Description: This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and videos taken at ground validation (GV) and accuracy assessment (AA) sites surveyed around Vieques. The purpose of the GV survey data was to investigate areas of imagery where uncertainties existed on the photo interpreter's behalf during the decision making process of benthic habitat classification in Vieques. This information was used to refine the benthic habitat map. The purpose of this AA data was to collect information on current habitat conditions at random locations throughout the mapping area. Locations were determined by an iterative, GIS-based, stratified random sampling technique to ensure that all bottom classifications would be assessed. This information was used to evaluate the thematic accuracy of the Vieques benthic habitat map.
The points in this thematic data layers were acquired by GPS data using a Trimble GeoXT receiver with a customized data dictionary designed to reflect the habitat classification scheme. Underwater video or still images were collected at each site to maintain a record of habitat condition. This video was initially classified in the field and reviewed by NOAA staff in the office to ensure correct habitat attribution was made in the field.
Description: This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and videos taken at accuracy assessment (AA) sites surveyed around Vieques. The purpose of the AA data was to collect information on current habitat conditions at random locations throughout the mapping area. Locations were determined by an iterative, GIS-based, stratified random sampling technique to ensure that all bottom classifications would be assessed. This information was used to evaluate the thematic accuracy of the Vieques benthic habitat map.
Description: This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and videos taken at ground validation (GV) sites surveyed around Vieques. The purpose of this survey data was to investigate areas of imagery where uncertainties existed on the photo interpreter's behalf during the decision making process of benthic habitat classification in Vieques. This information was used to refine the benthic habitat map.
Description: Benthic habitat maps of the nearshore marine environment of Vieques, Puerto Rico were created by visual interpretation of remotely sensed imagery. The objective of this effort, conducted by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment - Biogeography Branch in partnership with NOAA's Offic of Response and Restoration, was to provide spatially-explicit information on the habitat types, biological cover and live coral cover of Vieques' coral reef ecosystem.
Description: These are the boundaries for all polygons in the classification scheme, broken out by the Biological Cover, Live Coral Cover, Structure, Percent Hardbottom, and Zone fields.
Description: Eighteen distinct and non-overlapping biological cover classes were identified that can be mapped through visual interpretation of remotely-sensed imagery. Cover classes refer only to the biological component colonizing the surface of the feature and does not address zone or structure type. Habitats or features that cover areas smaller than the MMU were not considered. The cover types are defined in a collapsible hierarchy ranging from seven major classes (Algae, Seagrass, Live Coral, Mangrove, Coralline Algae, No Cover, Unclassified and Unknown), combined with a modifier describing the distribution of the dominant cover type throughout the mapping unit (10%-<50%, 50%-<90%, 90%- 100%).
Description: Four distinct and non-overlapping percent live coral classes were identified that can be mapped through visual interpretation of remotely-sensed imagery and ground-truthing. This attribute is an additional biological cover modifier used to maintain information on the percent cover of live coral, both scleractinian and octocorals, even when it is not the dominant cover type. In order to provide resource managers with additional information on this cover type of critical concern, four range classes were used (0% - <10%, 10% - <50%, 50% - <90%, 90% - 100%). Distinction of scleractinian coral versus octocoral (i.e., hard versus soft coral) was limited by the current state of remote sensing technology and could not be separated in the Live Coral Cover modifier.
Description: Fifteen distinct and non-overlapping geomorphologic structure types were described that can be mapped by visual interpretation of remotely-sensed imagery. Habitats or features that cover areas smaller than the MMU were not considered. For example, sand halos surrounding patch reefs are often too small to be mapped independently. Structure refers only to predominate physical composition of the feature and does not address location (e.g., on the shelf or in the lagoon). The structure types are defined in a collapsible hierarchy ranging from four major classes (Coral Reef and Hardbottom, Unconsolidated Sediment, Other Delineations, and Unknown), to fifteen detailed classes (Rock/Boulder, Spur and Groove, Individual Patch Reef, Aggregated Patch Reefs, Aggregate Reef, Reef Rubble, Pavement, Pavement with Sand Channels, Rhodoliths, Sand, Mud, Sand with Scattered Coral and Rock, Artificial, Land, and Unknown).
Description: An additional modifier was attributed to all polygons (except Land) to describe the percentage of hardbottom within that polygon. Several of the detailed structure types are heterogeneous in nature (e.g., Aggregated Patch Reefs, Pavement w/ Sand Channels, Spur and Groove), and the purpose of this modifier was to provide additional information about these structure types. It is expected that this will be useful in field survey planning when knowledge of the likelihood of encountering reef/hardbottom in an area is desired, or in estimating the actual amount of hardbottom in a polygon or mapped area.
Description: Thirteen mutually exclusive zones can be identified from land to open water corresponding to typical insular shelf and coral reef geomorphology. These zones include: Land, Salt Pond, Shoreline Intertidal, Reef Flat, Lagoon, Back Reef, Reef Crest, Fore Reef, Bank/Shelf, Bank/Shelf Escarpment, Channel, Dredged, and Unknown. Zone refers only to each benthic community’s location and does not address substrate or biological cover types that are found within. For example, the Lagoon zone may include patch reefs and reef rubble; however, these are considered structural elements that may or may not occur within the lagoon zone and therefore, are not used to define it.