Coral cover, density, and recruits averages per year 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: 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 site in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 2007-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750740<br />
Mean monthly seawater temperatures in St. John, US Virgin Islands from 1989-2016: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049</p>

<p>本研究于圣约翰岛南岸的浅水珊瑚礁进行，该区域自1987年起开始监测，自20世纪50年代起便开始研究。时间序列分析的三方面内容被应用于此研究，包括珊瑚覆盖率、珊瑚繁殖以及直径小于等于40毫米的小珊瑚群落动态。这些群落结构的方面在卡比特角与怀特点之间的5至9米深度范围内，于5至6个地点进行研究（见图1，S1）。随着项目的推进，每个地点均被纳入研究范畴，其主要目的并非如本描述所述。这项研究之长期性与广泛性为分析提供了机会，这些分析在珊瑚礁生态学调查中鲜少被考虑。然而，研究的临时演变导致了各组成部分之间不完全匹配，尤其是在4米深度范围内，该深度范围内对珊瑚群落结构的三方面进行了研究。该深度范围对珊瑚生态具有重要意义，因此，对本分析结果的解读必须受到假设的约束，即珊瑚繁殖、小珊瑚群落动态和珊瑚覆盖率在5至9米深度范围内的时空变化相似。除了在前两年中，珊瑚繁殖每6个月测量一次外，年度调查在7月和8月完成。在整个分析过程中，研究地点以及各地点的平均值均被视为圣约翰岛外围珊瑚礁的统计重复样本。</p><p>包含以下附加数据集的整个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<br /><br />美国维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年的珊瑚覆盖率：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750676<br />美国维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2006-2016年的珊瑚死亡率和生长情况：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750710<br />美国维尔京群岛圣约翰岛2007-2016年的珊瑚覆盖率、密度和每个地点的珊瑚繁殖平均值：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750740<br />美国维尔京群岛圣约翰岛1989-2016年的平均月海水温度：https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/750049</p>