National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessment of coral reef fish communities in Puerto Rico

Data provided in this collection were gathered around Puerto Rico as part of NCCOS-led missions in collaboration with partners at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Puerto Rico Department of Marine Sciences, HJR Reefscaping, and University of the Virgin Islands. In 2014 the Belt Transect method was used to conduct fish surveys in Puerto Rico as part of the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). The Belt Transect method collects and reports information on fish species composition, density, size, abundance and derived metrics (e.g., species richness, diversity). Surveys were concurrent with and along the same transect as the Line Point-Intercept (LPI) benthic survey. Starting in 2016 fish data were collected using the stationary point count method. This method collects and reports information on fish species composition, density, size structure, abundance and derived metrics (e.g., species richness, diversity).