Abundance data acquired in support of invasive species distribution studies at ten macroalgal ecology and taxonomic assessment sites in Hawaii during 2001 (NCEI Accession 0000879)

Abundance data represent estimates of percent cover of species type (coral or algal) in 10 randomly placed quadrats along two 50 meter transect lines of each site. Data are available for 10 sites from Oahu to the Island of Hawaii taken in 2001 in support of the Macroalgal Ecology and Taxonomic Assessment (TEAM) Project. The species for abundance estimates include 11 corals, 5 invertebrates, 33 algals, and 2 benthic types (turf or sand).

The role that marine algae play in a coral reef system is often overlooked because of lack of knowledge that they are the primary producers in the system. The coral reef ecosystem in Hawaii contains about ten times more algal species than coral species, some of them regulating space that permits coral recruitment.

The primary purpose of the TEAM research program is to provide taxonomic and ecological algal expertise for the Coral Reef Monitoring and Assessment Program (CRAMP). Our group also seeks to develop, implement and assess new methodologies for quantitatively surveying benthic algal communities in the Hawaiian Islands.