Hawaii Island Recruit Fish Transect and Habitat Quadrat Surveys 2005

NOAA's Fishery Biology and Stock Assessment Division conducted belt transect and habitat quadrat surveys on the leeward coast of Hawaii Island in spring 2005. The dataset includes species-specific counts of juvenile reef fishes and detailed habitat measurements from 179 quadrats across three sites. This peer-reviewed study, published in the Bulletin of Marine Science in 2007, examines habitat associations for recruit fishes.

Use Cases

• Analyzing associations between juvenile fish abundance and specific substratum types (e.g., coral, rubble, sand) using percent cover data.
• Modeling the relationship between fish recruitment and habitat complexity using the recorded Rugosity Index values.
• Comparing fish community structure between randomly placed 'Reference' quadrats and fish-centered 'Target' quadrats.
• Assessing size-class distributions of recruit and juvenile reef fishes from the species-specific counts and total length (TL) measurements.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a peer-reviewed study published in the Bulletin of Marine Science, ensuring scientific rigor.
• Surveys include a substantial sample of 179 habitat quadrats (90 REF, 89 TAR) for detailed habitat analysis.
• Field methods are precisely documented, including transect dimensions (50 m²) and quadrat size (1 m²).

Limitations

• The exact column names and row counts for the tabular data are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2005-06-10 and another listing 2026-03 05, suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• License information is not specified for any platform.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; DeMartini EE, Anderson TW (2007).

Collection Method

Shore-based belt transects (25m x 2m) and 1m² habitat quadrats surveyed by divers at 8-13 m depth.

Time Range

spring 2005

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:05:43.374198

Geography

Leeward coast (North and South Kohala districts) of Hawaii Island (Big Island), Main Hawaiian Islands.