This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and videos taken in shallow water (0-35m) benthic habitats surrounding Northeast Puerto Rico and Culebra Island. The area includes the nearshore waters of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. The Accuracy Assessment data contains GPS-positioned underwater photo/videos of selected benthic habitats that were used to assess the accuracy of the benthic habitat polygons created by the Biogeography Team. The observations from the videos are used to rate the amount of error in the polygons that delineate habitat features. The AA data was collected in September 3 15, 2014. The field work was conducted by NOAA together with local DRNA and NOAA contractors.

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 along 50 transects (please note that dive 26 was aborted) south of St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and videos taken in shallow water (0-35m) benthic habitats surrounding Northeast Puerto Rico and Culebra Island. The area includes the nearshore waters of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. The GV data contains GPS-positioned underwater photo/videos of selected benthic habitats that were used to enhance thematic maps created by the Biogeography Team. The observations from the videos are used to classify seafloor features and develop a benthic habitat map. The GV data was collected in July 8 - 24, 2013 and October 22- November 7, 2013. The field work was conducted by NOAA together with local DRNA and NOAA contractors.

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 along 50 transects (please note that dive 26 was aborted) south of St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 along 50 transects (please note that dive 26 was aborted) south of St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 along 50 transects (please note that dive 26 was aborted) south of St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This benthic habitat map was created from a semi-automated habitat mapping process, using a combination of bathymetry, satellite imagery, aerial imagery and underwater videos to classify the 0-35m deep benthic habitats of the region around Northeast Puerto Rico (NEPR) and Culebra Island, including the shallow part of the Northeast Ecological Reserves, Puerto Rico. The area of interest includes the nearshore waters of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. The benthic habitat map is classified based: on 1) geomorphological structure, 2) hard bottom cover, 3) topographic complexity, 4) dominant biological cover, 5) live coral cover and 6) dominant type of coral cover. Underwater photo and video data was collected to provide ground validation for remote sensing imagery, and to assess the accuracy t of the final map. Habitat features are described by varying levels of detail (i.e., major and minor categories nested within them), so users can depict the habitat information that best suits their research or management needs.

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater video that was collected by NOAA scientists using a SeaViewer drop camera system. Video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 at locations within two selected areas of seafloor south of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic SoNAR (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; BAE Systems Spectral Solutions; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce benthic habitat maps generated by photo interpreting georeferenced IKONOS satellite imagery. These point data were generated to conduct ground validation during map preparation.

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater video that was collected by NOAA scientists using a SeaViewer drop camera system. Video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 at locations within two selected areas of seafloor south of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic SoNAR (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).