Mariana Archipelago Reef Fish and Benthic Survey Data

Stationary point count surveys catalog reef fish diversity, abundance, and biomass in shallow-water hard-bottom habitats of the Mariana Archipelago. The dataset also includes visual estimates of benthic cover and topographic complexity, collected under the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Surveys employ a stratified random sampling design based on island, reef zone, and depth.

Use Cases

• Analyzing species richness and numeric density of diurnally active reef fish assemblages.
• Assessing benthic cover composition using broad functional categories like 'Hard Coral' and 'Macroalgae'.
• Evaluating fish biomass per unit area across different strata (island, reef zone, depth).
• Modeling coral reef ecosystem changes using stratified random sampling data.
• Studying the relationship between topographic complexity and reef fish community structure.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a formal stratified random sampling (StRS) design, ensuring representative coverage of the survey domain.
• Surveys capture multiple ecological metrics: species diversity, numeric density, biomass, benthic cover, and topographic complexity.
• Dataset is produced by the authoritative NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program as part of a national monitoring program.

Limitations

• Key technical specifications like row count, column names, and exact file size are unavailable from all sources.
• The license governing data use is not specified in any provided source description.
• Conflicting update information exists, with one platform listing a future date (2026-03-05).

Provenance

Source

NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP).

Collection Method

Stationary Point Count (SPC) method for reef fish surveys and visual estimation for benthic cover/topographic complexity.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:18:55.570287

Geography

Mariana Archipelago, including specific islands like Agrihan, Aguihan, Alamagan, and Asuncion.