOAA's ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP).
SCUBA divers conducted benthic photoquadrat surveys in coral reef habitats during the ESD-led NCRMP mission around the main Hawaiian Islands from April 21 to October 31, 2019 according to protocols established by ESD and NCRMP. Still photographs were collected with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole to document the benthic community composition at predetermined points along transects at stratified random sites surveyed only once as part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish (Ayotte et al. 2015 and Winston et al. 2020, respectively), with 30 photoquadrat images collected at each survey site. A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey these coral reef ecosystems. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution.
The benthic habitat images were quantitatively analyzed using the web-based image annotation tool, CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015). Ten points were randomly overlaid on each image and analysts identified the organism or type of substrate beneath, with 300 annotations (points) generated per site following Lozada-Misa et al. (2017). Images were analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1, functional taxa group (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae), Tier 2, morphology (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda), and Tier 3, genera (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp).
SCUBA divers conducted benthic photoquadrat surveys in coral reef habitats during the ESD-led NCRMP mission around the main Hawaiian Islands from April 21 to October 31, 2019 according to protocols established by ESD and NCRMP. Still photographs were collected with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole to document the benthic community composition at predetermined points along transects at stratified random sites surveyed only once as part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish (Ayotte et al. 2015 and Winston et al. 2020, respectively), with 30 photoquadrat images collected at each survey site. A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey these coral reef ecosystems. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution.
The benthic habitat images were quantitatively analyzed using the web-based image annotation tool, CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015). Ten points were randomly overlaid on each image and analysts identified the organism or type of substrate beneath, with 300 annotations (points) generated per site following Lozada-Misa et al. (2017). Images were analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1, functional taxa group (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae), Tier 2, morphology (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda), and Tier 3, genera (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp).
Dataset Citation
- Cite as: Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2020). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected during Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) across the Main Hawaiian Islands from 2019-04-21 to 2019-10-31 (NCEI Accession 0217940). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0217940. In NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division. National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic cover derived from analysis of images collected during stratified random surveys (StRS) of the Hawaiian Archipelago. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5js9nr4. Accessed [date].
Dataset Identifiers
ISO 19115-2 Metadata
gov.noaa.nodc:0217940
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NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 ncei.info@noaa.gov |
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NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov |
Time Period | 2019-04-21 to 2019-10-31 |
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West: -160.251839
East: -154.804172
South: 19.030253
North: 22.218748
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Purpose | The benthic data resulting from the collection and annotation of benthic imagery can ultimately be used to produce estimates of benthic community taxonomic composition, relative abundance (percentage of benthic cover), and frequency of occurrence, which are fundamental to understanding the status and change of coral reef benthic communities. The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) details a long-term approach to provide an ecosystem perspective via monitoring climate, fish, benthic, and socioeconomic variables in a consistent and integrated manner. The NCRMP coordinates various Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) biological, physical, and human dimensions activities into a cohesive NOAA-wide effort. Through the implementation of the NCRMP, NOAA is able to clearly and concisely communicate results of national-scale monitoring to national, state, and territorial policy makers, resource managers, and the public on a periodic basis. NCRMP is a framework for conducting sustained observations of biological, climate, and socioeconomic indicators at 10 priority coral reefs across the U.S. and its territories. This integrated approach consolidates monitoring of coral reefs under a uniform method in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. NCRMP is funded by the CRCP and supported by NOAA Fisheries, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and many other partners. The Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at NOAA Fisheries is leading biological monitoring in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region. The biological component of NCRMP in the Pacific provides a triennial ecological characterization at a broad spatial scale of general reef condition for reef fishes, corals and benthic habitat (i.e., fish species composition/density/size, benthic cover, and coral density/size/condition). Innovative analysis techniques are then used to develop products that give fellow scientists, managers, decision makers and the public a better understanding of a region's resources and how they are changing over time. |
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Last Modified: 2025-02-08T20:09:16Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov