Pacific Reef Monitoring and Assessment Program: Line-Point-Intercept (LPI) Surveys for Benthic Cover at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2005 to 2012

A REA survey is a collection of inter-disciplinary protocols for gathering data pertaining to ecologically relevant biological components of a reef habitat over small spatial scales. A key facet of a REA survey includes specialists in different disciplines, including Fish, Coral, Algae, and Invertebrates. The REA surveys are conducted along a set of transect lines that are laid out by the first team to enter the water (i.e. the fish team). In this way, all of the biotic observations are referenced with regard to the same spatial coordinates, producing a more integrated biological description of a reef community than would any single, specialized survey. 

At each REA survey site, the Line-Point-Intercept methodology is implemented to quantitatively document the benthic cover along two consecutively placed, 25 m line transects (with a 5 m inter-transect distance). The LPI diver determines the benthic composition at pre-determined intervals along the transect line. During the initial years of RAMP (2005-2008) LPI surveys were conducted at 50-cm intervals for a total of 50 data points per transect; subsequently (2010â2012) LPI surveys were conducted at 20-cm intervals for a total of 125 data points per transect.

All living benthic elements (e.g., coral, algae, and other sessile invertebrates) are identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, often substituting functional group categories for turf algae and crustose coralline algae when identification in the field is extremely difficult. Raw survey data consist of counts of benthic elements, including but not limited to live coral, dead coral, carbonate pavement, sand, coral rubble, fleshy macroalgae, crustose coralline algae, turfalgae, as well as other sessile invertebrates along the two transects. The data allows for the assessment and monitoring of community structure and composition, and provide the basis for computing quantitative estimates of percent benthic cover at higher taxonomic levels like functional group (live coral, macroalgae, turf algae) or on a finer taxonomic resolution such as genus level.

Tags: 1221, 587, agrihan island, agrihan island (18n145e0002), aguihan, aguihan island (aguijan) (14n145e0006), aguihan island reefs, alamagan island, alamagan island (17n145e0002), american samoa, american samoa (14s170w0000), asuncion island, asuncion island (19n145e0001), baker island, baker island (00n176w0001), belt transect, benthos analysis, biology, biosphere, c204 pacific reef assessment and monitoring program (pacific ramp): biennial monitoring for the us p, central pacific ocean, cnmi, coastal processes, commonwealth of the northern mariana islands, coral cover, 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, doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc, earth science, ecosystem monitoring and assessment, ecosystem sciences division, equatorial pacific ocean, farallon de pajaros, farallon de pajaros (20n144e0001), french frigate shoals (24n166w0001), guam, guam (13n144e0000), guguan, guguan island, guguan island (17n145e0001), hawaii, hawaii island, hawaii island (19n155w0003), hawaiian islands, hawaiian islands (21n157w0027), hi'ialakai, honolulu, howland island, howland island (00s176w0001), jarvis island (00s160w0001), johnston atoll, johnston atoll (16n169w0001), kauai, kauai island, kauai island (22n159w0001), kaula island (21n160w0003), kingman reef (06n162w0001), kure atoll (28n178w0001), lanai island, lanai island (20n156w0002), laysan island (25n171w0001), lehua island (22n160w0001), line islands, lisianski island (25n173w0001), main hawaiian islands, manu'a group, manu'a islands (14s170w0038), mariana archipelago, mariana islands, marianas, marianas trench marine national monument, maro reef (25n170w0001), maug, maug island, maug island (20n145e0001), maui, maui island, maui island (20n156w0004), mhi, midway atoll (28n177w0001), molokai island, molokai island (21n157w0001), national marine fisheries service, necker island (23n164w0001), niihau island, niihau island (21n160w0001), nmfs, noaa, north pacific ocean, northern mariana islands, northern mariana islands ( cnmi ) (18n146e0000), northwestern hawaiian islands, northwestern hawaiian islands (28n178w0000), numeric data sets, nw pacific, nwhi, oahu (21n157w0003), oahu island, ocean basin, oceans, ofu island (14s169w0013), olosega island (14s169w0014), oscar elton sette, pacific islands fisheries science center, pacific ocean, pacific reef and assessment monitoring program (pacific ramp), pacific reef assessment and monitoring program: monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the us pacific i, pacific remote island areas, pacific remote islands marine national monument, pagan, pagan island, pagan island (18n145e0001), palmyra atoll (05n162w0001), papahanaumokuakea marine national monument, pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001), pifsc, pria, rapid assessment studies, rapid ecological assessments (rea), reef and/or bottom regime - percent cover, reef monitoring and assessment, rose atoll marine national monument, rose island, rose island (rose atoll) (14s168w0001), rota, rota island, rota island ( luta ) (14n145e0007), saipan, saipan island, saipan island (15n145e0002), santa rosa bank (12n144e0051), sarigan island, sarigan island (16n145e0003), south pacific ocean, survey, survey - swimmer/diver, swains atoll (11s171w0001), ta'u island (14s169w0012), tinian, tinian island (14n145e0005), tinian island reefs, transect monitoring, tutuila island (14s170w0016), u.s. department of commerce, united states of america, us doc, usa minor outlying islands, wake atoll, wake atoll (19n167e0001), western pacific ocean, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce