2014 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Reef Crest Benthic and Fish Communities of Stetson Bank, northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NCEI Accession 0244997)
This dataset contains raw and processed data from an annual long-term monitoring study that documents the benthic and fish community changes at Stetson Bank, in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Stetson Bank is an uplifted claystone/siltstone feature, located 75 nautical miles from Galveston, TX in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, that supports a well-developed benthic community of scleractinian coral and tropical marine sponges. Due to a wide range of temperatures and variable light availability, Stetson Bank has marginal environmental conditions for coral reef development and growth. The fish community is similar to other Caribbean reefs but has comparatively lower diversity.
Monitoring has occurred on the bank crest (17-34 m) of the site since 1993. Bank crest monitoring includes random transect and repetitive photostation photographs of the benthos to estimate percent cover of major taxonomic groups (e.g., coral, sponge, algae). Benthic photographs are analyzed using Coral Point Count (CPCe) and output into Microsoft Excel worksheets. These data are analyzed for temporal community changes in Primer. Fish census surveys are conducted annually using a modified Bohnsack and Bannerot stationary method, both at random and repetitive sites. Fish data are recorded in Microsoft Excel worksheets. Primer software is used to identify any temporal shifts that occur in the fish community. Water quality parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, turbidity, nutrients) are measured with moored conductivity temperature depth (CTD) instruments and quarterly profiles of the water column are performed. Temperature and salinity data are reduced to report daily averages.
The bank crest benthic community at Stetson Bank has undergone several significant shifts, changing from a habitat predominated by hydrocoral and sponges to one of macroalgae and sponges. The fish community on the bank crest has varied annually. Exotic fish species are present at the bank, including lionfish (Pterois volitans/P. miles) and regal demoiselle (Neopomacentrus cyanomos). Fluctuations in oceanic conditions, macroalgae cover, and continued annual variation in fish communities were documented.
Monitoring has occurred on the bank crest (17-34 m) of the site since 1993. Bank crest monitoring includes random transect and repetitive photostation photographs of the benthos to estimate percent cover of major taxonomic groups (e.g., coral, sponge, algae). Benthic photographs are analyzed using Coral Point Count (CPCe) and output into Microsoft Excel worksheets. These data are analyzed for temporal community changes in Primer. Fish census surveys are conducted annually using a modified Bohnsack and Bannerot stationary method, both at random and repetitive sites. Fish data are recorded in Microsoft Excel worksheets. Primer software is used to identify any temporal shifts that occur in the fish community. Water quality parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, turbidity, nutrients) are measured with moored conductivity temperature depth (CTD) instruments and quarterly profiles of the water column are performed. Temperature and salinity data are reduced to report daily averages.
The bank crest benthic community at Stetson Bank has undergone several significant shifts, changing from a habitat predominated by hydrocoral and sponges to one of macroalgae and sponges. The fish community on the bank crest has varied annually. Exotic fish species are present at the bank, including lionfish (Pterois volitans/P. miles) and regal demoiselle (Neopomacentrus cyanomos). Fluctuations in oceanic conditions, macroalgae cover, and continued annual variation in fish communities were documented.
Dataset Citation
- Cite as: Blakeway, Raven D.; Nuttall, Marissa F.; Hickerson, Emma L.; Schmahl, G.P.; Sinclair, James (2022). 2014 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Long-Term Monitoring of the Reef Crest Benthic and Fish Communities of Stetson Bank, northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NCEI Accession 0244997). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Unpublished Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0244997. Accessed [date].
Dataset Identifiers
ISO 19115-2 Metadata
gov.noaa.nodc:0244997
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Ordering Instructions | Data in this archival information package are not currently available for public download from NCEI. Please contact NCEI directly for access to these data. |
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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 | 2014-01-01 to 2014-12-31 |
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates |
West: -94.3
East: -94.28
South: 28.15
North: 28.16
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Dataset Progress Status | Pending - committed to, but not yet addressed |
Data Update Frequency | As needed |
Purpose | Since 1995, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, has monitored the health of the reefs at Stetson Bank. The monitoring effort is designed to assess the health of the reefs through the evaluation of changes in living coral and other benthic community cover, coral growth rates, reef fish population dynamics, water quality, benthic contamination, and other indices of reef vitality. The assessment allows detection of changes in the reef communities, including detection of possible anthropogenic influence (specifically oil and gas impacts). |
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Last Modified: 2024-09-17T19:15:38Z
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