National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected during Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) across the Mariana Archipelago since 2014

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: December 19, 2025 | Last Modified: 2023-06-01T00:00:00.000+00:00

This data has been combined into a US Pacific-wide InPort record: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/77771. The data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites across the Mariana archipelago in 2014, 2017, and 2022 as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish. Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using the Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software from 2010-2014 and using the web-based annotation tool CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2016) from 2015 to present. Images are analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1 (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting, etc.; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda, etc.), and Tier 3 (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.). A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems across the region. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (benthic cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution.

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accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "Oliver, Thomas", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:thomas.oliver@noaa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	This data has been combined into a US Pacific-wide InPort record: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/77771. The data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites across the Mariana archipelago in 2014, 2017, and 2022 as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish. Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using the Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) software from 2010-2014 and using the web-based annotation tool CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2016) from 2015 to present. Images are analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1 (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting, etc.; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda, etc.), and Tier 3 (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.). A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems across the region. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included island, reef zone, and depth. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (benthic cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution.
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identifier	gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:36156
issued	2017-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
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NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Agrihan Island > Agrihan Island (18N145E0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Aguijan > Aguijan Island (14N145E0006)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Alamagan Island > Alamagan Island (17N145E0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Asuncion Island > Asuncion Island (19N145E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Farallon de Pajaros > Farallon de Pajaros (12N144E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Guguan > Guguan Island (17N145E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Maug > Maug Island (20N145E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Pagan > Pagan Island (18N145E0001)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Rota > Rota Island ( Luta ) (14N145E0007)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Saipan > Saipan Island (15N145E0002)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Sarigan Island > Sarigan Island (16N145E0003)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Northern Mariana Islands > Tinian > Tinian Island (14N145E0005)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Agrihan Island > Agrihan Island (18N145E0002)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Aguijan Island Reefs > Aguijan Island (14N145E0006)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Alamagan Island > Alamagan Island (17N145E0002)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Asuncion Island > Asuncion Island (19N145E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Farallon de Pajaros > Farallon de Pajaros (12N144E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guguan Island > Guguan Island (17N145E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Mariana Archipelago > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Maug Island > Maug Island (20N145E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Pagan Island > Pagan Island (18N145E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Rota Island > Rota Island ( Luta ) (14N145E0007)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Saipan Island > Saipan Island (15N145E0002)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Sarigan Island > Sarigan Island (16N145E0003)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Tinian Island Reefs > Tinian Island (14N145E0005)", "Marianas Trench Marine National Monument", "Northwest Pacific", "photograph", "Benthic cover", "CRED", "CREP", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "ESD", "Ecosystem Sciences Division", "PIFSC", "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "RAMP", "Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program", "triennial", "CNMI", "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands", "Mariana Archipelago", "Mariana Islands", "Marianas", "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "Marianas Archipelago" ]
landingPage	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36156
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2023-06-01T00:00:00.000+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/36156.pdf" ]
rights	otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial	145.852711,13.22889458,144.624971,20.553116
temporal	2014-03-25T00:00:00+00:00/2014-05-07T00:00:00+00:00
title	National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected during Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) across the Mariana Archipelago since 2014