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Published March 6, 2024 | Version v1
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Coral reef benthic and fish monitoring data from Turneffe Atoll, Belize, 2010-2023

Creators

  • 1. University of Belize
  • 2. Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association*

Description

Coral reefs are crucial centres of biodiversity, sustaining diverse marine species and providing ecosystem services to coastal communities. Monitoring coral reefs allows us to assess how the reefs are changing over time, discerning the potential impact of environmental changes, human activities, and climate events on their health and biodiversity.  Here, we present a collection of data obtained through methodologies from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems Synoptic Monitoring Program (MBRS SMP) and Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocols, including data of benthic point-intercept and invertebrate surveys, coral community characterizations, and reef fish surveys. The dataset encompasses observations spanning the years 2010 to 2023 within Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, Belize. By publishing this dataset, we aim to provide a resource for research endeavours related to coral reef dynamics and broader ecological trends. Use of this monitoring data supports the evolution of Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve as a Marine Protected Area, contributing to informed decision-making and management strategies for the conservation of this vital ecosystem.

Notes

Funding provided by: Oak Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/006ss0h52
Award Number: OCAY-16-703

Funding provided by: Oak Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/006ss0h52
Award Number: OCAY-09-236

Funding provided by: Great Barrier Reef Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/00d4phf77
Award Number:

Methods

Our dataset consists of data collected for four surveys (benthic point-intercept-method (PIM), benthic invertebrates, coral community, and reef fish) carried out at the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve in Belize, annually between the years of 2010-2018, and biennially between 2021-2023. For our annual surveys from 2010-2018, we followed the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Synoptic Monitoring Program (MBRS SMP) protocol1. For 2021 and 2023, our data collection followed the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol2-6. The change in protocol between 2018 and 2021 is due to the National adoption of the AGRRA protocol for coral reef monitoring in Belize7. The two protocols are very similar, as the MBRS SMP was based on AGRRA and Caribbean Coastal and Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) protocols1. 

Between 2010-2021, we archived our collected data in Excel sheets, stored locally at the UB-ERI. Under UB-ERI guidance, volunteers digitized the data, entering it into tabular data format from waterproof data collection sheets used in the field. In 2023, we transformed the data format according to tidy data principles8, and FAIR data principles9 using R Statistical Software10. We wrote custom validation rules in R, which allowed us to feed our data in and receive a report on any cell that violated a rule, such as a temperature measurement in Fahrenheit instead of Celcius. We then manually investigated each flagged cell to consider individually whether we should fix or exclude the measurement.

Citations:

  1. Almada-Villela, P. C., Sale, P. F., Gold-Bouchot, G., & Kjerfve, B. (2003). Manual of methods for the MBRS synoptic monitoring program: Selected methods for monitoring physical and biological parameters for use in the Mesoamerican region (Protocol 4; p. 155). Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems Project. https://rris.biopama.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/MBRS%20synoptic%20monitoring.pdf

  2. Lang, J., Marks, K., Kramer, P., Kramer, P., & Ginsburg, R. (2010). Agrra protocols version 5.4. ReVision A Journal of Consciousness and Transformation.

  3. Lang, J. C., Marks, K. W., Kramer, P. A., Kramer, P. R., & Ginsburg, R. N. (2016a). AGRRA Benthos Protocol. Summary Instructions. (Protocol Revision 2016-09-12; p. 3). Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment. https://www.agrra.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AGRRA-Benthos-Protocol.pdf

  4. Lang, J. C., Marks, K. W., Kramer, P. A., Kramer, P. R., & Ginsburg, R. N. (2016b). AGGRA Detailed Fish Protocol. Instructions for Use, June 2016. (Revision 2016-09-12; p. 2). Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment. https://www.agrra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AGRRA-Fish-Protocol_June-2016.pdf

  5. AGRRA. (2021a). AGGRA Benthos Protocol. Summary Instructions, April 2021 Updated. (Revision 2021-04-12; p. 4). Ocean Research & Education. https://agrra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AGRRA-Benthos-Protocol-April_13_2021.pdf

  6. AGRRA. (2021b). AGGRA Coral Protocol. Summary Instructions, April 2021. (Revision 2021-04-12; p. 5). Ocean Research & Education. https://agrra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AGRRA-Coral-Protocol-April_13_2021.pdf

  7. McField, M., & Craig, N. (2018, February 28). Healthy Reefs letter to Belize Fisheries Department

  8. Wickham, H. (2014). Tidy Data. Journal of Statistical Software, 59(10). https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v059.i10

  9. Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, Ij. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., Blomberg, N., Boiten, J.-W., Da Silva Santos, L. B., Bourne, P. E., Bouwman, J., Brookes, A. J., Clark, T., Crosas, M., Dillo, I., Dumon, O., Edmunds, S., Evelo, C. T., Finkers, R., … Mons, B. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data, 3(1), 160018. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18

  10. R Core Team. (2023). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical  Computing (version 4.3.1) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org

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Related works

Is source of
10.5061/dryad.c866t1gcn (DOI)