Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program Data Report Ecological monitoring 2015—reef fishes and benthic habitats of the main Hawaiian Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Remote Island Areas, and American Samoa K. McCoy1, A. Heenan1, J. Asher1, P. Ayotte1, K. Gorospe1, A. Gray1, K. Lino1, J. Zamzow1, and I. Williams2 1 Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research University of Hawaii at Manoa 1000 Pope Road Honolulu, HI 96822 2 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Inouye Regional Center 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176 Honolulu, HI 96818 ______________________________________________________________ NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center PIFSC Data Report DR-16-002 Issued 4 March 2016 This report outlines some of the coral reef monitoring surveys conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Coral Reef Ecosystem Program in 2015. This includes the following regions: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, main Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Remote Island Areas, and American Samoa. 2 Acknowledgements Thanks to all those onboard the NOAA ship Hi`ialakai for their logistical and field support during the 2015 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) research cruises and to the following divers for their assistance with data collection; Raymond Boland, Edmund Coccagna, Emily Donham, Marie Ferguson, Alex Filous, Jonatha Giddens, Louise Giuseffi, Brian Hauk, Jason Leonard, Keolohilani Lopes, James Morioka, Marc Nadon, Kevin O’Brien, Kalani Quiocho, Benjamin Richards, John Rooney, Julia Rose, Russell Sparks, Kosta Stamoulis, Tate Wester, and Morgan Winston. We thank Rusty Brainard for his central role in developing and sustaining the Pacific RAMP, and the staff of NOAA PIFSC CREP for assistance in the field and data management. This work was funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the PIFSC. Surveys conducted in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands this year were led and funded by NOAA’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). Report template by A. Heenan, maps by P. Ayotte, figures and compiled by K. McCoy. 3 Acronyms CRCP Coral Reef Conservation Program CREP Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (formerly CRED) NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific RAMP Pacific Reef Assessment Monitoring Program PMNM Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument PRIA Pacific Remote Island Areas SPC Stationary Point Count 4 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Background ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Monitoring scope and historical programmatic changes ...........................................................................................10 Report structure ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Methods – stationary point count.................................................................................................................................... 12 Sampling domain and design .................................................................................................................................... 12 Site selection ............................................................................................................................................................. 13 Sampling methods .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Counting and sizing reef fishes ............................................................................................................................. 15 Assessing benthic habitat characteristics ...............................................................................................................16 Data entry and storage .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Data quality control .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Data handling ...........................................................................................................................................................18 Calculating fish biomass and benthic cover estimates per site ................................................................................ 18 Fish groupings ......................................................................................................................................................19 Generating island-scale estimates from the stratified design ..................................................................................19 Methods – towed-diver surveys ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Survey design and sampling method ........................................................................................................................ 20 Data handling and generating regional-scale estimates for towed diver surveys ......................................................... 21 U.S. Pacific reefs: the status of reef fish ............................................................................................................................ 22 Consumer groups ................................................................................................................................................ 23 Size classes ........................................................................................................................................................... 24 Region and island statuses and trends ............................................................................................................................ 26 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) ................................................................................................................. 27 French Frigate Shoals (FFS) ................................................................................................................................. 27 Kure Atoll ........................................................................................................................................................... 28 Laysan Island ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 Lisianski Island .................................................................................................................................................... 30 Maro Reef ............................................................................................................................................................. 31 5 Midway Island ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 Pearl & Hermes Reef ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) ............................................................................................................. 35 main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) ................................................................................................................................. 36 Hawaii Island ...................................................................................................................................................... 36 Kauai Island ........................................................................................................................................................ 37 Lanai Island ......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Maui Island ......................................................................................................................................................... 39 Molokai Island..................................................................................................................................................... 40 Niihau Island ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 Oahu Island ......................................................................................................................................................... 42 main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) ............................................................................................................................. 43 Pacific Remote Islands Areas (PRIA) ....................................................................................................................... 44 Johnston Atoll ....................................................................................................................................................