Biological and physical geospatial data from St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands from 6 Feb 2001 to 18 May 2012 (NODC Accession 0118500)

The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) worked with partners to assess and characterize the marine environment in and around the St. Croix East End Marine Park. The Park was established in 2003. At the time of creation there were substantial data gaps hindering baseline establishments to measure performance of the management zones. NCCOS and territorial partners characterized the land and seascape conditions and the marine communities within the park zones. These characterizations revealed relevant threats to the coral reef ecosystem health and are essential for management actions. Relating data collected in the field back to habitat and bathymetric maps, CCMA-BB is then able to model and map species level and community level information.

Data within this set contain Acropora species, Nassau grouper, and other fauna of special concern (i.e. conch, sea urchins, lobster, and the lionfish). There is also data containing benthic habitat survey zones and analyses, land characterization (such as dirt road location, land development index, and landcover data), fish richness, and the overall impact on the Park. Data is in geospatial maps and tables with associated metadata.