SFCN Coral Reef Monitoring Standard Operating Procedure CR23: Revising the protocol—Version 2.0
Miller J, Rogers CS, Feeley MW, Atkinson AJ, Davis AD, Patterson ME, Waara RJ, Witcher BD, Patterson JM, Richter L , Muller EM. 2025. SFCN Coral Reef Monitoring Standard Operating Procedure CR23: Revising the protocol—Version 2.0. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich and productive ecosystems on earth. These standard operating procedures guide the monitoring within the parks that comprise the National Park Service, South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN). The benthic marine communities of the SFCN are part of a complex and diverse ecological system that includes algae, corals, and other marine invertebrates. Reef-building corals are the primary architectural organisms and are sensitive to environmental degradation; therefore, they are good indicators of overall health for a park’s reef ecosystem. Coral reefs face a wide and intensifying list of stressors, including disease, bleaching, sedimentation, overfishing, coastal development, eutrophication, storms, marine debris and global climate change. Coral reefs are often proposed as indicator systems for global climate change. For these reasons, coral reef ecosystems were ranked as the number one vital sign for SFCN implementation.
- Type
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Authors
- Miller, Jeff; Rogers, Caroline; Feeley, Michael; Atkinson, Andrea; Davis, Andy; Patterson, Matt; Waara, Robert; Witcher, Brian; Patterson, Judd; Richter, Lee; Muller, Erinn
- Date of Issue
- 2025
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BISC , BUIS , DRTO , IMDP , NRSS , SARI , SFCN , VIIS
- Keywords
- Algae, Benthic, Bleaching, Caribbean, Coral Reef, Coral Reef Protocol, Diadema, Florida, Gorgonian, Marine, Monitor, Protocol, SOP, Sponge, Standard Operating Procedures, Stony Coral
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Hydrology | Marine Hydrology , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities