GBR - Hard coral biodiversity surveys of the Great Barrier Reef - Spatial interpolation - 1994 - 2001 (MTSRF 1.1.5, AIMS)

The purpose of this study was to quantify patterns in scleractinian biodiversity, and in the cover of the main benthos groups, on the Great Barrier Reef. Taxonomic surveys of hard corals conducted on 110 reefs (599 transects) of the GBR between 1994 and 2001. Surveys are based on rapid ecological assessments (taxonomic inventories based on swim surveys) conducted at two depth zones (deep and shallow), typically at two sites per reef. The data are abundance estimates of each species. Richness is calculated based on reef-averaged data.The data set also contains visual estimates of the cover of the main benthos groups such as hard corals, soft corals, macroalgae and crustose coralline algae.As part of the Reef Atlas project (now the eAtlas) the coral observations were interpolated over the whole GBR by Glenn De'ath using Generalized Additive Models with a Quasipoisson fit. This produced a gridded version of the dataset and is available as a KML and ASCII Grid file (WGS84).Data Units:- Abundance estimates of each species: 6-point rating (absent, rare, uncommon, common, abundant, dominant);- Richness: number of species per reef;- Cover of benthos groups: 6-point rating: 0 = none recorded; 1 = 1–10; 2 = 11–30; 3 = 31–50; 4 = 51–75; 5 = 76–100References:- Devantier LM, De'ath G, Done TJ, Turak E (1998). Ecological assessment of a complex natural system: A case study from the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological Applications, 8, 480-496- Fabricius KE, De’ath G, McCook L, Turak E & Williams DMc (2005) Changes in algal, coral and fish assemblages along water quality gradients on the inshore Great Barrier Reef. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 384–398- Devantier L, De'ath G, Done T, Turak E, Fabricius K (2006) Species richness and community structure of reef-building corals on the nearshore Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 25:329-340

本研究旨在量化大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef，GBR）上石珊瑚生物多样性的分布模式，以及主要底栖生物类群的盖度。
1994年至2001年间，研究团队对大堡礁的110个礁体（共599条样带）开展了硬珊瑚分类学调查。本次调查基于快速生态评估法——即通过游泳观测开展的分类学名录调查——通常在每个礁体的两个位点、两个深度带（深水与浅水）进行。数据包含各物种的丰度估算值，物种丰富度基于礁体平均数据计算得到。

本数据集还涵盖主要底栖生物类群盖度的目视估算结果，包括硬珊瑚、软珊瑚、大型藻类与壳状珊瑚藻。

作为礁体地图集项目（现为eAtlas）的一部分，Glenn De'ath利用广义可加模型（Generalized Additive Models，GAM）结合准泊松拟合（Quasipoisson fit），将珊瑚观测数据插值至整个大堡礁范围，生成了该数据集的网格化版本，可通过KML与ASCII Grid文件（WGS84坐标系）获取。

### 数据单位：
1. 物种丰度估算：采用6级评分体系，评分标准为：无分布（absent）、稀少（rare）、偶见（uncommon）、常见（common）、丰富（abundant）、优势（dominant）；
2. 物种丰富度：单个礁体的物种总数；
3. 底栖生物类群盖度：采用6级评分制，评分标准为：0=未记录；1=1%~10%；2=11%~30%；3=31%~50%；4=51%~75%；5=76%~100%。

### 参考文献：
1. Devantier LM, De'ath G, Done TJ, Turak E (1998). 复杂自然系统的生态评估：以大堡礁为例. 《生态应用（Ecological Applications）》, 8, 480-496
2. Fabricius KE, De’ath G, McCook L, Turak E & Williams DMc (2005). 近岸大堡礁沿水质梯度分布的藻类、珊瑚与鱼类群落变化. 《海洋污染公报（Marine Pollution Bulletin）》51: 384–398
3. Devantier L, De'ath G, Done T, Turak E, Fabricius K (2006). 近岸大堡礁造礁珊瑚的物种丰富度与群落结构. 《珊瑚礁（Coral Reefs）》25:329-340