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OAS accession Detail for 0157565
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Title: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, including Marine Debris Sightings, of the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2016-07-13 to 2016-09-26 (NCEI Accession 0157565)
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 Hawaiian Archipelago as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led mission in 2016. These data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
Date received: 20161213
Start date: 20160713
End date: 20160926
Seanames: North Pacific Ocean, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
West boundary: -178.3796122
East boundary: -154.8695547
North boundary: 28.45925778
South boundary: 19.45793768
Observation types: in situ, survey - biological, survey - coral reef, survey - swimmer/diver, visual estimate, visual observation
Instrument types: GPS, swimmer/diver, visual observation
Datatypes: CORAL, DEBRIS, DEPTH - SENSOR, HABITAT - BENTHIC, MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS, REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER, WATER TEMPERATURE
Submitter: Kanemura, Troy
Submitting institution: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Collecting institutions: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Contributing projects: CORAL REEF STUDIES, CRCP, NCRMP, Pacific RAMP
Platforms: Hi'ialakai (33HL)
Number of observations:
Supplementary information:
Availability date:
Metadata version: 8
Keydate: 2016-12-15 14:35:12+00
Editdate: 2024-09-09 21:30:11+00