Data Release
Reef-census Data from Buck Island Reef National Monument
By Lauren T. Toth,1 Elizabeth M. Whitcher,2 Richard B. Aronson,2 and Ilsa B. Kuffner1
1 U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2 Florida Institute of Technology, Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Melbourne, FL
Summary
In July of 2016, Florida Institute of Technology researchers, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted reef-census surveys at 54 sites around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The sites are divided across two reef sectors (North and South) and three reef habitats (fore reef, reef crest, and back reef) (Figure 1). These data were used to estimate coral-reef carbonate budgets (after Perry and others, 2012). The surveys provide data on the percent coverage of corals and other benthic taxa and abundances of bioeroding parrotfishes and urchins. This research is a part of the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Project (CREST).
Data
| File Name and Description | Metadata (XML format) | Metadata (text format) | Download File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buck_Island_Reef_Site_Coordinates.zip Latitude and longitude of the 54 sites around Buck Island Reef (.csv) |
Buck_Island_Reef_ Census_Metadata.xml |
Buck_Island_Reef_ Census_Metadata.txt |
Buck_Island_Reef_ Site_Coordinates.zip (12 KB) |
| Buck_Island_Reef_Benthic_Data.zip Percent cover of coral taxa and other reef benthos at 54 sites around Buck Island Reef (.csv) |
Same as above | Same as above | Buck_Island_Reef_ Benthic_Data.zip (83 KB) |
| Buck_Island_Reef_Parrotfish_Data.zip Data on the abundances of bioeroding parrotfish at 54 sites around Buck Island Reef (.csv) |
Same as above | Same as above | Buck_Island_Reef_ Parrotfish_Data.zip (33 KB) |
| Buck_Island_Reef_Urchin_Data.zip Data on the abundances of bioeroding urchins at 54 sites around Buck Island Reef (.csv) |
Same as above | Same as above | Buck_Island_Reef_ Urchin_Data.zip (15 KB) |
Figure 1. Locations of the 54 sites (dots) around Buck Island Reef National Monument where census surveys were conducted. Coloration of the sites indicates habitat and the division between the North and South sectors of the reef is indicated by a dashed white line. Inset maps show the location of Buck Island Reef National Monument relative to St. Croix (white box) and the location of the U.S. Virgin Islands within the broader western Atlantic region (white point).
Suggested Citation
Toth, L.T., Whitcher, E.M., Aronson, R.B., and Kuffner, I.B., 2022, Reef-census data from Buck Island Reef National Monument: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P97YB2YF.