Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Large-Area Stationary Point Count Surveys (SPC) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2007

The large-area stationary point count (SPC) method is 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). The SPC method catalogs the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density) and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages in shallow-water (typically 10-15m, always < 30m) hard-bottom habitats. 

Stationary Point Counts (SPC) is one of non-invasive underwater-survey methods to enumerate the diverse components of diurnally active shallow-water reef fish assemblages. At each REA survey sites, SPC fish surveys are conducted at 4 stations in conjunction with, but at least 10 m away from 3 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines to quantify relatively larger (>25 cm Total Length [TL]) and more vagile fish species. All fishes >25 cm TL are recorded to species-level that enter a 20 m diameter cylinder (area ~314 m2) during a timed 5 minute count. Individuals or groups are estimated to the nearest 5 cm TL size-class bin. Four replicate, 5 minute cylinder counts are conducted at each station. Care is taken to avoid over-counting large transient or schooling species. Transects lines and stations are typically set at depths of 10-15 m. Reef ledges and holes are visually searched. Stations are completed on all sides of the island/atoll, weather and sea conditions permitting. Raw survey data included species level abundance estimates.

Reef fish and benthic estimate data collected during SPC surveys can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

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), anatahan, anatahan island, anatahan island (16n145e0001), aquatic habitat, arakane reef, arakane reef (15n141e0001), 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, 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), 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), 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, pathfinder reef, pathfinder reef (16n141e0001), pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001), pifsc, pria, rapid assessment studies, rapid ecological assessment, rea, 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), santa rosa reef, santa rosa reef (15n145e0002), sarigan island, sarigan island (16n145e0003), south pacific ocean, spc, species identification, species identification - count, species identification - organism length, species richness, stationary, stationary point count, stingray shoals (20n142e0001), 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, zealandia bank (16n145e0005), zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce