Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) of Reef Fish, including Benthic Estimate Data at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2007 to 2012

The stationary point count (nSPC) method was used to conduct reef fish surveys in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) from 2008 to 2012. Stationary point count is a non-invasive underwater survey method that catalogs the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density), and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages in shallow-water (less than 30 m) hard-bottom habitats. Starting in 2010, visual estimates of benthic cover and topographic structural complexity were also recorded, with benthic organisms grouped into broad functional categories (e.g., 'Hard Coral', 'Macroalgae'). A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems throughout the U.S.-Pacific regions. For all regions, the survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats and the stratification included island, reef zone, and depth, with the exception of the Main Hawaiian Islands that included habitat structure type as well. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and variability.

At each REA survey site, 1 or 2 nSPC fish surveys were conducted, with each survey being carried out by a pair of divers each recording the number, size and species of all fishes within adjacent 15-m diameter cylinders. Benthic estimates were recorded at the end of the fish surveys.

Reef fish and benthic estimate data provided in this data set were collected during stationary point count surveys as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) led Pacific RAMP cruises. Data collected as part of PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument funded research cruises in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012 are also included as these data were funded separately from but are complementary to the Pacific RAMP data collected by ESD.

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), aquatic habitat, asuncion island, asuncion island (19n145e0001), baker island, baker island (00n176w0001), biennial, 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, ecological dynamics, ecosystem monitoring and assessment, ecosystem sciences division, equatorial pacific ocean, esd, farallon de pajaros, farallon de pajaros (20n144e0001), fish, fish - coral reef, fish assemblages, fish biomass, fish census, fish species, french frigate shoals (24n166w0001), gardner pinnacles (25n168w0001), 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), kingman reef (06n162w0001), kure atoll (28n178w0001), lanai island, lanai island (20n156w0002), laysan island (25n171w0001), line islands, lisianski island (25n173w0001), macroinvertebrates, main hawaiian islands, manu'a group, manu'a islands (14s170w0038), mariana archipelago, mariana islands, marianas, marianas trench marine national monument, marine biology, marine invertebrates, 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), nihoa (23n161w0001), 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, ramp, rapid assessment studies, rapid ecological assessment, rea, reef assessment and monitoring program, reef fish, reef fish census, reef habitat, reef monitoring and assessment, rose atoll marine national monument, rose island, rose island (rose atoll) (14s168w0001), rota, rota island, rota island ( luta ) (14n145e0007), rugosity, saipan, saipan island, saipan island (15n145e0002), sarigan island, sarigan island (16n145e0003), south bank (14s170w0067), south pacific ocean, spc, species identification, species identification - count, species identification - organism length, species richness, stationary, stationary point count, survey, survey - biological, survey - swimmer/diver, swains atoll (11s171w0001), ta'u island (14s169w0012), tinian, tinian island (14n145e0005), tinian island reefs, tutuila island (14s170w0016), u.s. department of commerce, united states of america, us doc, usa minor outlying islands, visual estimate, wake atoll, wake atoll (19n167e0001), western pacific ocean, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce