NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2009

Ivor Williams1, Annette DesRochers1, Abby Benson2, Sarah Bingo3

1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ; 2 U.S. Geological Survey, ; 3 Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, 

Corresponding author(s): Ivor Williams (ivor.williams@noaa.gov), Annette DesRochers (annette.desrochers@noaa.gov)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) in the Pacific Ocean from 2000-09-09 to 2009-05-05 (NCEI Accession 0162462). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0162462

Abstract

Belt transects (BLT) are a non-invasive underwater-survey method that enumerates the diverse components of diurnally active shallow-water reef fish assemblages. At each Rapid Ecological Assessment survey site, BLT fish surveys are conducted along 3 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines to quantify relatively small-bodied and abundant fishes. A pair of scuba diver-observers conducts parallel swims along the transect lines, recording size-class specific counts of all fishes encountered, to species-level where possible, within visually estimated but defined belt widths: 4 m wide for fishes > 20 cm TL (100 m2 area) on the initial swim-out, and 2 m wide for fishes < 20 cm TL (50 m2 area) on the subsequent swim back. Transect lines are typically set at depths of 10-15 m. Reef ledges and holes are visually searched. Stations are completed on all sides of the island/atoll, weather and sea conditions permitting. Raw survey data includes species level abundance estimates.

Keywords: Samplingevent, Samplingevent

General description

Additional information: marine, harvested by OBIS

These data were named with "NCRMP" in the OBIS shortname, when it is actually pre-NCRMP data. The creators of the data, PIFSC, wanted to make that correction, but after the data are submitted the shortname cannot change. The BLT transects were conducted under CRED using older methods before NCRMP was fully formed.

Data published through GBIF: https://www1.usgs.gov/obis-usa/ipt/resource?r=ncrmp_blt_fish_pacific

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Science Division Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Rapid Ecological Assessments of Fish Belt Transect Surveys (BLT) at Coral Reef Sites across the Pacific Ocean from 2000 to 2009
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://www1.usgs.gov/obis-usa/ipt/archive.do?r=ncrmp_blt_fish_pacific
Publication date of data: 2023-01-27
Language: English
Licences of use: Public Domain (CC0 1.0)

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2020-04-01
Hierarchy level: Dataset