The State of Hawaii DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) DAR (Division of Aquatic Resources) marine monitoring team conducted surveys for benthic monitoring at 6 locations around Hawaii Island. At the 6 locations, one deep (10 meter) and one shallow (3 meter) site was surveyed through benthic photo quad image collection along 10 fixed transects. These permanent monitoring sites were established as part of the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP). Sites were paired to represent the shallow and deep habitat at each location. Twenty-five random points were overlaid on each image in CoralNet (coralnet.ucsd.edu) and were annotated by staff members to obtain data for percent cover of benthic taxa.

The benthic cover data described here were generated from the quantitative analysis of photoquadrat benthic images using image analysis software, whereby random points are projected on each image and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point are identified. The images were collected at 18 stratified randomly selected sites in Vatia Bay in 2015 during belt transect surveys of coral demography by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP). The benthic cover data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. The benthic images and coral demography data are described and archived separately.

This data package includes benthic imagery, raw benthic cover, mean benthic cover, and mean macroalgae cover data of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef in American Samoa in 2024, produced from the benthic imagery analysis performed by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and funded by the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Benthic imagery was collected at 20 randomly-selected sites during coral demographic surveys by the NOAA ESD during the 2024 fly-in mission to American Samoa (MP2502). After processing and sorting site photos, imagery was qualitatively analyzed using the web-based CoralNet image annotation tool. CoralNet projects random points on each image, and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point are identified by trained scientists. Data from benthic surveys of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef establishes a comprehensive biological baseline for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic composition and coral demography. These efforts feed into the higher-level CRCP objectives by establishing an in-situ tracking system to assess the effects of management and mitigation strategies and activities in the target watersheds to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts on coral reefs. This data was funded by CRCP Project #31454 titled "Develop monitoring capacity of American Samoan jurisdictional partners and observing LBSP impacts on coral reefs".

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.

This map displays optical validation observation locations and percent coverage of scleractinian coral overlaid on bathymetry and landsat imagery northwest of Hawai'i island. Optical data were collected by CRED TOAD camera sled from the Hawai'ian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary small boat the R/V Kohola cruise SB1505 and the NOAA survey launch R/V AHI during cruise SB1207. In addition, a drop camera system was used on the Nature Conservancy R/V Kaka for the final 4 days of the SB1505 cruise.

To support NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) long-term goals for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, towed-diver surveys (aka. towboard surveys) were conducted by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) as part of biennial Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruises. 22 towboard surveys (52.3386 km in length), were conducted at Pearl And Hermes Atoll during the NW Hawaiian Islands RAMP Cruise OES0306 from 12 July - 17 August 2003. Towboard surveys are a good method for obtaining a general description of large reef areas, assessing the status of low-density populations of large-bodied reef fish, large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching), general distribution and abundance patterns of macro-invertebrates (e.g., COT, giant clams), and for assessing trends in these populations and metrics. A pair of scuba divers (1 fish and 1 benthic diver) are towed 60 m behind a small survey launch at a speed of 1-2 knots and a depth of approximately 15m. Each survey is 50 min long, covers about 2 km of habitat, and is divided into ten 5-minute survey segments. The fish diver records, to the lowest possible taxon, all large-bodied reef fishes (>50cmTL) seen within 5m either side and 10m in front of the towboard. Length of each individual is estimated to the nearest cm. The fish towboard is also outfitted with a forward-facing digital video camera to record the survey swath. The benthic diver records percent cover of coral and macroalgae, estimates benthic habitat type and complexity, and censuses a suite of benthic macroinvertebrates including Crown of Thorns sea stars and sea urchins. The benthic towboard is equipped with a downward-facing digital still camera which images the benthos at 15 second intervals. These images are analyzed for percent cover of coral, algae, and other benthic components. Both towboards are equipped with SEABIRD SBE-39 temperature/depth sensors set to record at 5 second intervals. Latitude and longitude of each survey track is recorded at 15 second intervals using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver onboard the tow boat. A layback algorithm is applied to more accurately map the position of the divers with respect to the reef environment. This algorithm calculates the position of the divers based on the position of the tow boat taking into account the length of the tow rope, the depth of the divers, and the curvature of the survey track. This metadata applies to the benthic characterization observations.