TemperateReefBase Geonetwork Catalogue
Reef Life Survey (RLS): Global reef fish dataset
[This data has been superseded by a synthesised global dataset which includes additional ecological data contributed by non-RLS entities (National Reef Monitoring Network). Please visit the corresponding NRMN Collection (IMOS - National Reef Monitoring Network Sub-Facility - Global off-transect species observations || Global reef fish abundance and biomass) for the most current version of this data. See "Downloads and Links" section below.]
This dataset contains records of bony fishes and elasmobranchs collected by Reef Life Survey (RLS) divers along 50m transects on shallow rocky and coral reefs, worldwide. Abundance information is available for all records found within quantitative survey limits (50 x 5 m swathes during a single swim either side of the transect line, each distinguished as a Block), and out-of-survey records are identified as presence-only (Method 0). Although surveys are undertaken as part of monitoring programs at particular locations (mostly in Australia), this dataset contains does not include repeat surveys of sites.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2014-10-15T11:05:00
Principal investigator
Collaborator
- Purpose
- The dataset generated by recreational divers provides a national framework for monitoring the state of the inshore environment and the identification of those threats and locations of greatest conservation concern. The project also increases awareness and interest by the recreational diving community in marine issues, and enhanced scientific capacity of personnel in regional areas.
- Credit
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania
- Credit
- Caring for our Country, Community CoastCare Grant
- Credit
- NRM and local management boards around Australia
- Credit
- State Marine Biodiversity Management Agencies around Australia
- Credit
- Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) Program, an Australian Government initiative supporting world class, public good research - Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
- Credit
- Marine Biodiversity Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Research Program (NERP)
- Credit
- Australian Research Council (ARC)
- Credit
- Fullbright Visiting Scholarship
- Credit
- Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship
- Credit
- National Geographic Society
- Credit
- Conservation International
- Credit
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- Credit
- Winifred Violet Scott Trust
- Credit
- The Ian Potter Foundation
- Credit
- Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service
- Credit
- University of Tasmania (UTAS)
- Credit
- ASSEMBLE Marine
- Credit
- Trained volunteer diver network
- Status
- On going
Principal investigator
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS) - Edgar, Graham (Professor)
IMAS - Taroona
Private Bag 49
Hobart
Tasmania
7001
Australia
Collaborator
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS) - Stuart-Smith, Rick (Research Fellow)
IMAS - Taroona
Private Bag 49
Hobart
TAS
7001
Australia
- Topic category
-
- Biota
- Oceans
Extent
N
S
E
W
))
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2006-01-02T00:00:00
Vertical element
- Minimum value
- 0
- Maximum value
- 50
- Identifier
- EPSG::5715
- Name
- MSL deptH
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Irregular
Resource format
- Title
- CSV
- Date
- Edition
- n/a
- Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords Version 8.0
- Keywords (Discipline)
-
- Temperate Reef
- Tropical Reef
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC): Fields of Research
-
- Community Ecology
- Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
Resource constraints
- Classification
- Unclassified
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/au/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License
- Website
-
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD [year-of-data-downloaded], Reef Life Survey (RLS): Global reef fish dataset. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS). Data accessed at https://catalogue-rls.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/en/metadata.show?uuid=9c766140-9e72-4bfb-8f04-d51038355c59 on [date-of-access].
- Other constraints
- Please also cite the associated data paper when using this data: Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD, “Systematic global assessment of reef fish communities by the Reef Life Survey program”, Scientific Data, 1 Article 140007. doi:10.1038/sdata.2014.7 ISSN 2052-4463 (2014)
- Other constraints
- The data described in this record are the intellectual property of the Reef Life Survey Foundation Inc. and is managed by the University of Tasmania through the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania.
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Supplemental Information
- Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD and Willis, TJ* and Kininmonth, S* and Baker, SC and Banks, S* and Barrett, NS and Becerro, MA* and Bernard, ATF* and Berkhout, J and Buxton, CD and Campbell, SJ* and Cooper, AT and Davey, M and Edgar, SC* and Forsterra, G* and Galvan, DE* and Irigoyen, AJ* and Kushner, DJ* and Moura, R* and Parnell, PE* and Shears, NT* and Soler, G and Strain, EMA* and Thomson, RJ, “Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features”, Nature, 506 (7487) pp. 216-220. doi:10.1038/nature13022 ISSN 0028-0836 (2014) Bird, TJ and Bates, AE and Lefcheck, JS* and Hill, NA and Thomson, RJ and Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD and Wotherspoon, S and Krkosek, M* and Stuart-Smith, JF and Pecl, GT and Barrett, N and Frusher, S, “Statistical solutions for error and bias in global citizen science datasets”, Biological Conservation, 173 pp. 144-154. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.07.037 ISSN 0006-3207 (2014) Stuart-Smith, RD and Bates, AE and Lefcheck, JS* and Duffy, JE* and Baker, SC and Thomson, RJ and Stuart-Smith, JF and Hill, NA and Kininmonth, SJ* and Airoldi, L* and Becerro, MA* and Campbell, SJ* and Dawson, TP* and Navarrete, SA* and Soler, GA and Strain, EMA* and Willis, TJ* and Edgar, GJ, “Integrating abundance and functional traits reveals new global hotspots of fish diversity”, Nature, 501 pp. 539-542. doi:10.1038/nature12529 ISSN 0028-0836 (2013) Mora, C* and Aburto-Oropeza, O* and Ayala Bocos, A* and Ayotte, PM* and Banks, S* and Bauman, AG* and Beger, M* and Bessudo, S* and Booth, DJ* and Brokovich, E* and Brooks, A* and Chabanet, P* and Cinner, JE* and Cortes, J* and Cruz-Motta, JJ* and Magana, AC* and DeMartini, EE* and Edgar, GJ and Feary, DA* and Ferse, SCA* and Friedlander, AM* and Gaston, G* and Gough, C* and Graham, NAJ* and Green, A* and Guzman, H* and Hardt, M* and Kulbicki, M* and Letourneur, Y* and Perez, AL* and Loreau, M* and Loya, Y* and Martinez, C* and Mascarenas-Osorio, I* and Morove, T* and Nadon, MO* and Nakamura, Y* and Paredes, G* and Polunin, NV* and Pratchett, MS* and Bonilla, HR* and Rivera, F* and Sala, E* and Sandin, SA* and Soler, G* and Stuart-Smith, RD and Tessier, E* and Tittensor, DP* and Tupper, M* and Usseglio, P* and Vigliola, L* and Wantiez, L* and Williams, I* and Wilson, SK* and Zapata, FA*, ‘Global human footprint on the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in reef fishes’, Public Library of Science Biology, 9 (4) pp. 1-9. ISSN 1544-9173 (2011) Edgar, GJ and Barrett, NS and Stuart-Smith, RD, ‘Exploited reefs protected from fishing transform over decades into conservation features otherwise absent from seascapes’, Ecological Applications, 19 (8) pp. 1967-1974. ISSN 1051-0761 (2009) Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD, ‘Ecological effects of marine protected areas on rocky reef communities - a continental-scale analysis’, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 388 pp. 51-62. ISSN 0171-8630 (2009) The RLS data has also been described in a data journal called Scientific Data, published by the Nature Publishing Group: Edgar, GJ and Stuart-Smith, RD, “Systematic global assessment of reef fish communities by the Reef Life Survey program”, Scientific Data, 1 Article 140007. doi:10.1038/sdata.2014.7 ISSN 2052-4463 (2014) An archival version of the RLS reef fish dataset, has been deposited in figshare (Figshare http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.934319)
Content Information
Distribution Information
- Distribution format
-
- SQL Server
Distributor
Distributor
- OnLine resource
- SUPERSEDED BY (appears in 2 collections): IMOS - National Reef Monitoring Network - Global reef fish abundance and biomass
- OnLine resource
- SUPERSEDED BY (appears in 2 collections): IMOS - National Reef Monitoring Network - Global off-transect species observations
- OnLine resource
- View the globally synthesised collection (#1 of 2) containing this data in the AODN Data Portal.
- OnLine resource
- View the globally synthesised collection (#2 of 2) containing this data in the AODN Data Portal.
- OnLine resource
- Reef Life Survey website
- OnLine resource
- Reef Life Survey Methods Manual [direct download]
Resource lineage
- Statement
- Data in the RLS global reef fish dataset have been collected by a combination of experienced scientists and skilled recreational divers, with all divers having either substantial prior experience in reef fish surveys or extensive training in the RLS methods. Quality control procedures are described in detail in Edgar & Stuart-Smith 2014 and results of an analysis of data quality differences between volunteer divers and professional scientists are presented in Edgar & Stuart-Smith 2009. Line transects 50 m in length are laid along a depth contour. Fishes are surveyed in two 5 m wide by 5 m high bands or ("blocks"), parallel with the 50 m transect line. During the fish survey, the number and estimated size-category of all fishes sighted within 5 m blocks either side of the transect line, and within a 5 m high ceiling (and 5 m deep floor if applicable, see section on methods for surveying walls in appendix 2, in manual) is recorded as the divers swim slowly along the block. Size-classes of total fish length (from snout to tip of tail, or longest distance, including for stingrays) used are 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, 35.0, 40.0, 50.0, 62.5 cm, and above. Lengths of fish larger than 62.5 cm should be estimated to the nearest 12.5 cm and individually recorded. GPS location, date, time, depth and visibility are also recorded. See link to the Methods Manual: A Standardized Survey Procedures for Monitoring Reef Ecosystems, for more information.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- diver
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
- 9c766140-9e72-4bfb-8f04-d51038355c59
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Principal investigator
Collaborator
Point of contact
- Parent metadata
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/9c766140-9e72-4bfb-8f04-d51038355c59
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2021-06-10T13:26:14
- Date info (Revision)
- 2021-06-10T13:26:14
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
thumbnail
Spatial extent
N
S
E
W
Provided by
Associated resources
Not available