Publication Details
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Benthic Habitats of Fish Bay, Coral Bay and the St. Thomas East End Reserve
Author(s): Costa, B.M., M.S. Kendall, K. Edwards, G. Kagesten and T.A. Battista
NCCOS Center: CCMA
Center Team: Biogeography
Name of Publisher: NOAA
Place of Publication: SIlver Spring, MD
Publication Type: Book
Date of Publication: 2013
Reference Information: NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 175
USVI
Extent of Work: 68 pp.
Abstract: This report describes the development and assessment of shallow (0 =40 m) benthic habitat maps for Fish Bay,
Coral Bay and the St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER) in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The objective of this effort,
conducted by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in partnership with the Nature Conservancy
(TNC), the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources
(DPNR), was to provide spatially-explicit information describing the benthic habitat types and live coral
cover present in these three locations. This habitat information will support the development of local action strategies
for coral reef conservation in each of these places, providing roadmaps to address key issues and remedy
specific threats to coral reefs. The three habitat maps, generated using a combination of semi-automated
classification and visual interpretation techniques, represent the first digital maps that describe nearly 100% of
the seafloor in these areas. This effort also marks the first time that high resolution imagery describing seafloor
depth was collected in these locations.
This report consists of four primary components: 1) a description of the classification scheme used to categorize
the different seafloor habitats, 2) a discussion of the techniques used to create the habitat maps, 3) an assessment
of the habitat maps’ thematic accuracies, and 4) a discussion and summary of the habitats in each area.
These habitat maps will be used by TNC, NPS, DPNR and other local partners for planning research and monitoring
activities, and will support the management and conservation of the St. Thomas East End Reserve, Virgin
Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument.
This work is part of NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program’s national coral reef ecosystem integrated mapping
and monitoring studies throughout the U.S. Caribbean.
For more information on this effort please visit: http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=33
Direct questions or comments to:
Bryan M. Costa
Geospatial Scientist
CSS contractor to NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch
1305 East West Highway
SSMC4, N/SCI-1, 9th floor, #9232
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: (301) 713-3028 x146
Email: Bryan.Costa@noaa.gov
Or
Timothy A. Battista
Principal Investigator
NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch
1305 East West Highway
SSMC4, N/SCI-1, 9th floor, #9311
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: (301) 713-3028 x171
Email: Tim.Battista@noaa.gov
Availability: Online PDF
Related Attachment: Download file (.pdf)
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