MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Coupled Natural-Human Systems: GPS Benthic Data

This dataset includes cover of benthic organisms and substrates in more than 600,000 photographic samples of Moorea’s lagoon habitats, collected between 2018 and 2021. In summer of each year swimmers towed downward facing cameras, taking 1.5 photos per second of habitats they passed over. The resulting pictures were processed through a computer vision algorithm (CoralNet), resulting in percent cover estimates in each photo of organisms such as coral and algae and substrates such as sand and rubble. These data were georeferenced based on simultaneously collecting GPS data. Data are presented here on the scale of the photograph, and are also aggregated to the scale of a minute of sampling and a transect of swimming. The latter scales are chosen to coincide with fish counting data which was simultaneously collected but is presented in a different data set (EDI data package ID: knb-lter-mcr.4013.1) doi:10.6073/pasta/ff3de88334edda65fef26de45ff26c1d These data were collected as part of CNH-L: Multiscale Dynamics of Coral Reef Fisheries: Feedbacks Between Fishing Practices, Livelihood Strategies, and Shifting Dominance of Coral and Algae (BCS-1714704) with additional support from the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (OCE- 1637396).