Benthic, fish, and macroinvertebrate census data are collected from sites around Micronesia as part of the ongoing Micronesia Challenge. Information on the program can be found at (www.micronesiareefmonitoring.com). Survey sites are selected around each island to be representative of natural environmental gradients, management, and major reef types. Thus, full site designs can be used to evaluate both island trends and site-specific trends. The data in this submission include fish counts, macroinvertebrate counts, and benthic species identification and percent cover.

The Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) was created during 1997-98 by leading coral reef researchers, managers and educators in Hawaii. The initial task was to develop a statewide network consisting of over 30 long-term coral reef monitoring sites and an associated database. Upon completion of the monitoring network the focus was expanded to include rapid quantitative assessments and habitat mapping on a statewide spatial scale. Today the emphasis is on using these tools to understand the ecology of Hawaiian coral reefs in relation to other geographic areas. CRAMP study sites, including all areas of concern designated by the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), were selected from throughout the State of Hawaii based on information provided by a wide spectrum of managers, scientists, and educators. These sites represent a full range of reef habitats subjected to various degrees of anthropogenic influences ranging from severely impacted to relatively pristine sites held in conservation status. CRAMP is based at the Hawaii Institue of Marine Biology (HIMB) of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is led by Dr. Ku'ulei S. Rodgers (kuuleir@hawaii.edu). For further information, please see: http://cramp.wcc.hawaii.edu

The Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring GIS data service provides access to data collected in the Mariana Archipelago by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. Included are a subset of the data collected and processed in the Marianas archipelago between 2000 and 2014.

Long-term monitoring of coral and other benthic communities, fish and macro invertebrate populations at the MBIMCRs over time.

The Government of Guam's Long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Program, coordinated by the University of Guam Marine Lab, involves the collection of data for a suite of coral reef ecosystem health parameters at several high priority reef sites around the island of Guam, including Tumon Bay, East Agana Bay, Piti Bay, Western Shoals, Achang Reef Flat Marine Preserve, and the Eastern seaward slope near Cocos Island . Data are collected annually or biennially by a team of highly-trained field biologists from the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office, the University of Guam Marine Lab, and with occasional assistance by staff from other agencies. Fish are a culturally and economically valuable resource for the island of Guam (van Buekering et al., 2007 (in recognition of the high value of this resource, reef fish surveys are a key component of the Guam Long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Reef fish assessment surveys have been conducted at high priority reef sites around Guam since August 2010. The surveys are carried out at numerous sampling stations within each monitoring site, the locations of which were generated randomly using a Geographic Information System and the relevant bathymetric and benthic habitat data. A split-panel approach is currently used for the sampling design, with half of all sampling stations in a given site being fixed and half re-randomized every visit or every other visit. The monitoring team uses a Stationary Point Count Method, adapted from Ault et al. (2006) and NOAA Fisheries, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (Williams et al., 2011), to conduct the reef fish surveys. These monitoring data on reef fish communities provide results on fish density, biomass, and diversity; allow for exploration of community structure by functional group and size structure; and can be used to detect changes in fish communities over time.

In an effort to detect spatial and temporal changes in the structure of the coral reef community, coral coverage and reef fish density and diversity were documented at selected sites along the Maui coastline using standard transect methodology and SCUBA. Physical parameters examined included: wave exposure, water motion, sedimentation levels and water quality (temperature, salinity, and turbidity). Nine long-term monitoring sites have been established since 1989.

The visual estimate data provided in this collection were gathered during towed-diver surveys around American Samoa. During towed-diver surveys, the diver records the percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall. Surveys were conducted in American Samoa as part of the ongoing NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP).