NOAA Coral Reef Fish and Benthic Surveys in the Hawaiian Archipelago Since 2013

Stratified random surveys from NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program catalog reef fish diversity, abundance, and biomass in shallow-water hard-bottom habitats across the Hawaiian Archipelago. The data set includes visual estimates of benthic cover and topographic complexity, with organisms grouped into functional categories like 'Hard Coral' and 'Macroalgae'. Surveys were conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center from 2013 to 2024, incorporating complementary research missions.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef fish species richness and abundance trends based on stratified survey data
• Analyzing relationships between benthic cover categories (e.g., Hard Coral, Macroalgae) and fish assemblages
• Assessing coral reef ecosystem health across depth and reef zone strata
• Evaluating survey methodology bias by comparing open-circuit SCUBA and closed-circuit rebreather data from 2015

Strengths

• Employs a stratified random sampling design across island, reef zone, and depth strata
• Includes data from multiple complementary funding sources and missions from 2013 to 2024
• Records multiple metrics: species richness, numeric density, biomass, benthic cover, and topographic complexity

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is limited to shallow-water (less than 30 m) hard-bottom habitats

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Stationary point count (SPC) visual surveys conducted via SCUBA, employing a stratified random sampling design.

Time Range

2013 to 2024

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 22:58:56.284035; freshness should be verified

Geography

Hawaiian Archipelago (Main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)