Description

The stationary point count (nSPC) method was used to conduct reef fish surveys in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) from 2008 to 2012. Stationary point count is a non-invasive underwater survey method that catalogs the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density), and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages in shallow-water (less than 30 m) hard-bottom habitats. Starting in 2010, visual estimates of benthic cover and topographic structural complexity were also recorded, with benthic organisms grouped into broad functional categories (e.g., 'Hard Coral', 'Macroalgae'). A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems throughout the U.S.-Pacific regions. For all regions, the survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats and the stratification included island, reef zone, and depth, with the exception of the Main Hawaiian Islands that included habitat structure type as well. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and variability. At each REA survey site, 1 or 2 nSPC fish surveys were conducted, with each survey being carried out by a pair of divers each recording the number, size and species of all fishes within adjacent 15-m diameter cylinders. Benthic estimates were recorded at the end of the fish surveys. Reef fish and benthic estimate data provided in this data set were collected during stationary point count surveys as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) led Pacific RAMP cruises. Data collected as part of PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument funded research cruises in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012 are also included as these data were funded separately from but are complementary to the Pacific RAMP data collected by ESD.

Resources

Format	Description	Link
0	Observations from stationary point count 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 2008 to 2012	https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0162472
0	Observations from stationary point count surveys of coral reef fishes by the PapahÃÂnaumokuÃÂkea Marine National Monument conducted around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2007 (HI0708), 2009 (HI0907), 2011 (HA1103), and 2012 (HA1204).	https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0178974
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 Sciences Division, National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Stratified random surveys (StRS) of reef fish in the U.S. Pacific Islands. Years: 2007-2019 DOI: 10.15468/tk1hwm OBIS Dataset ID: 2ae2a2bd-8412-405b-8a9f-b71adc41d4c5 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=2ae2a2bd-8412-405b-8a9f-b71adc41d4c5
0	Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Fish Surveys. 2015 update (replaces SOP published in 2011).	https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
0	View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/34515
0	Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Fish Ecology and Monitoring	https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/fish.php
33	NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Fish Surveys. PIFSC Admin Report 11-08 published December 2011.	https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/admin/PIFSC_Admin_Rep_11-08.pdf
33	Overview of PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division reef fish survey methods and data.	https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/reef_fish_survey_methods_and_data.pdf
0	PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division website, description of Stationary Point Count (nSPC) Method used to survey coral reef fishes (2007-Present).	https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php#new_stationary_point_count
0	PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division 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	PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division website.	https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/pacific_ramp.php
0	PapahÃÂÃÂnaumokuÃÂÃÂkea Marine National Monument website	https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/
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/34515.pdf

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) of Reef Fish, including Benthic Estimate Data at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2007 to 2012

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