Monitoring data collected from 2003 to the present for coral reef ecosystems in St. John, US Virgin Islands. The dataset is part of a study by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment to assess reef fish, macro-invertebrates, and water quality. It is used to establish a knowledge base for marine management decisions and zoning efficacy.
Use Cases
- Modeling species distribution based on benthic habitat maps and bathymetry.
- Evaluating the efficacy of marine zoning strategies based on species richness 'hot spots'.
- Monitoring long-term trends in reef fish abundance and distribution.
- Relating water quality parameters to fish and macro-invertebrate populations.
- Characterizing spatial patterns for management decisions like MPA placement.
Strengths
- Data collection spans from 2003 to the present, providing a long-term record.
- Standardized protocols are used throughout the US Caribbean for comparability.
- Sampling stations are stratified and randomly selected to ensure coverage of the entire study region.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA_NCEI
- Collection Method
- Field surveys following standardized protocols at randomly selected sites stratified by digitized habitat maps.
- Time Range
- 2003 - Present
- Geography
- St. John, US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico