Pacific Reef Cryptic Invertebrate Biodiversity from ARMS Deployments
Updated 4mo ago
17files
Available on 2 platforms
Sign in to view source links and access this dataset
Description
Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) were deployed across the Hawaiian Archipelago, Mariana Archipelago, American Samoa, and Pacific Remote Island Areas between 2010 and 2012 to systematically sample cryptic reef organisms. This dataset, created by NOAA's Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in partnership with the Census of Marine Life, supports a long-term program for sustainable coral reef management. The standardized ARMS method collects invertebrates over a precise surface area, enabling consistent biodiversity monitoring over time.
Use Cases
Analyzing biodiversity trends of cryptic invertebrates across Pacific island archipelagos using standardized sampling units.
Comparing community composition of colonizing organisms between different size fractions (2 mm, 500 µm, 100 µm).
Studying the recruitment and settlement patterns of sessile versus motile marine organisms on artificial reef structures.
Assessing long-term changes in cryptobiota communities as part of reef health monitoring programs.
Strengths
Data collection follows a systematic, consistent method using identical ARMS units to ensure comparability across sites and time.
Sampling covers a multi-year period (2010-2012) across four major Pacific reef regions, providing broad spatial coverage.
Organisms are processed into distinct size fractions and preserved for both morphological and future DNA analysis, enabling multiple research approaches.
Limitations
Key dataset metrics like row count, column names, and file size are unknown across all platforms.
There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with one source listing 2012-05-18 and others listing 2026-03 05.
Provenance
Source
NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), in partnership with the Census of Marine Life (CReefs).
Collection Method
Deployment and recovery of standardized Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) by divers at reef sites, with onboard processing involving photography, scraping, sieving into size fractions, and preservation in ethanol.
Time Range
2008-02-06 to 2012-05-18
Freshness
2026-03-05 22:57:09.709517
Geography
U.S. Pacific regions including the Hawaiian Archipelago, Mariana Archipelago, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas.
License information is not provided. The dataset's availability across NASA EarthData and Data.gov indicates broad dissemination but with incomplete technical metadata.