Coral cover, density, and recruits averages per site in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016

<p>This study was carried out on shallow reefs along the south coast of St. John, which have been monitored since 1987, and studied since the 1950’s. Three aspects of the time-series analyses are utilized, and the study period exploited concurrent sampling of coral cover, coral recruitment, and the dynamics of small corals (colonies ≤ 40-mm diameter). These aspects of community structure were studied at 5–6 sites at 5–9-m depth between Cabritte Horn and White Point (Figs. 1, S1), and each was added to the study as the project evolved, mostly for purposes other than the one described herein. The longevity and breadth of this study created opportunities for analyses that rarely have been considered in ecological investigations of coral reefs, but the ad hoc evolution of the study resulted in an imperfect match among the components, notably in the 4-m depth range over which the three aspects of community structure were studied. This depth range is ecologically relevant for corals, and interpretation of the present analysis therefore must be constrained by the assumption that temporal variation in coral recruitment, dynamics of small corals, and coral cover is similar between 5 and 9 m depth. Apart from the first two years over which recruitment was measured every ~ 6 months, annual surveys were completed in July and August. Throughout this analysis, study sites, and mean values by site, are treated as statistical replicates of the fringing reefs of St. John.</p>

<p>The entire Excel Workbook, which contains the additional datasets listed below,&nbsp; can be downloaded using the following link: https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/docs/302/St_John_LTREB/data_docs/Data_for_Paper_Feb_2017_copy.xlsx<br />
<br />
Coral cover in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016:&nbsp;https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750676<br />
Coral mortality and growth in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2006-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750710<br />
Coral cover, density, and recruits averages per year in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750771<br />
Mean monthly seawater temperatures in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 1989-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049</p>

本研究以美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛南岸的浅礁为研究对象，该礁群自1987年起便开展长期监测，相关研究最早可追溯至20世纪50年代。本次研究利用了时间序列分析的三个维度，研究周期覆盖了珊瑚覆盖度（coral cover）、珊瑚补充量（coral recruitment）以及小型珊瑚（直径≤40毫米的珊瑚群体）动态的同步采样数据。研究在卡布里特角（Cabritte Horn）与怀特角（White Point）之间5~9米水深的5~6个站位开展（图1、补充图S1），这些站位随项目推进逐步纳入研究体系，其初始设立目的大多与本研究的既定目标不尽一致。本研究的长期性与覆盖广度，为珊瑚礁生态学研究中鲜有涉及的分析提供了契机，但由于本研究采用非预设的渐进式推进模式，各研究组分间存在匹配缺陷，尤其在4米水深范围内，三个群落结构维度的研究数据存在不一致。该水深范围对珊瑚而言具有生态相关性，因此本分析的解读需限定于以下假设：5米与9米水深之间，珊瑚补充量、小型珊瑚动态与珊瑚覆盖度的时间变化模式相似。除最初两年每约6个月开展一次补充量监测外，其余年度调查均于7月至8月完成。在本次分析中，研究站位及各站位的平均值均被视为圣约翰岛岸礁的统计重复样本。

包含下述附加数据集的完整Excel工作簿，可通过以下链接下载：https://datadocs.bco-dmo.org/docs/302/St_John_LTREB/data_docs/Data_for_Paper_Feb_2017_copy.xlsx

美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年珊瑚覆盖度数据集：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750676
美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2006-2016年珊瑚死亡率与生长数据集：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750710
美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年珊瑚覆盖度、密度及年度珊瑚补充量平均值数据集：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750771
美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛1989-2016年月均海水温度数据集：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049