Abstract:
This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed.
Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282,
https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1
The original purpose of taking these photographs was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. Thus, these time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic.
Supplemental_Information:
ExifTool (version 4.0) was used to add the following to the header of each photograph: time of collection, GPS latitude, GPS longitude, keywords, credit, artist (photographer), caption, copyright, and contact information.
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
Theme_Keyword: USGS:a28f5d1e-3ade-487e-94c8-52f1b62434c0
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: aquatic biology
Theme_Keyword: marine geology
Theme_Keyword: coelenterates
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: coral reef
Theme_Keyword: coral
Theme_Keyword: Orbicella faveolata
Theme_Keyword: Acropora cervicornis
Theme_Keyword: Acropora palmata
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System
Place_Keyword: United States
Place_Keyword: Florida Keys
Place_Keyword: Florida
Place_Keyword: Monroe County
Place_Keyword: Atlantic Ocean
Place_Keyword: Key Largo
Stratum:
Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: Global Change Master Science Directory
Stratum_Keyword: seafloor
Temporal:
Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Temporal_Keyword: Modern
Acknowledgment of Eugene A. Shinn and the U.S. Geological Survey as data sources would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected.
Environment as of Metadata Creation: Microsoft Windows 7 Version 6.1 (Build 7601) Service Pack 1; Esri ArcGIS 10.3.1 (Build 4959) Service Pack N/A (Build N/A)
