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Northeast Puerto Rico and Culebra Island - Benthic Habitat Map 2015

Published by Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2015-02-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
This benthic habitat map was created from a semi-automated habitat mapping process, using a combination of bathymetry, satellite imagery, aerial imagery and underwater videos to classify the 0-35m deep benthic habitats of the region around Northeast Puerto Rico (NEPR) and Culebra Island, including the shallow part of the Northeast Ecological Reserves, Puerto Rico. The area of interest includes the nearshore waters of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. The benthic habitat map is classified based: on 1) geomorphological structure, 2) hard bottom cover, 3) topographic complexity, 4) dominant biological cover, 5) live coral cover and 6) dominant type of coral cover. Underwater photo and video data was collected to provide ground validation for remote sensing imagery, and to assess the accuracy t of the final map. Habitat features are described by varying levels of detail (i.e., major and minor categories nested within them), so users can depict the habitat information that best suits their research or management needs.

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CoRIS_Metadata habitat Map coastal ocean science biogeography remote sensing northeast ecological reserve benthic habitat coral reef seagrass acropora palmata acropora cervicornis bathymetry principle component analysis world view 2 geostatistical modeling ground validation accuracy assessment geomorphological structure hard bottom cover topographic complexity dominant biological cover live coral cover snorkel gopro seaviewer trimble arcgis Mapping Shallow Benthic Habitats of the North East Reserves MPA, Puerto Rico 793 Geographic Information > Habitats EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Plants > Seagrass EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat > Description Northeast Ecological Reserve Fajardo Cabeza de San Juan Culebra La Cordillera Vieques Sound U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone Caribbean Atlantic Ocean COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Luquillo (18N065W0012) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Luquillo (18N065W0012) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Fajardo (18N065W0004) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Fajardo (18N065W0004) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000)

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