Metadata:
  Identification_Information:
    Citation:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Publication_Date: 20250317
        Title: The Relative Composition of Late Pleistocene Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
        Larger_Work_Citation:
          Citation_Information:
            Originator: Lauren T. Toth
            Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
            Originator: Scarlette Hsia
            Originator: David Weinstein
            Publication_Date: 20250317
            Title: The Relative Composition of Late Pleistocene Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys
            Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
            Series_Information:
              Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey data release
              Issue_Identification: doi:10.5066/P13IZY8R
            Publication_Information:
              Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
              Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
            Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/P13IZY8R
    Description:
      Abstract: The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center’s (USGS SPCMSC) Core Archive in St. Petersburg, FL contains a collection of coral-reef cores collected from throughout the Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT). In a previous study (Toth and Stathakopoulos, 2019), USGS researchers analyzed the upper, Holocene (~11,700 years ago to present) sections of those cores to evaluate how the coral composition of the FKRT changed over millennial timescales. Using the same methods, USGS researchers quantified the relative composition of late Pleistocene (~116 to 74 thousand years before present; Marine Isotope Stages [MIS] 5d, 5c, 5b, and 5a) sections of the coral reef cores dated by Hsia and others (2024a,b). This data release provides metadata about the location of the cores and summarizes the relative composition of coral taxa and other carbonates and the water depths (relative to modern mean sea level) of the analyzed core intervals. The data release also provides a summary of previously unpublished data (collected by David Weinstein) on the relative composition of an older Late Pleistocene reef (growing  ~130–116 thousand years before present; MIS5e) from the subaerially exposed fossil reef at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological Park. These data are compared with Holocene and modern coral-reef assemblages on the FKRT in Toth and others (2025).
      Purpose: These data were collected as part of a study (Toth and others, 2025) evaluating spatial and temporal variability in coral composition of MIS5d-a reefs in the FKRT and how MIS5c-a assemblages compared with those from MIS5e, the Holocene, and modern reefs.
      Supplemental_Information: All the coral-reef cores reported in this data release are recorded in the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center’s geologic core and sample database (Williams and others, 2013) and are archived at the center’s Core Archive.
    Time_Period_of_Content:
      Time_Period_Information:
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20250303
      Currentness_Reference: publication date
    Status:
      Progress: Complete
      Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
    Spatial_Domain:
      Bounding_Coordinates:
        West_Bounding_Coordinate: -82.8408
        East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.1423
        North_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.3707
        South_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.4348
    Keywords:
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
        Theme_Keyword: USGS:e596d6fd-da85-431d-9874-d1dd46ca7e1d
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
        Theme_Keyword: biota
        Theme_Keyword: oceans
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
        Theme_Keyword: marine geology
        Theme_Keyword: reef ecosystems
        Theme_Keyword: radiometric dating
        Theme_Keyword: ecology
        Theme_Keyword: relative abundance analysis
        Theme_Keyword: Pleistocene
      Place:
        Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System
        Place_Keyword: Florida Keys
        Place_Keyword: State of Florida
        Place_Keyword: Dry Tortugas
        Place_Keyword: Windley Key
    Access_Constraints: No access constraints. Please see 'Distribution Information' for details.
    Use_Constraints: These data are marked with a Creative Common CC0 1.0 Universal License. These data are in the public domain and do not have any use constraints. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations.
    Point_of_Contact:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Person_Primary:
          Contact_Person: Lauren T. Toth
          Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
        Contact_Position: Research Physical Scientist
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: mailing and physical
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8029
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ltoth@usgs.gov
    Native_Data_Set_Environment: Environment as of Metadata Creation: Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise Version 22H2; Microsoft Excel Version 2402; Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe).
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Originator: Scarlette Hsia
        Originator: David Weinstein
        Publication_Date: 2025
        Title: Shifting baselines of coral-reef species composition from the Late Pleistocene to the present in the Florida Keys
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: The Depositional Record
          Issue_Identification: Shinn Special Issue
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: Online
          Publisher: Wiley
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1002/dep2.70009
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Publication_Date: 20190521
        Title: The absolute and relative composition of Holocene reef cores from the Florida Keys Reef Tract
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey data release
          Issue_Identification: doi:10.5066/P93XXXA0
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, Florida
          Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/P93XXXA0
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Originator: Ilsa B. Kuffner
        Originator: Rob R. Ruzicka
        Originator: Michael A. Colella
        Originator: Eugene A. Shinn
        Publication_Date: 20190606
        Title: The unprecedented loss of Florida's reef-building corals and the emergence of a novel coral-reef assemblage
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: Ecology
          Issue_Identification: Volume 100, Issue 9
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: Online
          Publisher: Wiley
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2781
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Breanna N. Williams
        Originator: Heather A. Schreppel
        Originator: Christopher D. Reich
        Originator: Kathryn Smith
        Originator: Ginger Tiling-Range
        Originator: Chelsea A. Stalk
        Originator: Steven Douglas
        Originator: Shawn V. Dadisman
        Originator: James G. Flocks
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Publication_Date: 20130725
        Title: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center's geologic core and sample database
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: application/service, tabular digital data
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: ArcGIS Online
          Publisher: Esri
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/F7319TR3
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Scarlette Hsia
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Richard Mortlock
        Originator: Charles Kerans
        Publication_Date: 20240723
        Title: Re-evaluating Marine Isotope Stage 5a paleo-sea-level trends from across the Florida Keys reef tract
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: Quaternary Science Advances
          Issue_Identification: Volume 15
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: Online
          Publisher: Elsevier BV
        Other_Citation_Details: 2024a
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100222
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Scarlette Hsia
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Richard A. Mortlock
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Originator: Charles Kerans
        Publication_Date: 20240621
        Title: U-series ages and elevation data of Late Pleistocene corals From the Florida Keys
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey data release
          Issue_Identification: doi:10.5066/P9EJBYKZ
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, Florida
          Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
        Other_Citation_Details: 2024b
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9EJBYKZ
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Lauren T. Toth
        Originator: Anastasios Stathakopoulos
        Originator: Ilsa B. Kuffner
        Publication_Date: 20180426
        Title: Descriptive core logs, core photographs, radiocarbon ages, and accretion data from Holocene reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys reef tract
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey data release
          Issue_Identification: doi:10.5066/F7NV9HJX
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, Florida
          Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/F7NV9HJX
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: Kevin E. Kohler
        Originator: Shaun M. Gill
        Publication_Date: 20060228
        Title: Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe): A Visual Basic program for the determination of coral and substrate coverage using random point count methodology
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: Computers & Geosciences
          Issue_Identification: Volume 32, Issue 9
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: Online
          Publisher: Elsevier
        Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2005.11.009
  Data_Quality_Information:
    Attribute_Accuracy:
      Attribute_Accuracy_Report: No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted; however, all species identifications were independently verified by L.T. Toth and A. Stathakopoulos and aligned with the Corals of the World taxonomic list (https://www.coralsoftheworld.org).
    Logical_Consistency_Report: No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.
    Completeness_Report: The data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
    Positional_Accuracy:
      Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
        Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted. The horizontal coordinates were collected in the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) coordinate system.
      Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
        Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report: No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted. The vertical positions were collected in the mean sea level coordinate system.
    Lineage:
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: Quantifying MIS5c-a Coral Reef Composition: Following the methods described in Toth and Stathakopoulos (2019), USGS researchers analyzed the composition of the Late Pleistocene (~116 to ~74 thousand years before present; Marine Isotope Stage 5d-a) of 31 reef cores through digital analysis of high-resolution, photographic core logs (provided in Toth and others, 2018). The late Pleistocene age of the intervals was confirmed through radiometric dating by Hsia and others (2024a,b) as described in Toth and others (2025). USGS researchers (Toth and Stathakopoulos) identified all visible material in the core photographs including corals, unconsolidated sediments, and consolidated carbonate reef rock, using the physical core records for reference. All coral taxa were identified to the species level whenever possible, using the Corals of the World taxonomic list as reference (https://www.coralsoftheworld.org). However, some corals were combined into broader taxonomic groups. Agaricia and Millepora spp., which were all rare in these records, were only identified to the genus level. Porites astreoides was always identified to the species level, but the other western Atlantic Porites spp.—P. porites, P. divaricata, and P. furcata—were grouped as “branching Porites spp.”. Orbicella annularis, O. faveolata, and O. franksi were all classified as “Orbicella spp.” because of difficulty in distinguishing fine-scale differences in the morphology of this group. Corals that were too taphonomically degraded or too small to be confidently identified to even the genus level were categorized as “unidentified coral species”. USGS researchers quantified the abundance of each coral taxon as well as unconsolidated sediment and carbonate reef rock by using the Area Analysis Tool in the program Coral Point Count (CPCe; Kohler and Gill, 2006) to digitally trace the projected surface area of all material in the core photographs. These data were used to calculate the percent composition of all core constituents within 66 recovered intervals of the 31 cores. The individual depth intervals were defined based on core penetration depths indicated in the core boxes by the researchers who collected the cores (Toth and others, 2018). For each interval, the relative percent composition of all coral taxa were calculated  by dividing the area represented by each individual coral taxa in an interval by the total area of all coral taxa in that interval. Total (absolute) percentage recovery within each interval was also estimated by dividing the total measured areas of an interval by a theoretical interval area, calculated as the product of its recorded length and digital measurements of its projected width as described in Toth and Stathakopoulos (2019) and Toth and others (2019).
        Process_Date: 2024
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: Quantifying Composition of the MIS5e Coral Reef at Windley Key: These data were originally collected from quarried areas of the subaerially exposed Key Largo Limestone at Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological Park (24.9492, -80.5961) by Weinstein. Briefly, compositional features of the Key Largo Limestone were identified along seven, 10-meter (m) transects placed parallel to the ground at randomly selected heights (0.6–1.7 m) along exposed walls of the quarry. The length of each textural feature along each transect, including corals, was recorded. However, in the original study, corals were only identified to the genus level. USGS researchers (Toth and Stathakopoulos) used photographs taken during the surveys to verify and refine the coral species identifications (using Corals of the World for reference). This data release provides the relative percent composition of all coral taxa and total non-coral carbonates identified on the transects.
        Process_Date: 2024
  Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
    Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Point
    Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
      SDTS_Terms_Description:
        SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Point
        Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 73
  Spatial_Reference_Information:
    Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Geographic:
        Latitude_Resolution: 0.0001
        Longitude_Resolution: 0.0001
        Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
      Geodetic_Model:
        Horizontal_Datum_Name: World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84)
        Ellipsoid_Name: WGS_1984
        Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0
        Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257223563
    Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
        Depth_Datum_Name: Mean sea level
        Depth_Resolution: 0.1
        Depth_Distance_Units: meters
        Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
    Overview_Description:
      Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: Detailed entity and attribute descriptions for the data file Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition (.xlsx and .csv), are detailed in a data dictionary (Data_Dictionary_Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition.docx). These metadata are not complete without this file, and users should refer to the data dictionary when viewing the data file.
      Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: The entity and attribute information were generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the dataset. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.
  Distribution_Information:
    Distributor:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Person_Primary:
          Contact_Person: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
          Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: Mailing and physical
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
          Country: USA
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (727) 502-8000
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
    Resource_Description: Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition.csv, Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition.xlsx, Data_Dictionary_Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition.docx
    Distribution_Liability: Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
    Standard_Order_Process:
      Digital_Form:
        Digital_Transfer_Information:
          Format_Name: comma-delimited text, Microsoft Excel format, Microsoft Word format
        Digital_Transfer_Option:
          Online_Option:
            Computer_Contact_Information:
              Network_Address:
                Network_Resource_Name: https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/data-release/doi-P13IZY8R/data/Late_Pleistocene_coral_reef_relative_composition.zip
      Fees: None
  Metadata_Reference_Information:
    Metadata_Date: 20250317
    Metadata_Contact:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Person_Primary:
          Contact_Person: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
          Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: Mailing and physical
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
          Country: USA
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: (727) 502-8000
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
    Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
    Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998