Baseline assessment of fish and benthic communities of the Flower Garden Banks (2010 - present) using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey methods: 2011
Description
The proposed work develop baseline information on fish and benthic communities within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). Surveys will employ diving, technical diving, ROV, and hydroacoustics technologies for a comprehensive assessment of the fish and benthic habitat communities of the East and West Bank. The FGBNMS represents the northernmost tropical western Atlantic coral reef on the continental shelf and support the most highly developed offshore hard bank community in the region. The complexity of habitats supports a diverse assemblage of organisms including approximately 250 species of fish, 23 species of coral, and 80 species of algae in addition to large sponge communities. Understanding and monitoring these resources is critical to both sanctuary inventory and management activities. During the course of the sanctuary's management plan review process, the impact of fishing was identified as a priority issue, and the concept of a research only area was suggested. The purpose of this project will be to provide baseline data for all benthic habitats and communities.
Resources
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Tags
- united states of america
- reef monitoring and assessment
- 20464
- corals
- east flower garden banks (27n093w0001)
- biosphere
- oceans
- numeric data sets
- f058 baseline assessment of fish and benthic communities of the flower garden banks
- biology
- linear transect
- fish
- atlantic ocean
- gulf of mexico
- earth science
- texas
- coral reef fishes
- reef fish census
- marine biology
- fish assemblages
- flower garden banks
- ocean basin
- species richness
- west flower garden banks (27n093w0002)
- zoology
- fish census
- coris_metadata
- baseline assessment of fish and benthic communities of the flower garden banks
- ecological dynamics
- 180
- country/territory
- belt transect