gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:76340 eng UTF8 dataset CSV Files Office for Coastal Management resourceProvider NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. information pointOfContact 2026-03-04T19:17:17 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part 2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) EPSG::4979 Quantification of epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass leaves in Culebra, Puerto Rico Culebra, epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass 2025 creation 2025 revision publication NOAA/NMFS/EDM 76340 NOAA NCEI https://doi.org/10.25921/a782-8g03 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/76340 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Full Metadata Record View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. information tableDigital -Virnstein RW, Curran MC (1986) Colonization of artificial seagrass versus time and distance from source> Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 29:297-288 -Stoner A (1980) The role of seagrass biomass in the organization of benthic macrofaunal assemblages. Bull. Mar. Sci. 30: 537-551 -Frankovich T, Fourqurean J (1997) Seagrass epiphyte loads along a nutrient availability gradient, Florida Bay, USA. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 150: 37-50 -Nelson W (2017) Development of an epiphyte indicator of nutrient enrichment: a critical evaluation of observational and experimental studies. Ecol. Indic. 79: 207-227. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.04.034 This record provides estimates of epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass leaves at 13 monitoring stations in Ensenada Honda and Puerto Manglar in the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico. Currently the island of Culebra is implementing a ridge-to reef-monitoring to assess Land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) mitigation success and identifying adaptive management needs. The goal of this study was to test whether metrics of epiphyte load accumulation on seagrass leaves can be used as a biological response indicator for nutrient impacts on Culebra's nearshore habitats. More specifically identify the presence of spatial patterns and examine potential linkages with nearshore water quality conditions in locations where upland watershed restoration interventions have been implemented vs. locations where no interventions have been conducted. Artificial seagrass installations were deployed at 13 nearshore fixed monitoring stations downstream from select coastal watershed drainage delivery points, and co-located with water quality, sediment trap, and seagrass monitoring stations. These sites were selected to represent: 1) Repeat locations where nearshore water quality and sedimentation are being monitored. 2) Repeat locations previously sampled in 2014 for water quality and seagrass community status assessment. Epiphyte accumulation was quantified on artificial seagrass following the methods outlined in Virnstein & Curran (1986) with slight modifications At each monitoring station three replicate shoots containing 6 blades each (2 each, approx. length: ~23cm, ~13cm, and ~8cm; approx. width: ~1cm) attached to plastic augers were deployed. Augers were inserted into the substrate and anchored to existing (previously installed) rebar markers. The experiment was run twice and installations remained underwater for 60–90 days: 1) 7 Aug, 2023–7 Nov, 2023; and 2) 11 Dec, 2023–5 Feb, 2024. Recovered artificial leaves were carefully rinsed in fresh water to remove salt, gently scraped with a blade, and scraped material dried at 60 degrees celcius to constant weight. Artificial leaf dimensions were measured to the nearest 0.5 mm and the quadrangular (rectangle / trapezoid) leaf surface area was estimated accordingly. Recovered shoots that were frayed or tattered were discarded and excluded from analyses. Mean epiphyte biomass accumulation was computed in mg/cm2/day The goal of this study was to test whether metrics of epiphyte load accumulation on seagrass leaves can be used as a biological response indicator for nutrient impacts on Culebra's nearshore habitats. More specifically identify the presence of spatial patterns and examine potential linkages with nearshore water quality conditions in locations where upland watershed restoration interventions have been implemented vs. locations where no interventions have been conducted. Bernardo Vargas-Angel, Juan Sanchez, Miguel Figuerola-Hernandez. completed Vandiver, Lisa lisa.vandiver@noaa.gov custodian notPlanned EARTH SCIENCE EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PLANTS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PLANTS > MACROALGAE (SEAWEEDS) EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY STRUCTURE EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > ANTHROPOGENIC/HUMAN INFLUENCED ECOSYSTEMS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL > SAV/SEA GRASS BED EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > ESTUARY > SAV/SEA GRASS BED EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > MACROPHYTES EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > HABITAT CONVERSION/FRAGMENTATION > REFORESTATION/REVEGETATION EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES > ESTUARIES EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > MARINE ENVIRONMENT MONITORING theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords 17.0 Water Oceans and Coasts Theme theme NGDA Portfolio Themes Decadal dataResolution Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Temporal Data Resolution Keywords 10.3 CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > CENTRAL AMERICA OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA > PUERTO RICO place Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords 20.8 10 meters - < 30 meters dataResolution Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Vertical Data Resolution Keywords 10.3 MISCELLANEOUS Gear > Diving instrument International Standard Statistical Classification of Fishing Gear (ISSCFG) 1 Data Analysis Data Collections ZODIACS platform Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords 17.2 Land-based sources of pollution NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program NOAA Restoration Center Seagrass epiphytes Seagrasses Culebra Island Ensenada Honda Nearshore Puerto Manglar Biomass Quadrats Scuba Small boat theme User-defined DOC/NOAA/NOS/OCM > Office of Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce dataCentre Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords 2017-04-24 publication 8.5 Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords GCMD Keyword Forum Page Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords information custodian CaribbeanRegion project InPort otherRestrictions Cite As: Office for Coastal Management, [Date of Access]: Quantification of epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass leaves in Culebra, Puerto Rico [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/76340. 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. license These data were produced by NOAA and are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. NOAA waives any potential copyright and related rights in these data worldwide through the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0-1.0). SPDX License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0) otherRestrictions Access Constraints: None otherRestrictions Use Constraints: None otherRestrictions 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. unclassified Benthic Surveys in Culebra, Puerto Rico: comprehensive assessment of seagrass community structure and demography from transect surveys conducted in 2014 and 2022 NOAA/NMFS/EDM 71162 crossReference Water quality surveys in Culebra: comprehensive assessment of inorganic nutrient and human dietary tracer concentrations 2023-05-03 to 2024-05-21 NOAA/NMFS/EDM 76201 crossReference Water quality surveys in Culebra: comprehensive assessment of physical and chemical water characteristics 2023-02-08 to 2025-01-13 NOAA/NMFS/EDM 75287 crossReference CulebraSeagrassEpiphyteAccumulationData 2025-07-31 publication 306699 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information custodian crossReference NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA/NMFS/EDM 76340 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nos/ocm/dmp/pdf/76340.pdf WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. information crossReference .5 .5 eng; US biota environment oceans -65.30833333333 -65.24444444444 18.28861111111 18.31388888889 Ensenada Honda and Puneto Manglar in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico 2023-08-01 2024-02-01 CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) Uncompressed CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) Uncompressed PNG - Portable Network Graphics Format Uncompressed NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. information distributor https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0306699 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Culebra epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass Culebra epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass-Datan (milligrams/centimeter square/day). download https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/archive-management-system/OAS/bin/prd/jquery/accession/download/306699 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link CulebraSeagrassEpiphyteAccumulationDataDictionary Data dictionary download 9700 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0306699 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Epiphytometer Image of epiphytometer, auger, and deployed epiphytometer download dataset Accuracy Artificial seagrass installations deployment, retrieval, laboratory analyses, and accumulation rate computations were conducted by experienced scientific personnel who met a set of minimum standards for field and laboratory work. Handheld GPS units were used to locate sites and mark site locations. Analytical Accuracy Handheld GPS units were used to locate sites and mark site locations. Completeness Measure Data gaps originate from: 1) Lost experimental units; installations that were not found at time of recovery. 2) Experimental units that were shredded or tattered probably due to fish predation Precision -Artificial seagrass leaf length and width were measured to the nearest 0.5 mm and the quadrangular (rectangle / trapezoid) leaf area was estimated accordingly. Field Precision Handheld GPS units were used to locate sites. Conceptual Consistency Survey methods were consistent across all sites. Epiphyte biomass accumulation on artificial seagrass Source Contribution: NOAA Coral Reef Information System: The Coral Program Watershed Management Activities; Puerto Rico, Culebra Culebra Seagrass Monitoring Work Plan: Developing a seagrass monitoring program to evaluate changes in LBSP responses in Culebra, Puerto Rico 2024-01-01 publication NOAA Coral Reef Information System https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/coris/library/NOAA/CRCP/NMFS/OHC/Projects/30033/Culebra_LBSP_RidgeToReef_Monitoring_Program/Vargas-Angel2024e_Seagrass_Monitoring_Transects_WorkPlan.pdf WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Vargas-Angel2024e_Seagrass_Monitoring_Workplan Culebra Seagrass Monitoring Work Plan information publisher Virnstein RW, Curran MC (1986) Colonization of artificial seagrass versus time and distance from source. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 29:297-288 1986-01-01 publication Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser publisher 2023 2024 otherRestrictions otherRestrictions Access Constraints: None | Use Constraints: None