The dataset includes species richness of benthic branching and encrusting gorgonians collected from multiple habitat types across the south Florida shelf, inside and outside of the no-take management zones, and throughout the Florida Keys from south of Miami to the Dry Tortugas, from 1999 through 2009. The data set documents the branching and encrusting gorgonian species richness and changes over time of benthic coral reef organisms in the region. The data were collected during synoptic broad-scale surveys of coral reef and hard-bottom habitats that were stratified into sub-regions or along-shelf positions (e.g., Biscayne, Upper, Lower and Middle Keys, and the Dry Tortugas), resource management zones (e.g., FKNMS no-take zones and reference areas, and National Parks), and various habitat types (e.g., patch reefs, low relief hard-bottom, high-relief spur and groove, etc.). A 200m x 200m polygon grid was used to overlay onto existing bathymetry and benthic habitat maps of the study area, and a two-stage stratified random design was used to select sites for sampling from various strata combinations of cross-shelf habitat type, along-shelf position (i.e. region), and management zone (Ault et al. 2006, Smith et al. 2011). At each 200-m x 200-m site, four 15-m transects were deployed for data collection. More information on the individual projects from which data were compiled for this dataset is located online at http://people.uncw.edu/millers/index.htm.

This dataset contains records of scleractinian colony density, within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, compiled from multiple sources. These are: SCREAM, and FRRP SCREAM: NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Miller Lab FRRP: Florida Reef Resilience Program

Presence or absence of acroporid corals marked by handheld GPS during snorkel or tow surveys of shallow water (<5m) reef habitats in the Upper Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (USA)

These data were collected by the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center to document the presence or absence of Acropora spp at shallow reef sites in the Upper Florida Keys (USA). The presence or absence of acroporid corals was marked by handheld GPS during snorkel or tow surveys of shallow water (<5m) reef habitats in the Upper Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The data are in GIS shape and layer files with associated attribute files, metadata files, and additional .pdf file outputs of the GIS data layers.

This dataset contains records of scleractinian coral cover compiled from multiple sources. These are: CREMP, SCREAM, and CCFHR. CREMP: Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project, NOAA. SCREAM: NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Miller LabCCFHR: NOAA-NOS-Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research

This data set contains data from visual surveys by snorkelers using handheld GPS units to map extant live colonies of the threatened corals Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis in the upper Florida Keys. Appropriate habitat strata were targeted and prioritized from habitat maps in 2005. An initial survey was conducted in 2005-2007 of these reef areas. Follow-up surveys are being conducted in 2013-2015 to assess potential substantial changes in distribution and/or abundance in the same reef areas.

This dataset contains records of scleractinian species richness compiled from multiple sources. These are: CREMP, SCREAM, AGRRA, and FRRP CREMP: Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project SCREAM: NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Miller Lab AGRRA: Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment FRRP: Florida Reef Resilience Program

This data set consists of an ArcView shapefile set that contains locations of sampled coral reef fish species at the National Marine Sanctuary along the Florida Keys. The dataset contains information about 5 classes of coral reefs, 216 fish species, and 6 benthic habitat.