Trial of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) and coral monitoring design collected by Reef Joint Field Management Program

This dataset contains Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) and coral monitoring data collected from 18 Great Barrier Reef locations during two pilot surveillance deployments in January-February 2025 as part of the Crown-of-thorns starfish Control Innovation Program (CCIP). The deployments tested integrated monitoring approaches across the Swain Reefs (9 reefs, January 2025) and Mackay region (9 reefs, February 2025), combining traditional visual surveys with emerging technologies. The dataset includes: (1) manta tow survey data comprising 613 individual tows covering approximately 117 km of reef margin, with observations of COTS abundance, feeding scars, and categorical hard coral cover estimates; (2) ReefScan underwater camera data from both transom-mounted (272,874 images, 875 GB) and deep-towed (361,970 images, 838 GB) systems, processed using machine learning for COTS detection and benthic composition analysis; (3) environmental DNA (eDNA) summary results from 432 water samples across 18 reef locations, providing molecular detection metrics for COTS presence; and (4) comparative coral cover estimates derived from each monitoring method.

本数据集包含棘冠海星（Crown-of-thorns starfish, COTS）与珊瑚监测数据，这些数据采集自2025年1至2月的两次试点监测部署，覆盖大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef）的18个点位，作为棘冠海星防控创新计划（Crown-of-thorns starfish Control Innovation Program, CCIP）的组成部分。
本次部署在斯温礁群（2025年1月，共9座礁体）与麦凯区域（2025年2月，共9座礁体）测试了一体化监测方案，将传统目视调查与新兴技术相结合。
本数据集包含以下四类内容：
1. 蝠翼拖曳调查数据：共计613次独立拖曳作业，覆盖约117千米的礁缘区域，记录了棘冠海星种群丰度、取食痕迹以及硬质珊瑚盖度的分类估算结果；
2. ReefScan水下相机数据：包含船尾舷侧挂载式（272,874张图像，总容量875 GB）与深拖式（361,970张图像，总容量838 GB）两套系统采集的影像，已通过机器学习完成棘冠海星检测与底栖生物组成分析；
3. 环境DNA（eDNA）汇总结果：采自18座礁体的432份水样的分析结果，提供了棘冠海星存在性的分子检测指标；
4. 基于各监测方法得到的珊瑚盖度对比估算值。