Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

Counts and estimated size of fish on each reef for each year sampled, categorized by family, genus and species as well as coarse and fine trophic group.  These data are collected as part of a long-term study designed to investigate the effects of vermetid snails on several aspects of coral performance including host a diverse resident fish community. 

Long Term Vermetid Removal (LTVR) Reef sites in this project are manipulated reefs characterized in the Long Term Reef Physical Characteristics dataset.

Reefs labeled "TOW" in this dataset, numbered 129-144, are a subset of a larger number of Long Term Reefs (LTR) that were monitored as part of the project "Cryptic density dependence: the effects of spatial, ontogenetic, and individual variation in reef fish" beginning in 2003. This long term study continues to monitor those reefs in addition to reefs 193-198 starting in 2012. Data for these reefs between the years 2003 and 2009 can be found on the project site http://www.bco-dmo.org/project/540423.

Location: Moorea, French Polynesia (17.48 degrees S, 149.82 degrees W)

Other associated LTVR datasets:
LTVR - Fate of Reefs - Contains latitude and longitude of reefs used in this dataset 
LTVR - Physical Characteristics - Contains characteristics of reefs used in this dataset.
LTVR - Percent Cover Point Contact
LTVR - Percent Visual Cover
LTVR - Pomacentrids
LTVR - Thalasssoma
LTVR - Vermetid Counts
LTVR - Vermetid Removal
LTVR - Vermetid Sizes in Quadrat

Sampling and Analytical Methodology:

The number of individuals of all taxa of fishes closely associated with the experimental reefs were recorded by a diver using SCUBA.  Additionally, the diver estimated the body size (TL in mm) of each individual fish counted.  A small, handheld flashlight was used to search the internal cavities of the colonies for semi-cryptic species.  The total time spent observing each colony varied with colony size such that the time spent searching per cubic meter of coral volume was approximately constant across all colony sizes.

Data Processing:
Fish biomass (body weight in g, fresh not dry weight) is estimated using the formula w = aL^b where L is the fish fork length (FL) in cm and parameters a and b depend on species. Parameters were obtained primarily from Kulbicki et al. 2005. Diver observations of fish length are collected and reported in this dataset as total length. Fork length (FL), defined as the length of a fish to its tail fin fork, is calculated from total length (TL) using the formula FL = Lb*TL. The conversion factor Lb was determined primarily using FishBase.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes
- Generated from original file "LTVR_FishSurvey.csv" contributed by Rebecca Atkins
- Parameter names edited to conform to BCO-DMO naming convention found at Choosing Parameter Name
- Any blank rows removed

Data version 1 replaced by data version 2:2018-01-26. Dataset extended to 2017.

BCO-DMO Data Manager Processing Notes for version 2018-01-26:
* Added a conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
* Modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
* Rounded biomass to three decimal places
* Time format inconsistant. Converted those not in hh:mm to hh:mm
* Dates with value "2009-01-16" changed to "9/01/16" to match the format of the rest of the dataset (verified by R. Atkins)

Description from NSF abstract:
Ecological surprises are most likely to be manifest in diverse communities where many interactions remain uninvestigated. Coral reefs harbor much of the world's biodiversity, and recent studies by the investigators suggest that one overlooked, but potentially important, biological interaction involves vermetid gastropods. Vermetid gastropods are nonmobile, tube-building snails that feed via an extensive mucus net. Vermetids reduce coral growth by up to 80%, and coral survival by as much as 60%. Because effects vary among coral taxa, vermetids may substantially alter the structure of coral communities as well as the community of fishes and invertebrates that inhabit the coral reef.

The investigators will conduct a suite of experimental and observational studies that: 1) quantify the effects of four species of vermetids across coral species to assess if species effects and responses are concordant or idiosyncratic; 2) use meta-analysis to compare effects of vermetids relative to other coral stressors and determine the factors that influence variation in coral responses; 3) determine the role of coral commensals that inhabit the branching coral, Pocillopora, and evaluate how the development of the commensal assemblage modifies the deleterious effects of vermetids; 4) determine how vermetid mucus nets affect the local environment of corals and evaluate several hypotheses about proposed mechanisms; and 5) assess the long-term implications of vermetids on coral communities and the fishes and invertebrates that depend on the coral.

Note: The Principal Investigator, Dr. Craig W. Osenberg, was at the University of Florida at the time the NSF award was granted. Dr. Osenberg moved to the University of Georgia during the summer of 2014 (current contact information).