NCRMP: Assessment of coral communities in the Florida Reef Tract from 2016-05-01 to 2016-12-15 (NCEI Accession 0169401)

The Benthic Assessment (BA) is the first of two benthic surveys conducted in Florida as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Benthic Assessment provides benthic cover estimates for ecologically important cover types/groups (e.g., macroalgae, turf algae, crustose coralline algae, corals, sponges, sand/sediment, etc.) using a 1-stage stratified random survey design in hardbottom and coral reef habitats less than 30m in depth

The Coral Demographic method is the second of two benthic surveys conducted along the Florida reef tract as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). The goal of the coral demographic surveys is to collect and report information on species composition, density, size, abundance, and specific parameters of condition (% live vs. dead, bleaching, disease) of non-juvenile scleractinian corals (>4 cm maximum diameter), and of overall species diversity (all corals) using 10m x 1m belt transects in a stratified random sampling design in hardbottom and coral reef habitats less than 30m in depth. Surveys are concurrent with and along the same transect of the Benthic Assessment surveys, including the Line Point-Intercept (LPI) survey.

Data provided in these data sets are from three (3) distinct regions along the Florida reef tract; 1) Dry Tortugas, 2) Florida Keys from Key West north to Miami, and 3) Miami north to Martin County. Lead agencies involved include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationÃ¢ÂÂs Southeast Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries) and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).

Tags: 0169401, 169401, 2016, animals/vertebrates, atlantic ocean, belt transect, benthic, benthic communities, benthic species, biological, biological classification, biological data, biology, biosphere, coastal landforms, coastal waters of florida, coral, coral reef conservation program, coral reef conservation program (crcp), coral reef studies, coral reefs, corals, country/territory, depth - observation, diver visual survey, doc/noaa/nesdis/ncei, doc/noaa/nmfs/sefsc, doc/noaa/nos/nms, doi/nps, earth science, ecosystems, fish, fish - coral reef, fish and wildlife research institute, fish census, fish species, florida, florida fish and wildlife conservation commission, florida florida keys national marine sanctuary, florida keys national marine sanctuary, florida reef tract (26n080w0007), florida state department of environmental protection, geomorphic landforms/processes, gulf of america, gulf of mexico, habitat, habitat - benthic, in situ, marine biology, marine ecosystems, national centers for environmental information, national coral reef monitoring plan (ncrmp) implementation, national coral reef monitoring program (ncrmp), national marine fisheries service, national marine sanctuaries, national ocean service, national park service, nesdis, nmfs, noaa, north atlantic ocean, nos, nova southeastern university, numeric data sets, ocean, ocean basin, oceans, onms, reef fish census, reef monitoring and assessment, rosenstiel school of marine and atmospheric science, rosenstiel school of marine and atmospheric science university of miami, solid earth, southeast fisheries science center, species identification, species identification - count, survey - biological, survey - coral reef, survey - swimmer/diver, swimmer/diver, u-miami/rsmas, u.s. department of commerce, u.s. department of the interior, united states of america, university of miami, us doc, us doi, zoology
Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce