Identification_Information: 
  Citation:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)/National Ocean Service (NOS)/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)/Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA)/Biogeography Branch
      Publication_Date: 201009
      Title: Baseline assessment of fish and benthic communities of the Flower Garden Banks (2010 - 2013)
      Publication_Information:
        Publication_Place: Silver Spring, MD
        Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
      Online_Linkage: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/sanctuaries/fgb_nms/welcome.html
  Description:
    Abstract: The proposed work will evaluate the utility of an experimental fishing closure within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). Data collected pre-closure will provide the baseline information necessary to evaluate closure efficacy and assess whether the closure should become permanent. Surveys will employ diving, technical diving, ROV, and hydroacoustics technologies for a comprehensive assessment of the fish and benthic habitat communities of the East and West Bank. 
       The FGBNMS represents the northernmost tropical western Atlantic coral reef on the continental shelf and support the most highly developed offshore hard bank community in the region. The complexity of habitats supports a diverse assemblage of organisms including approximately 250 species of fish, 23 species of coral, and 80 species of algae in addition to large sponge communities. Understanding and monitoring these resources is critical to both sanctuary inventory and management activities.
   During the course of the sanctuarys management plan review process, the impact of fishing was identified as a priority issue, and the concept of a fishing closure was advanced, however it was acknowledged that there was inadequate information to support a full fishing closure. Plans were established to test an experimental closure, implemented in 2011, for a period of no more than 8 years. During this time the banks will be monitored for changes in fish populations and benthic community structure. The purpose of this project will be to provide baseline data for those communities prior to the closure and to develop and establish monitoring techniques to be utilized during the closure. Information gathered both pre- and post-closure will then be utilized to justify whether or not the closure should be made permanent.
    Purpose: 1) To design an appropriate sampling and monitoring strategies for fish and benthic community sampling, as well as data collection, during the first year funding,  2) during  subsequent years, focus on refinement of the sampling strategies and continuing to build on the baseline dataset, 3) groundtruthing and collection of underwater imagery and video to improve existing map products, 4) the banks begin at 150m depth and reach to within 17m of the waters surface, therefore multiple survey techniques will need to be employed using a random stratified sampling design. An ROV will be utilized to survey the deeper water communities, a combination of divers and technical divers will survey the banks down to ~50m, and ship-based hydroacoustics will be utilized to survey fish densities over the entire depth range; and 5) to analyze the information gathered to help guide sanctuary resource management decisions.
    Supplemental_Information: This work is being conducted in collaboration with the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, NOAAs Center for Coastal Environment and Health and Bimolecular Research (CCEHBR), NOAAs Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIORET).
  Time_Period_of_Content:
    Time_Period_Information:
      Range_of_Dates/Times:
        Beginning_Date: 201009
        Ending_Date: present
    Currentness_Reference: Ground Condition
  Status:
    Progress: Completed
    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: as needed
  Spatial_Domain:
    Bounding_Coordinates:
      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -93.82
      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -93.59
      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 27.92
      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 27.87
  Keywords:
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
      Theme_Keyword: Numeric Data Sets > Biology
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Reef fish census > Belt transect
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Monitoring and assessment
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Reef fish census > Linear transect      
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species richness
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish > Fish assemblages
      Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish > Fish Census
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115:2003 MD_TopicCategoryCode
      Theme_Keyword: biota
      Theme_Keyword: 002
      Theme_Keyword: environment
      Theme_Keyword: 007
      Theme_Keyword: oceans
      Theme_Keyword: 014
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Theme_Keyword: coral reef fishes
    Place:
      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Place Thesaurus
      Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Gulf of Mexico > Flower Garden Banks > East Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0001)
      Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Texas > East Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0001)
      Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Gulf of Mexico > Flower Garden Banks > West Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0002)
      Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Texas > West Flower Garden Banks (27N093W0002)
  Access_Constraints: None
  Use_Constraints:
    Please reference NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch when utilizing these data in a report or peer reviewed publication.  Additionally, knowledge of how this dataset has been of use and which organizations are utilizing it is of great benefit for ensuring this information continues to meet the needs of the management and research communities. Therefore, it is requested but not mandatory, that any user of these data supply this information to the Principle Investigator: Randy Clark (email: randy.clark@noaa.gov).
  Point_of_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch
      Contact_Position: Flower Garden Banks Project Principle Investigator
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
        Address: Building 1100, Suite 101
        City: Stennis Space Center
        State_or_Province: MS
        Postal_Code: 39529
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 228-688-3735
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: randy.clark@noaa.gov
      Hours_of_Service: 9:00 - 5:00
  Data_Set_Credit: This is a cooperative effort between NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Program
Data_Quality_Information:
  Logical_Consistency_Report: Not applicable
  Completeness_Report: These data consist of multiple fish community surveys across all diveable portions of the coral caps within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS).  Sites were randomly selected within strata (East and West Bank, low and high relief coral and depth).
  Lineage:
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description:
       
	A stratified random sampling design was employed to sample fish on the coral cap communities of the East and West Flower Garden Banks.  The survey domain at each coral cap was designated as all areas shallower than 110 feet below sea level.  Fine-scale (0.5 m) bathymetric data provided by the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary was used to ascertain depths and slope.  Survey sites were then randomly positioned in each stratum in ArcGIS (ESRI, 2006).  A sample frame consisting of mutually-exclusive 50m X 50m grid cells was produced and overlaid on each coral cap to exhaustively cover all diveable areas (i.e <110ft).  Each grid cell was considered a sample unit and units were divided into six strata.  Strata were defined using benthic habitat, location and depth. High (dominated by plate and head corals) and low relief (dominated by Madracis and rubble) coral categories were determined using a benthic habitat map generated by visual interpretation of multibeam data. Units were divided into deep (>105 ft) and shallow (<105ft) groups based on the location of sampling unit centroids on multibeam bathymetric models. Location and high relief coral categories were divided by depth, low relief coral was not. Data were collected within 100m2 transects.  Transects radiated from the centroid of each sample unit at a random bearing.  
	Once in the field, the boat captain navigated to previously selected sites using a handheld GPS unit.  On-site, divers were deployed and maintained contact with each other throughout the entire census.  One diver was responsible for collecting data on the fish communities utilizing the belt-transect visual census technique over an area of 100m2 (25m length X 4m width).  The belt-transect diver obtained a random compass heading for the transect prior to entering the water and recorded the compass bearing (0-360o) on the data sheet.  Visibility at each site must be sufficient to allow for identification of fish at a minimum of 2m away.  Once reasonable visibility was ascertained, the diver attached a tape measure to the substrate and allowed it to roll out for 25m while they collected data.  
	As a rule, the habitat was not altered in any manner by lifting or moving structure, however, the observer did record fish seen in holes, under ledges and in the water column.  To identify, enumerate, or locate new individuals, divers moved off the centerline of the transect as long as they stayed within the 4m transect width and did not look back along area already covered.  The diver was allowed to look forward toward the end of the transect for the distance remaining (i.e. if the diver was at meter 15, he can look 10 meters distant, but if he was at meter 23, he could only look 2 meters ahead). 
	On-site, no attempt to avoid structural features within a habitat such as a sand patch or an anchor was made as these features affect fish communities and are "real" features of the habitats.  The only instance where the transect deviated from the designated path was to stay above 110 ft.  Transect lasted 15 minutes regardless of habitat type or number of animals present.  This allowed more mobile animals the opportunity to swim through the transect, and standardized the samples collected to allow for comparisons.  
	
	Data were collected on the following:
	
	1) Logistic information - diver name, dive buddy, date, time of survey, site code, transect bearing.

	2) Taxa presence - as the tape roles out at a relatively constant speed, the diver records all fish species to the lowest taxonomic level possible that come within 2m of either side of the transect.  To decrease the total time spent writing, four letter codes are used that consist of the first two letters of the genus name followed by the first two letters of the species name.  In the rare case that two species have the same four-letter code, alternate four-letter codes are used to distinguish between the species. These alternate codes contain the first two letters of the genus, the first letter of the species and then the first  letter in the species name that differs from the other code. If the fish can only be identified to the family or genus level then this is all that is recorded.  If the fish cannot be identified to the family level then no entry is necessary.  

	3) Abundance & size - the number of individuals per species is tallied in 5cm size class increments up to 35cm using visual estimation of fork length.  If an individual is greater than 35cm, then an estimate of the actual fork length is recorded. 

	4) Photos  individuals too difficult to identify or unique in some manner may be photographed for later clarification.

      Process_Date: 201009
Spatial_Reference_Information:
  Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
    Geographic:
      Latitude_Resolution: 0.00001
      Longitude_Resolution: 0.00001
      Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal Degrees
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
  Overview_Description:
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
      We supply abundance and size information of fish species at the lowest possible taxonomic level across all diveable portions of the coral caps within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS).  In addition, we provide photographs of many of the taxa.  For specific information please see the data dictionary available on the database website.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch
Distribution_Information:
  Distributor:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: NOAA/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch
      Contact_Position: Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Database Manager
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
        Address: 1305 East-West Hwy. (SSMC4, N/SCI-1)
        City: Silver Spring
        State_or_Province: MD
        Postal_Code: 20910
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 301-713-3028
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: tom.mcgrath@noaa.gov
      Hours_of_Service: 9:00 - 5:00
  Resource_Description: Downloadable data
  Distribution_Liability:
    These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials.
    NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA can not assume liability for and damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
  Standard_Order_Process:
    Digital_Form:
      Digital_Transfer_Information:
        Format_Name: tab delimited text file
      Digital_Transfer_Option:
        Online_Option:
          Computer_Contact_Information:
            Network_Address:
              Network_Resource_Name: http://www8.nos.noaa.gov/biogeo_public/query_main.aspx
    Fees: None
    Ordering_Instructions: 
Metadata_Reference_Information:
  Metadata_Date: 20060714
  Metadata_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
      Contact_Position:
      Contact_Address: 
        Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
        Address: 4700 Avenue U. Building 216
        City: Galveston
        State_or_Province: TX
        Postal_Code: 77551
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 409-621-5151 ext. 111
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: FGBScience.Coordinator@noaa.gov
      Hours_of_Service: 9:00 - 5:00
  Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
  Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

