Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys
August 20, 2018
A reference and guidelines for training, sampling, and data entry for the monitoring of coral populations and benthic communities as part of the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
The standard operating procedures (SOP) outlined in this report apply to the Pacific RAMP surveys that the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and its partners conduct in the coral reef ecosystems of ~40 primary islands, atolls, and shallow banks in the Hawaiian Archipelago (including Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument), the Mariana Archipelago (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, including the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument), American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas Marine National Monument (Wake, Johnston, Palmyra, and Kingman Atolls and Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands). The Ecosystem Sciences Division surveys coral colonies and the benthic community functional groups at Rapid Ecological Assessment sites selected using a stratified random sampling design as part of their ecosystem assessment and long-term monitoring efforts. The details of their methods are outlined here.
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Swanson D, Bailey H, Schumacher B, Ferguson M, Vargas-Ángel B. Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys (PIFSC Tech Memo TM-NMFS-PIFSC-71).