Modeled Habitat Suitability for Three Mesophotic Coral Genera Near Maui

This dataset contains modeled spatial predictions of habitat suitability and uncertainty for three genera of mesophotic hard corals (Leptoseris, Montipora, Porites) offshore of Maui, Hawai'i. The models were developed by NOAA NCEI using approximately 1,300 georeferenced presence/absence records and 34 environmental predictors, achieving high predictive performance with AUC values between 0.89 and 0.97. The study period spans from 2004 to 2010, with metadata updates recorded as recently as 2026.

Use Cases

• Mapping predicted probability of occurrence for Leptoseris, Montipora, and Porites genera to identify key habitat areas.
• Analyzing the influence of environmental predictors like depth, distance from shore, and sea surface temperature on coral distribution.
• Assessing model uncertainty and mean absolute error for spatial predictions to guide future field validation efforts.
• Comparing habitat suitability between coral genera to understand niche partitioning in the Au'au Channel.

Strengths

• Model ensembles demonstrate excellent predictive performance, with Receiver Operating Characteristic Area Under the Curve values between 0.89 and 0.97.
• Analysis is based on approximately 1,300 georeferenced field records, providing a substantial foundation for the spatial models.
• The dataset identifies the six most influential environmental predictors, including depth and sea surface temperature, for habitat partitioning.

Limitations

• Exact row counts, column names, and file formats are not provided by any source platform.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with one source listing 2010-07 -17 and another listing 2026-04-01, suggesting possible data staleness or inconsistent metadata management.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI

Collection Method

Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling using in situ presence/absence data and 34 environmental predictors.

Time Range

2004-09-09 to 2010-07-17

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:01:50.941112

Geography

Au'au Channel, offshore of western Maui, Main Hawaiian Islands.