CRED Biological Monitoring of Coral Reefs in the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area, Maui

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
CRED Biological Monitoring of Coral Reefs in the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area, Maui
Abstract:
In 2009, the state of Hawaii established the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area (KHFMA) in West Maui. Fishing for herbivores (parrotfishes, surgeonfishes, chub, sea urchins) is prohibited within the KHFMA, as the goal is to use this form of marine management to prevent and possibly reverse shifts from coral to macroalgal domination, possibly evident on reefs at the KHFMA in recent years. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) has provided support for NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (NOAA CRED) staff to assist Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (HDAR) staff with maintaining long-term biological monitoring of the KHFMA, using methods implemented in pre-closure baseline surveys in 2008 by HDAR and their partners at that time. For each survey round, approximately 80-100 survey transects are conducted within the KHFMA. Survey transects are haphazardly located, with the aim of spreading locations broadly across hardbottom areas within the KHFMA. Survey teams comprising of divers and working off a small boat were haphazardly dropped over hardbottom areas throughout the KHFMA. The divers would then swim straight down to the nearest suitable habitat (hardbottom large enough to lay a survey transect in); one of the survey divers would then tie off the starting point of the survey transect and the other recorded the transect start location using a GPS in a waterproof bag attached to a float. As much as possible, surveys were always run parallel to the shoreline running approximately northwards. Survey transects were of 25m length. One of the divers conducted fish surveys, recording the species, number and size (in 5 cm slots) of all fishes recorded within the transect ahead of the diver as they swam slowly along the transect line. Fishes larger than 15 cm total length (TL) were recorded within a 4-m wide belt centered on the diver as they laid out the 25 m transect tape. At the end of the transect, the diver would then turn around and resurvey the transect line, recording species, number and size of all fishes smaller than 15 cm TL in a 2-m wide belt centered on the transect line. The other survey diver followed the fish survey diver, and conducted a photo quadrat survey of the benthos under the transect line, and then recorded all sea urchins with a 1-m wide belt, during a return swim down the transect line. Photos were subsequently analyzed using point count image analysis software, with cover recorded to lowest possible taxonomic level (species for coral, genera for macroalgae, functional group for others (crustose coralline algae, turf, sand, other sessile invert). Surveys covered by this metadata record were gathered for the project "Scientific support for Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area, Maui" conducted by NOAA CRED, and funded by the CRCP in Fiscal Years 2010, 2011 and 2012 (FY10 Project#: 20482, FY11#:F200; FY12# F374). Surveys were completed in three 'rounds', each round being an intensive 4 day survey effort. Those rounds took place on 09/01/2009-09/04/2009, 09/13/2010-09/16/2010, 02/28/2011-03/03/2011, 9/26/2011-9/29/2011, 4/23/2012-4/26/2012, and 9/24/2012-9/28/2012.
Supplemental_Information: Maximum depth was 15 meters.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 20121212, CRED Biological Monitoring of Coral Reefs in the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area, Maui.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -156.69915771
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -156.69068727
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 20.95347365
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 20.91672134

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 01-Sep-2009
    Ending_Date: 28-Sep-2012
    Currentness_Reference: Ground Condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: spreadsheet

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80 (GRS80).
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.2572236.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

    Ivor Williams, Jill Zamzow, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Sciences Center, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    1125B Ala Moana Blvd.
    Honolulu, HI 96814
    USA

    808-983-5300 (voice)
    808-983-3730 (FAX)
    nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov

    Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred

Why was the data set created?

Part of an ongoing monitoring program assessing changes in fish and benthic assemblages following creation of the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area in Maui.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: Unknown (process 1 of 1)
    Belt transect fish surveys are investigations that provide a high degree of taxonomic resolution for reef fish communities. The surveys were conducted by teams of two divers with locations haphazardly spread throughout the survey area. Transect placement was guided by: (1) a focus on hardbottom communities; (2) deploying lines along an isobath and parallel to shore.

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    Fish observations at each site were made by divers who have been trained, and met minimum standards in identifying species present at the survey locations and in estimating size of fishes in survey counts. However, all species identifications are made visually, sometimes in situations where a fish is only briefly seen. Observations, including species identification and sizing, were periodically checked during the expedition for consistency between divers, and little discrepancy was noted between divers. Data is checked after each survey trip, but there remains some possibility of typographical or other errors. Benthic cover estimates derived from analysis of photographs are dependent on image quality - although that was generally good, as photographs were taken at less than 1 m from the reef substrate and in generally clear water, using a high resolution (8 MB) digital camera. Image quality is nearly always more than sufficient for there to be high confidence in accuracy of identification of benthic genera and functional groups

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    GPS unit

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Dive computer and SCUBA depth gauge

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    The survey sites were selected using a haphazard process based on available habitat and bathymetric habitats.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    The same methods of data collection were used at each of the sites surveyed at this location, and were conducted by the same scientists.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Please cite CRED when using data. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    Data Manager
    1125B Ala Moana Blvd.
    Honolulu, HI 96814
    USA

    808-983-5300 (voice)
    808-983-3730 (FAX)
    nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov

    Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Offline Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    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.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

    Contact CRED data management team for information

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    Contact CRED data management team for information

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 14-Dec-2012
Last Reviewed: 14-Dec-2012
Metadata author:
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
1125B Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814
USA

808-983-5300 (voice)
808-983-3730 (FAX)
nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov

Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.9.13 on Sat May 18 06:51:21 2013