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Dominant Benthic Structure and Biological Cover Habitat Maps for West Maui and West Hawaii

Metadata Updated: March 16, 2024

Benthic habitat maps depict dominant substrate type and biological cover in depths between 0 and ~150 m for two priority sites in the Main Hawaiian Islands; the NOAA Habitat Blueprint West Hawaii Focus Area (WHFA) and the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) West Maui priority watersheds.

The primary data source for these maps was a 5-m resolution bathymetry synthesis grid, collected from a number of sources and maintained by the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH) Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG). Geomorphic derivatives of slope, slope of slope, rugosity and curvature were created from the bathymetry grid using the Benthic Terrain Modeler (https://esriurl.com/5754) in ArcGIS.

New optical seafloor imagery was collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) to produce these maps, and seafloor imagery was also provided from a number of partners including the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the Nature Conservancy, NOAA Biogeography group and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. All images were visually analyzed by CREP to classify dominant substrate type and biological cover.

A Principle Component Analysis performed in ArcGIS removed highly correlated information from the suite of geomorphic surfaces derived from the bathymetry synthesis grid. This was followed by an unsupervised classification using the Iso Cluster Classification tool in ArcGIS. The resulting image was examined and manually corrected using the classification data from the analyzed seafloor imagery as validation. The resulting benthic habitat map delineates eight dominant substrates (Complex Reef, Boulder, Rubble, Mixed Substrate, Pavement, Sand, Mud, and Manmade) and six dominant biological cover types (Coral, Coralline Algae, Turf Algae, Macroalgae, Uncolonized and Unclassified) that extend from the shoreline to ~150 m.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2016 (publication)
Frequency Of Update notPlanned

Metadata Source

Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

Graphic Preview

NOAA Habitat Blueprint West Hawaii Focus Area

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2016 (publication)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:32811
Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Dominant Benthic Structure and Biological Cover Habitat Maps for West Maui and West Hawaii [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32811., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: These data are not to be used for navigation purposes. Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data. Suggested citation: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). Dominant Benthic Structure and Biological Cover Habitat Maps for West Maui and West Hawaii. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32811 [access date], Distribution Liability: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
Bbox East Long -155.822838
Bbox North Lat 20.061727
Bbox South Lat 19.772429
Bbox West Long -156.100504
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update notPlanned
Graphic Preview Description NOAA Habitat Blueprint West Hawaii Focus Area
Graphic Preview File https://www.habitatblueprint.noaa.gov/storymap/hfa/hfa_pages/images/westHawaii/location_map.jpg
Graphic Preview Type JPG
Harvest Object Id d9988f1d-4a94-4eeb-9664-34961f0a4f11
Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
Lineage The Iso Cluster Unsupervised Classification tool was used to classify the three-band Principle Component Analysis (PCA) image into distinct structure and cover classes. The unsupervised classification produced a delineated image of substrate and cover of the seafloor across the entire West Hawaii and West Maui priority areas.
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-156.100504, 19.772429], [-155.822838, 19.772429], [-155.822838, 20.061727], [-156.100504, 20.061727], [-156.100504, 19.772429]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2006
Temporal Extent End 2014

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