Hawaiian Coral Reef Benthic Images from 2019 Bleaching Event Surveys

Benthic habitat imagery from photo-quadrat surveys conducted across the Main Hawaiian Islands during the 2019 coral bleaching event. The data were collected by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division as part of a multi-institutional effort by the Hawaii Coral Bleaching Collaborative. Surveys employed a stratified random sampling design across reef zones and depths to estimate coral cover and bleaching severity.

Use Cases

• Estimating relative abundance (percent cover) of benthic organisms based on photo-quadrat imagery
• Analyzing spatial extent and severity of coral bleaching based on visual assessments mentioned in the description
• Studying benthic community taxonomic composition and generic richness across strata
• Comparing coral health metrics across different reef zones and depths using the stratified sampling design

Strengths

• Data collected during a forecasted peak bleaching event in 2019, providing a focused temporal snapshot
• Sampling design employs stratification by island, reef zone, and depth to reduce estimate variance
• Part of a multi-institutional collaborative effort to build a dataset on bleaching spatial extent

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Site-level estimates and site-to-site comparisons should be used with caution, as noted in the description

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites

Time Range

2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 23:04:25.695678; freshness should be verified

Geography

Main Hawaiian Islands