Benthic community data from surveys of reefs in southwestern Puerto Rico during 2018 and 2020

This data set consists of benthic community surveys from reefs in southwestern Puerto Rico. The surveys occurred during 2018 and 2020 at various shallow depths (3-, 4-, 10-, 15-meters) in the reefs Turrumote 2, Romero, Guilligan Is, Guanica Bay, Cayo Coral, and Punta Guanica. The methodology used in the field was the line transect method.

To understand the community changes caused by Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), a baseline is needed before the advent of the disease. These benthic coverage data composed of different coral species, algae, and other substrata will serve as the baseline information and were collected by Dr. Ernesto Weil of the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.