Benthic percent cover derived from analysis of benthic images collected at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste in 2013 and 2014

Description

The benthic cover data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in Timor-Leste during reef fish surveys surveys at 150 sites that were selected using a stratified random sampling design in June 2013, and along transects at fixed climate survey sites in September-October 2014 (10 sites and 8 sites, respectively).

Climate sites were established by CREP to establish ecological baselines for climate change by measuring multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) over time. The reef fish surveys were conducted to generate baseline data on the nearshore coral reef fish assemblages and associated benthic communities around Timor-Leste's north coast and Atauro Island.

Percent benthic cover for each site is estimated from a photo-transect (30 photographs, taken at 1-m intervals, 10+ points analyzed per photograph using Coral Point Count with Extensions). NA values represent situations where images were either not gathered or not analyzed.

These benthic cover data for Timor-Leste provide an estimate of the benthic community composition at each survey site, and give context to the results from the other survey components. The benthic images, and the associated reef fish survey data and parameters measured to establish ecological baselines for climate change are documented separately. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
Citation URL HTML Coral Point Count with Excel extensions website. Open resource
Benthic_Cover_Photo_FishSites_Timor_2013.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at reef fish survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2013. File summarizes data for each photograph analyzed (one record = 1 photograph = data from 10 points analyzed) Open resource
Benthic_Cover_Site_ClimateSites_Timor_2014.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at climate survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2014. File summarizes data for each survey site (1 record = 1 site = ~30 photographs analyzed). Open resource
Benthic_Cover_PhotoPoints_ClimateSites_2014.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at climate survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2014. File contains data for each point analyzed for a photograph (10 points each site). Habitat information (HABITAT_CODE) was not recorded. Open resource
Benthic_Cover_Site_FishSites_Timor_2013.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at reef fish survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2013. File summarizes data for each survey site (1 record = 1 site = ~30 photographs analyzed). Open resource
Benthic_Cover_Code_Categories.csv Unknown Benthic cover classification codes (definitions included in entities and attributes section). Open resource
Benthic_Cover_PhotoPoints_FishSites_2013.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at reef fish survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2013. File contains data for each point analyzed for a photograph (10 points each site). Open resource
Benthic_Cover_Photo_ClimateSites_Timor_2014.csv Unknown Image analysis data derived from photoquadrat benthic images collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at climate survey sites in Timor-Leste in 2014. File summarizes data for each photograph analyzed (one record = 1 photograph = data from 10 points analyzed) Open resource
Citation URL Unknown PIFSC CREP blog post, 2013: The final count: summary of mission to assess reef fish assemblages, build capacity in Timor-Leste. Open resource
Citation URL Unknown PIFSC CREP blog post, 2014: Scientists return to Timor-Leste for reef monitoring mission. Open resource
Citation URL Unknown Timor-Leste project portal on the NOAA Coral Reef Information Service website where NOAA's final report for Timor-Leste and the datasets generated by NOAA CREP as part of the project can be downloaded. Open resource
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords Unknown The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords. Open resource
Full Metadata Record Unknown View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. Open resource
NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) PDF NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. Open resource
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Website Unknown Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage Open resource
Citation URL Unknown Information about the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program's activities in the Coral Triangle. Open resource

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