Hawaiian Intertidal Species Inventory and Counts from 2001-2005

Intertidal species inventory and quantitative organism count data were collected on the islands of Oahu and Maui. The project involved University of Hawaii researchers and a high school marine science class, with data gathered during annual site visits from 2001 through 2005. The dataset includes two primary data types: species lists and quantitative counts of key organisms.

Use Cases

• Analyze species presence/absence from the inventory data to map intertidal biodiversity across Oahu and Maui.
• Track changes in quantitative counts of key organisms over the 2001-2005 period to assess population trends.
• Compare intertidal community composition between different sampling sites listed in the inventory.
• Use the annual, single-visit data to study snapshot biodiversity patterns in Hawaiian coastal ecosystems.

Strengths

• Data collection spans 5 consecutive years (2001-2005), providing a multi-year time series.
• Incorporates observations from a large group of participants, including 50 students in 2003.
• Covers two distinct Hawaiian islands (Oahu and Maui) for geographic comparison.

Limitations

• Each site was visited only once per year, limiting temporal resolution within a year.
• Sample size and number of rows are unknown, making statistical power assessment difficult.
• Data collection ended in 2005, making the dataset temporally stale for current ecological studies.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0002447).

Collection Method

Field surveys conducted by University of Hawaii researchers and a high school marine science class through a National Science Foundation Graduate Teaching Fellowship.

Time Range

2001 - 2005

Freshness

Data collection concluded in 2005; no updates are indicated.

Geography

Intertidal zones on the islands of Oahu and Maui, Hawaii.