NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Coral Demographic Data

Study Extent

The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP)’s biological sampling provides a biennial ecological characterization of general reef condition for reef fishes, corals, and benthic habitat (i.e., fish species composition, density, and size; coral species composition, density, size, condition; and benthic community cover) at a broad spatial scale (NCRMP 2021). In the U.S. Atlantic, NCRMP biological sampling includes coral reef and hardbottom habitats in Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). NCRMP conducts surveys at stratified random sites where the sampling domain for each geographic region is partitioned by habitat type and depth, sub-regional location (e.g., along-shelf position), and management zone.

Sampling

NCRMP Coral Demographic surveys are designed to collect and report data on scleractinian coral species composition, density, size, abundance, and specific parameters of condition (% live and dead, bleaching, disease) of non-juvenile scleractinian corals (≥4 cm maximum diameter), and overall species diversity (all scleractinian corals). The survey also includes data collection per colony within the survey area for percent of colony with recent mortality (i.e., dead white skeleton), percent of old mortality, bleaching (i.e., total bleaching of the entire colony, partial bleaching of the colony, or paling), coral disease (present or absent), and whether the colony is identifiable as a restored/outplanted coral (i.e., No, Yes, Unknown). Exact identification or precise designations of specific coral diseases (e.g., named disease types) are not recorded because (1) low temporal resolution of the NCRMP’s biennial sampling may not coincide with episodic disease outbreaks, and (2) visual symptoms of various coral diseases are often indistinguishable in the field and can require collection of tissue samples for accurate disease identification. At each NCRMP Benthic survey site, a single Coral Demographics Survey is conducted within a 10 x 1m belt transect area. A NCRMP Benthic survey includes one Coral Demographics survey and one Benthic Community Assessment survey (CRCP 2022a). NCRMP Benthic surveys may occur at all or a subset of NCRMP Fish surveys. Benthic surveys may be conducted concurrently with co-located NCRMP Fish surveys (CRCP 2022b), or Benthic and Fish surveys may occur at separate field visits.

Quality Control

For details see the NCRMP Coral Demographics Survey Field Protocols: https://doi.org/10.25923/9a1r-m911

Method steps

1. For details see the NCRMP Coral Demographics Survey Field Protocols: https://doi.org/10.25923/9a1r-m911

Reef corals

1. Cnidaria
   rank: phylum

Portions of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.