Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative: surveys for percent and severity of bleached coral cover across the Hawaiian Archipelago from August 20 to December 7, 2019

The data described here result from coral bleaching surveys across the Hawaiian Archipelago from August 20 to December 7, 2019. The data provide information on live coral cover and the percentage and average severity that was bleached, as well as taxa-specific metrics (live cover and the percentage and severity that was bleached). The data were collected during a multi-institutional effort by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative (HCBC) to build a comprehensive dataset of the spatial extent and severity of bleaching in the Hawaiian Archipelago during the peak of the forecasted 2019 coral bleaching event. This dataset is a compilation of data supplied by: NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD); State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR); Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Sandin Lab; Arizona State University (ASU), Asner Lab; National Park Service (NPS), Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN); Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), Coral Reef Ecology Lab; and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawaii. 

Coral bleaching surveys were conducted at both fixed and random sites using varying methods per institution that included: rapid visual assessments, photoquadrat assessments, and transect-intercept assessments. Metrics that were recorded include live coral cover, the percentage of living coral that was bleached, and the average severity of bleached corals. Surveys conducted in the Main Hawaiian Islands were conducted during shore-based missions, whereas surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were performed opportunistically during the regularly scheduled NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) mission.

Random sites were selected by each institution in their own ways, as follows:
- NOAA ESD: A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was used; the StRS method effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site
- DAR: Randomly chose sites by covering shorelines at depths from 1-15ft with hard bottom substrate, and aligned transects with shoreline access points
- TNC: Sites were randomly selected using ARC-GIS within a polygon bounded by 15' and 50' depth clines and clipped to hard bottom habitat, based on NOAA habitat maps
- HIMB: Method described in lineage source
- ASU: Sites were selected based on two factors: (1) bleaching reports sent into hawaiicoral.org (ASU, DAR, NOAA website) to locate potential hotspots on the Big Island; and (2) areas not reported as potential coldspots. At each selected "site", randomly selected location GPS points constrained only by isobaths of 5, 10, and 15m
- PACN: Method described in lineage source

Tags: 31283, aquatic habitat, arizona state university, asu, belt transect, benthos analysis, biology, biosphere, bleaching, central pacific ocean, coastal processes, coral, coral - bleaching, coral - species identification, coral bleaching, coral bleaching assessment and analysis, coral cover, coral diseases, coral reef conservation program, coral reef ecology, coral reef ecosystem division, coral reef ecosystem program, coral reef studies, coral reefs, corals, country/territory, cred, crep, dar, department of land and natural resources, division of aquatic resources, dlnr, doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc, earth science, ecosystem sciences division, esd, french frigate shoals (24n166w0001), hawaii, hawaii (21n160w0000), hawaii institute of marine biology, hawaii island, hawaii island (19n155w0003), hawaiian islands, hawaiian islands (21n157w0027, hawaiian islands (21n157w0027), himb, honolulu, in situ biological, kauai island, kauai island (22n159w0001), kure atoll (28n178w0001), lanai island, lanai island (20n156w0002), lisianski island (25n173w0001), main hawaiian islands, marine biology, maui, maui island, maui island (20n156w0004), mhi, molokai island, molokai island (21n157w0001), national marine fisheries service, national park service, nmfs, noaa, north pacific ocean, northwestern hawaiian islands, nps, numeric data sets, nwhi, oahu (21n157w0003), oahu island, ocean and climate change, ocean basin, oceans, pacific island inventory & monitoring network, pacific islands fisheries science center, pacific ocean, pacn, papahanaumokuakea marine national monument, pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001), photoquadrat assessments, pifsc, pmnm, rainier, rapid assessment studies, rapid ecological assessments, rea, reef and/or bottom regime - percent cover, reef habitat, reef monitoring and assessment, scripps institute of oceanography, sio, survey - biological, survey - swimmer/diver, the nature conservancy of hawaii, tnc, transect monitoring, transect-intercept assessments, u.s. department of commerce, united states of america, us doc, various small vessels, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce