Determining Watershed Management Efficacy in West Maui: line-point-intercept and photo quadrat surveys of benthic communities for benthic cover from 2014-06-24 to 2015-07-31 (NCEI Accession 0138585)

The focus of the Wahikuli-Honokowai Watershed Management Plan is the land use practices and alterations affected in the agricultural and urban districts that have upset the natural drainage patterns and ecohydrologic balance and services the watersheds provide. As the approach to reducing the effects of land-based sources of pollution, the Wahikuli-Honokowai Watershed Management Plan identifies nine priority projects to reduce, capture, and remediate the impacts of non-point source pollutants through the implementation of management practices in priority areas. The Watershed Management Plan also includes recommendations for strategic, long-term trend monitoring of the health of the coral reef ecosystem, which provides information that can be correlated to the implementation of solutions to reduce land-based non-point source pollutants. Kahekili Beach Park reef and the coastal areas to the north are considered high priority. Corals in this region have been severely impacted by land-based pollutants, causing coral dieback and reducing coral cover. To fill in the gap, a baseline assessment for benthic cover data (described here) along with coral demographic metrics, has been conducted at the mouths of the Mahinahina, Honokowai, and Wahikuli, Kahana, Honokeana, Honokohua, and Honolua stream drainages in West Maui, Hawaii, to track and evaluate the efficacy of implemented management practices. The installation of permanent survey transects will provide long-term time series to quantify changes in the reef benthic community. Sediment flux, and turbidity data are also collected at the Mahinahina, Honokowai, and Wahikuli, dranages (described separately). The data described here were collected via line-point-intercept (LPI) and photo quadrat surveys by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) according to established protocols. These data include: 1) an assessment of benthic cover for the selected monitoring sites; and 2) benthic photographs to serve as a permanent record of the site. Data are available for surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015. The LPI data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0138585, and the benthic photographs are available upon request from CREP. Additionally, belt transect surveys of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) were conducted (described separately in NCEI Accession 0137092), and turbidity sensors, sediment traps, and sediment pods were deployed by project partners to provide information on sediment loads, sediment accumulation rates, and sediment composition. As watershed management projects are implemented, changes in sediment and nutrient loading and the resulting impacts on the reefs can be monitored over time.</Wahikuli-Honokowai流域管理计划（Wahikuli-Honokowai Watershed Management Plan）的核心关注方向为农业与城区的土地利用实践及人为扰动——此类活动打破了自然排水格局，破坏了流域所提供的生态水文平衡与生态系统服务。作为降低陆源污染影响的实施路径，该计划明确了9项优先工程，通过在优先区域落地管理措施，以削减、截留并修复面源污染物（non-point source pollutants）带来的生态影响。 该流域管理计划还包含针对珊瑚礁生态系统（coral reef ecosystem）健康开展战略性长期趋势监测的建议，所获数据可与陆源面源污染物削减方案的落地实施效果形成关联分析。凯赫基利海滩公园（Kahekili Beach Park）的珊瑚礁及其北侧近岸海域被列为极高优先监测区域。该区域的珊瑚已受到陆源污染物的严重影响，引发珊瑚衰退（coral dieback）并降低了珊瑚覆盖度。 为填补相关研究空白，研究团队针对夏威夷茂宜岛西部的Mahinahina、Honokowai、Wahikuli、Kahana、Honokeana、Honokohua及Honolua溪流河口区域，开展了底栖生物覆盖（benthic cover）基线评估与珊瑚种群统计指标调查（本文对此进行详述），以追踪并评估已实施管理措施的实际效果。永久性调查样带的布设将可获取长期时间序列数据，以量化珊瑚礁底栖生物群落的动态变化。 研究团队同时在Mahinahina、Honokowai与Wahikuli溪流流域采集了沉积物通量与浊度数据（相关内容将另行详述）。本文所述数据由美国国家海洋和大气管理局珊瑚礁生态系统项目（NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, CREP）依据既定标准规程，通过线点截距法（line-point-intercept, LPI）与样方摄影调查获取。此类数据涵盖： 1) 选定监测站点的底栖生物覆盖状况评估； 2) 可作为站点永久记录的底栖生物摄影影像。 2014年与2015年开展的调查数据均已公开。其中线点截距法数据可通过美国国家海洋和大气管理局国家环境信息中心（NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NCEI）海洋档案库获取，存档编号为0138585；底栖生物摄影影像则可向CREP提出申请获取。 此外，针对珊瑚种群统计（成体与幼体珊瑚）的带状样带调查（belt transect surveys）已完成（相关内容详见NCEI存档编号0137092）；项目合作方还布设了浊度传感器、沉积物捕集器（sediment traps）与沉积物采样舱，以获取沉积物负荷、沉积速率与沉积物组分相关数据。随着流域管理工程的逐步落地，可长期监测沉积物与营养盐负荷的变化，以及由此对珊瑚礁造成的后续影响。