![]() These data are incorporated into independent ArcMap and ArcReader projects. Resource managers interested in identifying bottomfish nursery habitat around Tutuila could use the map layers included in this system to identify sites meeting these criteria, which could then serve as a starting point for the collection of additional data. For example, nursery habitat for one species of bottomfish in Hawaii has been found to range between depths of 60 to 90 m in areas with flat expanses of fine grained sediment, near focused sources of terrestrial drainage. The GIS and data layers provide the flexibility of using unique combinations of information to address a wide range of specific management and research questions. As an alternative, a suite of map layers have been produced that display different biologically important seafloor characteristics that are logistically and technologically feasible to map. The philosophy behind this map system is based on the realization that one set of habitat boundaries cannot be applied to all life stages of all species of interest in a coral reef ecosystem. ![]() Map layers include: multibeam bathymetry, backscatter imagery, hyperlinked underwater photographs and/or video still framegrabs of the benthos, seafloor classification results of living cover and substrate from optical imagery and towboard diver observations, depth contours, layers of geomorphic information (slope, rugosity, Bathymetric Position Index (BPI) Structures, and BPI Zones), digital NOAA nautical charts, Ikonos satellite imagery where available, and terrestrial topography. All of the map layers include coverage of the island and or coastal waters of Tutuila and have all been integrated into a single map system. The Tutuila benthic habitat map system consists of a number of separate map layers, each of which characterizes some aspect of the seafloor.
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