Fish Assemblages and Benthic Habitats of Buck Island Reef National Monument (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) and the Surrounding Seascape: A Characterization of Spatial and Temporal Patterns

摘要

The report provides a spatial and temporal characterization of the fish and benthic communities of Buck Island Reef National Monument and the surrounding seascapes of northeastern St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. The project is a component of NOAAs Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring (CREM) project of NOAAs Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and the National Park Service (NPS). The project integrates field data on coral condition, living marine resources and benthic habitats through an ongoing multi-agency collaboration between NOAAs Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB), NPS, U.S. Geological Survey and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (VI-DPNR). This Technical Memorandum is part one of a series of reports that focus on providing a quantitative spatial and temporal characterization of living marine resources and benthic communities associated with marine protected areas in the U.S. Caribbean. This project complements the National Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Programs (NCREMP) Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring grants awarded to the VI-DPNR by CRCP. The integration of the NOAA/NPS lead efforts with data generated by VI-DPNR provides robust spatial and temporal data to characterize St. Croix coral reef ecosystems. This project was funded by NOAAs CRCP and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences CCMA and CSCOR, NPSs Natural Resource Preservation Program (NRPP) at Buck Island Reef National Monument and NPSs South Florida/Caribbean Inventory and Monitoring Program.