National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessment of coral reef benthic communities in the Florida Reef Tract

Benthic survey data provided in this collection of datasets are from three (3) distinct regions along the Florida reef tract; 1) Dry Tortugas, 2) Florida Keys from Key West north to Miami, and 3) Miami north to Martin County. Lead agencies involved include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries) and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).

The Benthic Assessment (BA) is the first of two benthic surveys conducted in Florida as part of the ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Benthic Assessment provides benthic cover estimates for ecologically important cover types/groups (e.g., macroalgae, turf algae, crustose coralline algae, corals, sponges, sand/sediment, etc.) using a 1-stage stratified random survey design in hardbottom and coral reef habitats less than 30m in depth. The goals of these surveys are to provide: (1) a quantification of percent cover of biotic and abiotic benthic components using a linear point intercept (LPI) method; (2) information on topographic complexity (substratum rugosity) of the survey locations (3) quantitative information on local commercially and ecologically-important macroinvertebrates (Caribbean spiny lobster [Panulirus argus], queen conch [Strombus gigas], long-spined sea urchin [Diadema antillarum]); and (4) presence-absence information for ESA-listed Threatened corals. Surveys are concurrent with and along the same transect with Coral Demographic surveys.

The Coral Demographic method is the second of two benthic surveys conducted along the Florida reef tract as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). The goal of the coral demographic surveys is to collect and report information on species composition, density, size, abundance, and specific parameters of condition (% live vs. dead, bleaching, disease) of non-juvenile scleractinian corals (>4 cm maximum diameter), and of overall species diversity (all corals) using 10m x 1m belt transects in a stratified random sampling design in hardbottom and coral reef habitats less than 30m in depth. Surveys are concurrent with and along the same transect of the Benthic Assessment surveys, including the Line Point-Intercept (LPI) survey.