National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Coral census data collected by divers from small boats in the Florida Keys Reef Tract from 2014-05-01 to 2014-10-01 (NCEI Accession 0156879)

• Main Authors: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program, Coral Reef Conservation Program
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: NOAA NCEI Environmental Data Archive 2017
• Subjects: DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC > National Oceanographic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce; DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce; DOC/NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC > Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce; 0156879; 156879; BENTHIC SPECIES; BENTHIC SPECIES - TAXA COUNTS; BIOLOGICAL DATA; CORAL - CENSUS; CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION; HABITAT - BENTHIC; SPECIES COUNT PER SAMPLE; swimmer/diver; biological; US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP); CORAL REEF STUDIES; National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP); Coastal Waters of Florida; Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; Gulf of Mexico; North Atlantic Ocean; oceanography; 743; Numeric Data Sets > Benthic; EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat > Description; EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals; EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > ESA Listed Species; EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Coral Colony Size and Condition; EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates; Biennial; COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Florida > Florida Reef Tract (26N080W0007); OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Florida Reef Tract (26N080W0007); OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN; OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > GULF OF MEXICO; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://search.dataone.org/view/{DFB7ED7B-91FC-47C9-9471-2C81828C86E5}

This coral demographics protocol was devised to provide additional, species-specific insight (and ‘signal magnitude’) for corals than is provided by percent cover. Specifics of the protocol are based closely on other long-established monitoring programs in the Atlantic region, including Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA; Caribbean-wide), Sanctuaries Coral Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Monitoring, Florida (SCREAM), and the Florida Reef Resilience Program (FRRP). However, the sampling resolution may not capture the population structure of rare or uncommon corals, including currently-listed or candidate Endangered Species Act (ESA) species. Precise designations of coral condition (e.g. attributed disease, minor bleaching/paling conditions) are NOT included in this data. This is due to the low temporal resolution of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) sampling (biennial and potentially not seasonally consistent) and the wide array of surveyors involved, which is why the survey protocol is designed to capture the least ambiguous colony conditions likely to be encountered: recent mortality (i.e. dead white skeleton) and bright-white bleaching on a partial or an entire coral colony. The Line Point-Intercept (LPI) sampling is designed to provide resolution of benthic cover estimates for ecologically important cover types/groups (e.g. macroalgae, turf algae, crustose coralline algae, corals, sponges, sand/sediment, etc.). More detailed information on scleractinian corals, specifically density, size, and condition (percent mortality and bleaching) measurements, is being collected via the NCRMP Coral Demographics sampling.