Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012 to 2014
The data described here, including photographs, genetic sequences, and specimen information, were collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, or ARMS, moored for two years at fixed climate survey sites located on hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in Timor-Leste. Climate sites were established in Timor-Leste in October 2012 to establish ecological baselines for climate change by measuring multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) over time.
Three ARMS units were typically deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. Each ARMS unit, constructed in-house by CREP, consisted of 23 cm x 23 cm gray, type 1 PVC plates stacked in alternating series of 4 open and 4 obstructed layers and attached to a base plate of 35 cm x 45 cm, which was affixed to the reef. Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms, scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 µm, and 100 µm. The 500 µm and 100 µm fractions were bulked and also preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies, photographed, and identified to the lowest taxonomic identification possible. The plate photographs, sequences generated from the DNA metabarcoding of the scrapings and the 500- and 100-µm fractions, specimen photographs, and specimen identifications are included in the ARMS dataset. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.
ARMS are used by CREP to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity across the Pacific. Developed in collaboration with the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems (CReefs), ARMS are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract/collect colonizing marine invertebrates. The key innovation of the ARMS method is that biodiversity is sampled over precisely the same surface area in the exact same manner. Thus, the use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community over time.
Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | non-public |
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Oliver, Thomas",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:thomas.oliver@noaa.gov"
}
|
| describedByType | application/octet-steam |
| description | The data described here, including photographs, genetic sequences, and specimen information, were collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, or ARMS, moored for two years at fixed climate survey sites located on hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in Timor-Leste. Climate sites were established in Timor-Leste in October 2012 to establish ecological baselines for climate change by measuring multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) over time. Three ARMS units were typically deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. Each ARMS unit, constructed in-house by CREP, consisted of 23 cm x 23 cm gray, type 1 PVC plates stacked in alternating series of 4 open and 4 obstructed layers and attached to a base plate of 35 cm x 45 cm, which was affixed to the reef. Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms, scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 µm, and 100 µm. The 500 µm and 100 µm fractions were bulked and also preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies, photographed, and identified to the lowest taxonomic identification possible. The plate photographs, sequences generated from the DNA metabarcoding of the scrapings and the 500- and 100-µm fractions, specimen photographs, and specimen identifications are included in the ARMS dataset. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. ARMS are used by CREP to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity across the Pacific. Developed in collaboration with the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems (CReefs), ARMS are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract/collect colonizing marine invertebrates. The key innovation of the ARMS method is that biodiversity is sampled over precisely the same surface area in the exact same manner. Thus, the use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community over time. |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "IMAGES_SITE",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "Images organized by climate survey site (TIM-01 to TIM-10) from ARMS deployed in Timor-Leste in 2012 and recovered in 2014 by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP). Images are organized by 1) photographs taken of the PLATES (tops and bottoms) as the recovered ARMS units were processed, 2) specimens that were recovered and identified as part of the 2-mm fraction (SPECIES folder, which corresponds to SAMPLE_LABEL in the CSV), and 3) photographs taken during the deployment and recovery of ARMS units (DEPLOY and RECOVER folders).",
"downloadURL": "https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0169338",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP)",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort.",
"downloadURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/46159.pdf",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords",
"downloadURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Full Metadata Record",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.",
"downloadURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/46159",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
}
]
|
| identifier | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:46159 |
| issued | 2017-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| keyword |
[
"587",
"Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the US Pacific Islands and Atolls",
"Numeric Data Sets > Biology",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS)",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Brachyura",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Cryptobiota",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Biodiversity",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates",
"IMAGES",
"SPECIES IDENTIFICATION",
"SPECIES IDENTIFICATION - COUNT",
"biological",
"imagery",
"laboratory analysis",
"CORAL REEF STUDIES",
"Coral Triangle Initiative",
"US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
"COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)",
"OCEAN BASIN > Indian Ocean > Timor Sea > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)",
"Indian Ocean",
"Timor Sea",
"ARMS",
"Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure",
"Biodiversity",
"CRED",
"CREP",
"CReefs",
"Census of Marine Life",
"Coral Reef Ecosystem Division",
"Coral Reef Ecosystem Program",
"PIFSC",
"Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
"USAID",
"United States Agency for International Development",
"Atauro",
"Baucau",
"Bobonaro",
"Dili",
"Lautem",
"Manatuto",
"Timor-Leste",
"Vila MPA",
"Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures",
"DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
"Timor Leste"
]
|
| landingPage | https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/46159 |
| language |
[]
|
| license | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
| modified | 2017-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| publisher |
{
"name": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| references |
[
"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/46159.pdf"
]
|
| rights | otherRestrictions, unclassified |
| spatial | 125.49912,-8.85321,125.01319,-8.22438 |
| temporal | 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00/2014-10-09T00:00:00+00:00 |
| title | Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012 to 2014 |
