Primary productivity and calcification rates of coral reef flat and seagrass habitat at Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia and Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Primary production and calcification are two processes that form the basis for coral reefs through energy production, and construction of complex habitats needed to support highly diverse systems. Monitoring of these processes is essential for understanding the carbon cycle for coral reef habitats, and how this will change over time.
This project measured primary production and calcification for two different coral reef systems at Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia and Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This included three sites: (1) coral reef flat at Shark Bay, Heron Island, (2) seagrass habitat at San Roque, Saipan Lagoon, and (3) coral reef flat at Pau Pau, Saipan Lagoon. A combination of water sampling and in situ dissolved oxygen sensors were used to determine productivity and calcification rates with the Lagrangian method. Flow respirometry drifts were conducted daily over a two week period in Jan. 2016 for Heron Island, and from May - June 2016 in Saipan Lagoon. Data presented here includes results from the flow respirometry drifts including GPS tracks, carbonate chemistry data from water samples, water quality data from in situ sensors, and current speed and direction from current meters placed on the coral reef flats.