National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Assessment of fish communities in the Dry Tortugas during 2016

This dataset includes observations of reef fish near the Dry Tortugas in 2016. Data were sourced from the SEFSC Data Portal and aligned to Darwin Core. This data is a subset of data from an ongoing project that includes data from other regions and years and is dependent on the sampling design. The stationary point count method (7.5m radius cylinder) is used to conduct fish surveys in Florida as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). This method collects and reports information on species composition, density, size structure, abundance and derived metrics (e.g., species richness, diversity). Data provided in this data set are from the Dry Tortugas. Data are collected using a 2-stage, stratified random survey design. 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).