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    • National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of the Marianas since 2014

    Metadata Updated: May 24, 2025

    The towed-diver method is used to conduct benthic surveys, assessing large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching) and quantifying benthic components such as habitat complexity/type and the general distribution and abundance patterns of live coral, crustose coralline algae (CCA), macroalgae, and macroinvertebrates. Surveys are conducted in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). A suitable method for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat, the method involves towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for approximately 50 min following the ~15-m depth contour and covering about 2–3 km of habitat. Each diver is equipped with a towboard and attempts to maintain a constant elevation above the surface of the reef (~1 m) for the duration of the survey. A complete towed-diver survey is divided into 10, 5-min segments, with visual observations recorded by 5-min segment.

    The visual estimate data provided in this dataset were collected during towed-diver surveys which includes percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall.

    The data were collected around the Marianas as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led missions since 2014. These data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date May 15, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date May 24, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 2016 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    A diver conducting a survey of the benthos and benthic habitat using the towed diver method.

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date May 15, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date May 24, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 2016 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:35769
    Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of the Marianas since 2014 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35769., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data. Suggested citation: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of the Marianas in 2014. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35769., Distribution Liability: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
    Bbox East Long 145.8533789
    Bbox North Lat 20.54979267
    Bbox South Lat 13.22982722
    Bbox West Long 144.6258831
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description A diver conducting a survey of the benthos and benthic habitat using the towed diver method.
    Graphic Preview File https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/img/towboard.jpg
    Graphic Preview Type JPG
    Harvest Object Id cc22b4c7-14fe-4fcc-a06e-27920b0d19f3
    Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
    Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage Benthic towed-diver survey method
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[144.6258831, 13.22982722], [145.8533789, 13.22982722], [145.8533789, 20.54979267], [144.6258831, 20.54979267], [144.6258831, 13.22982722]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2014-03-25
    Temporal Extent End 2014-05-06

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