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Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338)

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The data described here, including photographs, genetic sequences, and specimen information, were collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, or ARMS, moored for two years at fixed climate survey sites located on hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in Timor-Leste. Climate sites were established in Timor-Leste in October 2012 to establish ecological baselines for climate change by measuring multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) over time.

Three ARMS units were typically deployed by SCUBA divers at each survey site. Each ARMS unit, constructed in-house by CREP, consisted of 23 cm x 23 cm gray, type 1 PVC plates stacked in alternating series of 4 open and 4 obstructed layers and attached to a base plate of 35 cm x 45 cm, which was affixed to the reef. Upon recovery, each ARMS unit was encapsulated, brought to the surface, and disassembled and processed. Disassembled plates were photographed to document recruited sessile organisms, scraped clean and preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. Recruited motile organisms were sieved into 3 size fractions: 2 mm, 500 µm, and 100 µm. The 500 µm and 100 µm fractions were bulked and also preserved in 95% ethanol for DNA processing. The 2 mm fraction was sorted into morphospecies, photographed, and identified to the lowest taxonomic identification possible. The plate photographs, sequences generated from the DNA metabarcoding of the scrapings and the 500- and 100-µm fractions, specimen photographs, and specimen identifications are included in the ARMS dataset. The data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

ARMS are used by CREP to assess and monitor cryptic reef diversity across the Pacific. Developed in collaboration with the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems (CReefs), ARMS are designed to mimic the structural complexity of a reef and attract/collect colonizing marine invertebrates. The key innovation of the ARMS method is that biodiversity is sampled over precisely the same surface area in the exact same manner. Thus, the use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community over time.
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169338. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0169338
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: 125.49912
East: 125.01319
South: -8.85321
North: -8.22438
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2017: Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012 to 2014, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/46159.
  • Interdisciplinary baseline ecosystem assessment surveys to Inform ecosystem-based management planning in Timor-Leste : b final report
  • Desrochers, Annette; Ehses, Julia; Huntington, Brittany; McCoy, Kaylyn; Moews, Megan; Oliver, Thomas; Sudnovsky, Max; Suka, Rhonda R.; Timmers, Molly A.; Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo; Brainard, Russell; Kimball, Justine. Interdisciplinary baseline ecosystem assessment surveys to Inform ecosystem-based management planning in Timor-Leste: final report. PIFSC special publication; SP-17-002. 2017. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5/sp-pifsc-17-002
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2018-01-19
  • revision: 2021-06-14
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
Submission Package ID: 971D73

In this accession, NCEI has archived multiple versions of these data. The latest (and best) version of these data has the largest version number.
Purpose The use of ARMS is a systematic, consistent, and comparable method for monitoring the marine cryptobiota community in coral reef ecosystems over time. The Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at NOAA Fisheries is conducting in-situ climate monitoring across the U.S. Pacific Islands Region. Climate monitoring provides a comprehensive view of climate change impacts on coral reef ecosystems and helps identify areas of resilience and vulnerability. The key indicators used to identify and monitor climate-driven trends include 1) thermal stress caused by changes in sea temperature, 2) ocean acidification resulting from changes in carbonate chemistry, and 3) ecological impacts by collecting data on coral growth rates and community structure to understand the impacts of thermal stress and ocean acidification on the ecosystem. This particular dataset for Timor-Leste is part of a 3-year project ("Climate, Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Coral Triangle: Embracing the E in Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management") implemented by CREP. This project was funded by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Development Mission Asia (RDMA) as part of the U.S. Coral Triangle Initiative, with additional support from the Coral Triangle Support Partnership and USAID Philippines. The goal of the project was to build on CREP's expertise to provide tools and information about climate change, ocean acidification, and their impacts on biodiversity and fisheries that could inform and be incorporated into an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) for the Philippines. CREP worked with local governments, communities, and NGOs to build science capacity by establishing robust observing capabilities and providing hands-on training to initiate collection of climate science information for the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines that can be used toward adaptive EAFM. In 2011, NOAA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Timor-Leste Mission formed a 5-year bi-lateral partnership agreement from 2012 to 2016, in support of the Government of Timor-Leste—particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF)—by addressing significant information gaps in their nearshore marine ecosystems. Specifically, MAF asked NOAA to address the following questions: 1.Where are the nearshore marine resources? 2.What are the nearshore marine resources? 3.How are they changing over time and what threats are potentially causing these changes? 4.What approaches are needed to manage and conserve the nearshore marine resources? With financial support from USAID and in-kind support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted baseline ecosystem assessment surveys to inform ecosystem-based management planning in Timor-Leste. The primary activities conducted by NOAA to answer these questions included: 1.satellite mapping of nearshore habitats, 2.conducting coral reef ecosystem assessments, 3.establishing ecological baselines for climate change, and 4.building management capacity by developing a spatial data framework The biodiversity data described herein resulted from the third activity to establish ecological baselines for climate change.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169338. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Collaborators
Contributors
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Points of Contact
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Related Funding Agency: US DOS; United States Agency for International Development
  • Related Funding Agency: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS)
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Brachyura
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Cryptobiota
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Biodiversity
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Provider Keywords
  • ARMS
  • Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure
  • Biodiversity
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Contributing Data Centers
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS DNA Sequencing Instrument Keywords
  • Agencourt AMPure beads
  • Agilent 2100 BioAnalyzer
  • AutoGenprep 965 (Autogen)
  • Biotum AccuClear Ultra High Sensitivity Quantification Kit
  • Kappa Systems Hyper-Prep sample kit
  • MO-Bio PowerMax Soil Extraction Kit
  • metabarcoding
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Indian Ocean > Timor Sea > Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) (09S126E0001)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords Provider Place Names
  • Atauro
  • Baucau
  • Bobonaro
  • Dili
  • Lautem
  • Manatuto
  • Timor-Leste
  • Vila MPA
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CRCP Project
  • 483
  • Climate, Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Coral Triangle: Embracing the E in Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Assessing cryptic reef diversity of colonizing marine invertebrates using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed at coral reef sites in Timor-Leste from 2012-10-15 to 2014-10-09 (NCEI Accession 0169338). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169338. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2018-01-19T04:34:40Z - NCEI Accession 0169338 v1.1 was published.
  • 2021-06-14T16:02:46Z - NCEI Accession 0169338 was revised and v2.2 was published.
    Rationale: Updates were received for this dataset. These updates were copied into the data/0-data/ directory of this accession. These updates may provide additional files or replace obsolete files. This version contains the most complete and up-to-date representation of this archival information package. All of the files received prior to this update are available in the preceding version of this accession.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Parameter or Variable: images (measured); Units: unitless; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: camera; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Images of the ARMS plates, specimens from the 2-mm size fraction, and from the field during deployment and recovery of the ARMS units..
  • Parameter or Variable: SPECIES IDENTIFICATION - COUNT (measured); Units: count; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: visual observation; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Count of organisms from the 2-mm size fraction.
  • Parameter or Variable: SPECIES IDENTIFICATION (calculated); Units: unitless; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: metabarcoding; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Sequences generated during the DNA metabarcoding of the 500- and 100-µm fractions and scrapings..
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • camera
  • visual observation
Last Modified: 2024-02-21T13:40:56Z
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