Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Belt transect surveys of corals at U.S. Pacific reefs from 2002-02-09 to 2007-05-22 (uneven size-class bins) (NCEI Accession 0189729)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 26, 2026 | Last Modified: 2019-06-20T00:00:00.000+00:00

The coral demographic data described here result from belt transect surveys conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) -- formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division -- from 2002 to 2007 at coral reef sites in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) with funding from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Surveys were conducted at fixed sites at depths ranging between 10 m and 15 m. Sites were surveyed using belt transects to collect coral colony metrics. At each site, the surveyor listed and identified to the genus or species level, all coral colonies occurring within 0.5 sq. meters of each side of two, 25-m transect lines; and recorded the visually estimated size class to which the maximum diameter of each colony belonged (0-5 cm; >5-10 cm; >10-20 cm; >20-40 cm; >40-80 cm; >80-160 cm; or >160 cm). In geographic regions such as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where coral richness and abundance are reduced relative to lower latitude regions with higher species richness, the protocol was amended to include all corals occurring within 1 m of each side of the transect lines. These coral demographic data provide information on coral abundance (density, proportion occurrence, and total colony abundance), size distribution, and taxonomic richness.

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@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.info@noaa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	The coral demographic data described here result from belt transect surveys conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) -- formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division -- from 2002 to 2007 at coral reef sites in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) with funding from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Surveys were conducted at fixed sites at depths ranging between 10 m and 15 m. Sites were surveyed using belt transects to collect coral colony metrics. At each site, the surveyor listed and identified to the genus or species level, all coral colonies occurring within 0.5 sq. meters of each side of two, 25-m transect lines; and recorded the visually estimated size class to which the maximum diameter of each colony belonged (0-5 cm; >5-10 cm; >10-20 cm; >20-40 cm; >40-80 cm; >80-160 cm; or >160 cm). In geographic regions such as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where coral richness and abundance are reduced relative to lower latitude regions with higher species richness, the protocol was amended to include all corals occurring within 1 m of each side of the transect lines. These coral demographic data provide information on coral abundance (density, proportion occurrence, and total colony abundance), size distribution, and taxonomic richness.
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identifier	gov.noaa.nodc:0189729
issued	2019-06-06T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "0189729", "biological data", "CORAL", "CORAL - CENSUS", "CORAL - COLONY SIZE", "CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION", "swimmer/diver", "visual observation", "biological", "in situ", "survey", "survey - biological", "survey - coral reef", "survey - swimmer/diver", "NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai", "NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette", "NOAA Ship Townsend Cromwell", "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division", "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division", "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)", "CORAL REEF STUDIES", "Pacific Reef and Assessment Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP)", "Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary", "National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa", "North Pacific Ocean", "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument", "Philippine Sea", "Rose Atoll Marine National Monument", "South Pacific Ocean", "oceanography", "CRED", "CREP", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "ESD", "Ecosystem Sciences Division", "PIFSC", "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "1221", "C204 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP): Biennial monitoring for the US Pacific Islands and Atolls", "Numeric Data Sets > Biology", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species Richness", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and 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BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Molokai Island > Molokai Island (21N157W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Niihau Island > Kaula Island (21N160W0003)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Niihau Island > Lehua Island (22N160W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Niihau Island > Niihau Island (21N160W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Hawaiian Islands > Oahu Island > Oahu (21N157W0003)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Howland Island > Howland Island (00S176W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Johnston Atoll > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (28N178W0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > French Frigate Shoals (24N166W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Gardner Pinnacles (25N168W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Kure Atoll (28N178W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Laysan Island (25N171W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Lisianski Island (25N173W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Maro Reef (25N170W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Midway Atoll (28N177W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Necker Island (23N164W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Northwestern Hawaiian Islands > Pearl and Hermes Reef (27N176W0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Wake Atoll > Wake Atoll (19N167E0001)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ofu Island (14S169W0013)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Olosega Island (14S169W0014)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Aguihan Island Reefs > Aguihan Island (Aguijan) (14N145E0006)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guam > Guam (13N144E0000)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Guam > Santa Rosa Bank (12N144E0051)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Mariana Archipelago > Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI ) (18N146E0000)", "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 > Tinian Island Reefs > Tinian Island (14N145E0005)", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN > AMERICAN SAMOA", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN > HAWAIIAN ISLANDS", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN", "CNMI", "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands", "MHI", "Main Hawaiian Islands", "Mariana Archipelago", "Mariana Islands", "Marianas", "NWHI", "Northwestern Hawaiian Islands", "PRIA", "Pacific Remote Island Areas", "61N9YA" ]
landingPage	https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2019-06-20T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "org:Organization" }
references	[ "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/10512" ]
rights	otherRestrictions
spatial	-154.818,-14.559317,144.4239,28.45365
temporal	2002-02-09T00:00:00+00:00/2007-05-22T00:00:00+00:00
title	Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Belt transect surveys of corals at U.S. Pacific reefs from 2002-02-09 to 2007-05-22 (uneven size-class bins) (NCEI Accession 0189729)

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