Hawaiian Coral Reef Survey of Nonindigenous Species, 2002-2003

NOAA_NCEI provides a survey assessing marine nonindigenous and cryptogenic species on coral reefs across five Hawaiian islands. The study recorded 486 total taxa from 41 survey sites, identifying only 26 nonindigenous species. Data collection occurred from November 2002 to November 2003 using a standardized rapid assessment method.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution of 26 nonindigenous species across 41 survey sites on five islands.
• Compare the prevalence of introduced algae (3 species), invertebrates (19 species), and fish (4 species) within the 486 total recorded taxa.
• Assess site-level impact by examining the count of nonindigenous species, where the maximum at any site was six.
• Study the rarity of nonindigenous species, as 17 of the 26 occurred at only one or two sites.

Strengths

• Standardized survey effort across 41 sites, with approximately 312 m2 searched per site.
• Total search effort of approximately 120 hours conducted by three investigators.
• Comprehensive taxonomic identification covering algae, invertebrates, and fish, with laboratory confirmation.

Limitations

• Limited temporal scope, with data collected only over a single year (2002-2003).
• Survey focused on five specific Hawaiian islands, limiting geographic generalizability.
• Low prevalence of target nonindigenous species, with 21 sites having less than three.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

Rapid assessment survey with standardized search effort per site; taxa identified on-site or confirmed in a laboratory.

Time Range

November 2, 2002 to November 5, 2003.

Freshness

Data is from 2003 and is not updated.

Geography

Coral reefs on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, Maui, Hawaii, and Oahu.