Benthic Assessment Protocols for the Atlantic Region: U.S. Caribbean, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico: 2018

This outlines the protocols developed from 2013-2018 to design and generate a gridded, stratified sample frame for particular study regions monitored by NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/Biogeography Branch and its partners as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) directed by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). A stratified random sample selection (using weighted strata allocations) is applied to a region's sample frame to select sites for each survey mission. These regions are surveyed biennially, and each sample frame is updated or re-created prior to each survey mission to incorporate new strata data or reflect protocol changes as they have evolved and improved over the years. The following workflow is up to date as of 2018 and specifically addresses the methodology of sample frame generation. Broader protocols for sample design and allocation can be found in a separate document.