Characterization of benthic habitats within St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER), USVI
NCCOS' Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) is working closely with a number of divisions in the USVI DPNR (e.g., Divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management), the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to develop the baseline characterization of chemical contamination, toxicity, and the marine resources in the St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER) in St. Thomas, USVI. The STEER contains extensive mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Within the watershed, however, are a large active landfill, numerous marinas, various commercial/industrial activities, an EPA Superfund Site, resorts, and several residential areas served by individual septic systems. This baseline assessment will provide managers with critical information needed to help preserve and restore habitats, including a number of nursery areas within the STEER that are important to commercial and recreational fisheries. As part of the characterization, a field survey was conducted in June 2012 to conduct a biological assessment of fish communities and benthic habitats within the STEER and at select hardbottom locations adjacent to STEER. The basis for this work was the nearshore benthic habitats maps (less than 100 ft depth) created by NOAA's Biogeography Program in 2001 and NOS' bathymetry models. Using ArcView GIS software, the digitized habitat maps were stratified to select sampling stations. Sites were randomly selected within strata to ensure coverage of the entire study region. The habitat stratification was divided into three major habitat types: hardbottom which includes reef, pavement, etc. inside STEER; softbottom which consists of sand and seagrass, and mangrove. In addition, two harbottom areas outside STEER of interest to STEER's Core Team were included as a separate stratum. Using standardized protocols of NOAA's Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Project, the fish and benthic habitat survey was conducted by two scientific divers. During each dive one diver quantified the species and size of fish within a 25 x 4 m transect while a second diver characterized the habitat and invertebrate community.
Complete Metadata
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| description | NCCOS' Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) is working closely with a number of divisions in the USVI DPNR (e.g., Divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management), the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to develop the baseline characterization of chemical contamination, toxicity, and the marine resources in the St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER) in St. Thomas, USVI. The STEER contains extensive mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Within the watershed, however, are a large active landfill, numerous marinas, various commercial/industrial activities, an EPA Superfund Site, resorts, and several residential areas served by individual septic systems. This baseline assessment will provide managers with critical information needed to help preserve and restore habitats, including a number of nursery areas within the STEER that are important to commercial and recreational fisheries. As part of the characterization, a field survey was conducted in June 2012 to conduct a biological assessment of fish communities and benthic habitats within the STEER and at select hardbottom locations adjacent to STEER. The basis for this work was the nearshore benthic habitats maps (less than 100 ft depth) created by NOAA's Biogeography Program in 2001 and NOS' bathymetry models. Using ArcView GIS software, the digitized habitat maps were stratified to select sampling stations. Sites were randomly selected within strata to ensure coverage of the entire study region. The habitat stratification was divided into three major habitat types: hardbottom which includes reef, pavement, etc. inside STEER; softbottom which consists of sand and seagrass, and mangrove. In addition, two harbottom areas outside STEER of interest to STEER's Core Team were included as a separate stratum. Using standardized protocols of NOAA's Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Project, the fish and benthic habitat survey was conducted by two scientific divers. During each dive one diver quantified the species and size of fish within a 25 x 4 m transect while a second diver characterized the habitat and invertebrate community. |
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| identifier | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:39573 |
| issued | 2012-11-14T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| keyword |
[
"Numeric Data Sets > Benthic",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat > Description",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal cover",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Calcareous macroalgae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Coralline algae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose coralline algae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting macroalgae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Fleshy macroalgae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Turf algae",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases > Bleaching",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Baseline studies",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Benthos analysis",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Benthos analysis > Quadrat monitoring",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Benthos analysis > Quadrat monitoring > In situ",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Benthos analysis > Transect monitoring",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Benthos analysis > Transect monitoring > Belt transect",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Damage assessment > photographic",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Damage assessment > visual",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > In situ biological",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Rapid assessment studies",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges > Boring",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges > Encrusting",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges > Erect",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Biodiversity",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral cover",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Habitats",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard coral cover",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard coral cover Dead percentage",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard coral cover Live percentage",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Octocoral cover",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Rugosity",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census > Population density",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates",
"EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Plants > Seagrass",
"Environmental Monitoring",
"COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. Thomas > St. Thomas (18N064W0033)",
"OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Leeward Islands > St. Thomas (18N064W0033)",
"DOC/NOAA/NOS/NCCOS > National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
"US_CARIB"
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|
| landingPage | https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/39573 |
| language |
[]
|
| license | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
| modified | 2012-11-14T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| publisher |
{
"name": "National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science",
"@type": "org:Organization"
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|
| references |
[
"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nos/nccos/dmp/pdf/39573.pdf"
]
|
| rights | otherRestrictions, unclassified |
| spatial | -64.818,18.295,-64.883,18.326 |
| temporal | 2012-06-12T00:00:00+00:00/2012-06-22T00:00:00+00:00 |
| title | Characterization of benthic habitats within St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER), USVI |
