Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2009

Description

Belt transects (BLT) is one of the non-invasive underwater-survey methods to enumerate the diverse components of diurnally active shallow-water reef fish assemblages. At each REA survey sites, BLT fish surveys are conducted along 3 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines to quantify relatively small-bodied and abundant fishes. A pair of scuba diver-observers conducts parallel swims along the transect lines, recording size-class specific counts of all fishes encountered, to species-level where possible, within visually estimated but defined belt widths: 4 m wide for fishes > 20 cm TL (100 m2 area) on the initial swim-out, and 2 m wide for fishes < 20 cm TL (50 m2 area) on the subsequent swim back. Transects lines are typically set at depths of 10-15 m. Reef ledges and holes are visually searched. Stations are completed on all sides of the island/atoll, weather and sea conditions permitting. Raw survey data included species level abundance estimates. Reef fish and benthic estimate data collected during BLT surveys can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/5565
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Fish Ecology and Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/fish.php
0 Official NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) project page. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/pacific_ramp.php
0 Observations from belt transect surveys of coral reef fishes by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted at various islands in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region from 2000 to 2009 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0162462
0 NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) website. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/5565.pdf
0 NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, fish survey methods training page https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods/fish_surveys/rapid_ecological_assessment_of_fish-survey_method_training.php
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2024. GCMD Keywords, Version 19. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, description of Belt Transect Method used to survey coral reef fishes (2007-Present). https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php#belt_transect
0 Data have been translated by a third party to Darwin Core format and served via the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Data Access portal: OBIS Dataset Title: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2009. DOI: 10.15468/tzr5bf OBIS Dataset ID: a54a77db-7b42-4101-8d71-1adec3dd4ed5 OBIS provides a portal or gateway to many datasets containing information on where and when marine species have been recorded. The datasets are integrated so you can search them all seamlessly by species name, higher taxonomic level, geographic area, depth, and time; and then map and find environmental data related to the locations. There are several ways to access OBIS data: (1) Mapper, (2) API, and (3) R package. The mapper allows you to visualize and inspect subsets of OBIS data. A variety of filters (taxonomic, geographic, time, data quality) is available and multiple layers can be combined in a single view. Layers can be downloaded as CSV files. Developers can access data through the OBIS API or the R package. https://mapper.obis.org/?datasetid=a54a77db-7b42-4101-8d71-1adec3dd4ed5
0 Observations from belt transect surveys of coral reef fishes by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted at various islands in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region from 2000 to 2009 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0162462
0 Data have been translated by a third party to Darwin Core format and served via the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Data Access portal: OBIS Dataset Title: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2009. DOI: 10.15468/tzr5bf OBIS Dataset ID: a54a77db-7b42-4101-8d71-1adec3dd4ed5 OBIS provides a portal or gateway to many datasets containing information on where and when marine species have been recorded. The datasets are integrated so you can search them all seamlessly by species name, higher taxonomic level, geographic area, depth, and time; and then map and find environmental data related to the locations. There are several ways to access OBIS data: (1) Mapper, (2) API, and (3) R package. The mapper allows you to visualize and inspect subsets of OBIS data. A variety of filters (taxonomic, geographic, time, data quality) is available and multiple layers can be combined in a single view. Layers can be downloaded as CSV files. Developers can access data through the OBIS API or the R package. https://mapper.obis.org/?datasetid=a54a77db-7b42-4101-8d71-1adec3dd4ed5
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/5565
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Fish Ecology and Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/fish.php
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, description of Belt Transect Method used to survey coral reef fishes (2007-Present). https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php#belt_transect
0 NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) website. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
0 NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, fish survey methods training page https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods/fish_surveys/rapid_ecological_assessment_of_fish-survey_method_training.php
0 Official NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) project page. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/pacific_ramp.php
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/5565.pdf

Tags

  • hawaiian islands (21n157w0027)
  • guguan island
  • agrihan island (18n145e0002)
  • lanai island (20n156w0002)
  • farallon de pajaros (20n144e0001)
  • kingman reef (06n162w0001)
  • fish species
  • crep
  • lanai island
  • coral cover
  • ofu island (14s169w0013)
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc
  • spc
  • united states of america
  • species identification - organism length
  • american samoa (14s170w0000)
  • western pacific ocean
  • pacific remote islands marine national monument
  • alamagan island (17n145e0002)
  • reef monitoring and assessment
  • maug
  • johnston atoll (16n169w0001)
  • asuncion island (19n145e0001)
  • aquatic habitat
  • wake atoll
  • corals
  • guguan island (17n145e0001)
  • north pacific ocean
  • rose island
  • coral reef ecosystem division
  • baker island
  • oahu (21n157w0003)
  • northern mariana islands
  • fish - coral reef
  • pifsc
  • equatorial pacific ocean
  • kaula island (21n160w0003)
  • jarvis island (00s160w0001)
  • maui
  • biosphere
  • pacific remote island areas
  • maug island
  • palmyra atoll (05n162w0001)
  • pacific reef and assessment monitoring program (pacific ramp)
  • rota island
  • tutuila island (14s170w0016)
  • species identification
  • survey
  • oceans
  • maui island (20n156w0004)
  • rose atoll marine national monument
  • mhi
  • coral reef conservation program
  • oscar elton sette
  • reef fish
  • rota island ( luta ) (14n145e0007)
  • marine invertebrates
  • molokai island
  • maug island (20n145e0001)
  • santa rosa reef
  • northern mariana islands ( cnmi ) (18n146e0000)
  • rose island (rose atoll) (14s168w0001)
  • american samoa
  • maui island
  • survey - biological
  • cnmi
  • aguihan island reefs
  • papahanaumokuakea marine national monument
  • noaa
  • guam
  • aguihan
  • pagan island (18n145e0001)
  • numeric data sets
  • marianas
  • rapid ecological assessment
  • hawaii
  • nmfs
  • macroinvertebrates
  • farallon de pajaros
  • nihoa (23n161w0001)
  • oahu island
  • baker island (00n176w0001)
  • swains atoll (11s171w0001)
  • guam (13n144e0000)
  • us doc
  • anatahan
  • tinian island reefs
  • fish
  • hawaii island (19n155w0003)
  • kauai
  • ta'u island (14s169w0012)
  • howland island
  • pacific islands fisheries science center
  • manu'a group
  • olosega island (14s169w0014)
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • earth science
  • molokai island (21n157w0001)
  • maro reef (25n170w0001)
  • line islands
  • national marine fisheries service
  • niihau island (21n160w0001)
  • french frigate shoals (24n166w0001)
  • nwhi
  • hawaiian islands
  • kauai island (22n159w0001)
  • rea
  • necker island (23n164w0001)
  • mariana archipelago
  • pearl and hermes reef (27n176w0001)
  • manu'a islands (14s170w0038)
  • pria
  • reef fish census
  • arakane reef
  • ecosystem monitoring and assessment
  • marine biology
  • fish assemblages
  • cred
  • howland island (00s176w0001)
  • guguan
  • honolulu
  • saipan island
  • rota
  • saipan
  • northwestern hawaiian islands (28n178w0000)
  • marianas trench marine national monument
  • pagan
  • survey - swimmer/diver
  • aguihan island (aguijan) (14n145e0006)
  • santa rosa reef (15n145e0002)
  • central pacific ocean
  • usa minor outlying islands
  • agrihan island
  • commonwealth of the northern mariana islands
  • mariana islands
  • visual estimate
  • pacific reef assessment and monitoring program: monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the us pacific i
  • kure atoll (28n178w0001)
  • pagan island
  • reef habitat
  • asuncion island
  • nw pacific
  • coral reef ecology
  • ocean basin
  • main hawaiian islands
  • pathfinder reef
  • c204 pacific reef assessment and monitoring program (pacific ramp): biennial monitoring for the us p
  • ecosystem sciences division
  • stationary
  • niihau island
  • anatahan island (16n145e0001)
  • coastal processes
  • johnston atoll
  • hi'ialakai
  • 1221
  • laysan island (25n171w0001)
  • saipan island (15n145e0002)
  • northwestern hawaiian islands
  • species richness
  • zoology
  • coral reefs
  • sarigan island (16n145e0003)
  • gardner pinnacles (25n168w0001)
  • fish census
  • arakane reef (15n141e0001)
  • kauai island
  • pacific ocean
  • rapid assessment studies
  • ecological dynamics
  • anatahan island
  • stationary point count
  • lehua island (22n160w0001)
  • species identification - count
  • country/territory
  • midway atoll (28n177w0001)
  • pathfinder reef (16n141e0001)
  • rugosity
  • tinian
  • hawaii island
  • fish biomass
  • wake atoll (19n167e0001)
  • alamagan island
  • sarigan island
  • south pacific ocean
  • lisianski island (25n173w0001)
  • 587
  • tinian island (14n145e0005)
  • coral reef studies
  • coral reef ecosystem program

Topics

Categories