Reefbase Dataset
ReefBase Dataset: CORAL BLEACHING
DATASET DESCRIPTION:
The ReefBase Coral Bleaching dataset provides observation details of coral bleaching
occurrences (or lack thereof) around the world. This dataset was build upon an original
bleaching database developed at UNEP-WCMC, and has been maintained and updated
regularly by ReefBase since early 2002. Main sources of information for this dataset
have been: published records from the literature, postings on the coral-list
(http://www.coral.noaa.gov/lists/), the ReefBase online Bleaching Report
(http://www.reefbase.org/input/bleachingreport/index.asp), and through collaborations
with numerous institutions and individuals. ReefBase would like to particularly acknowledge
the contributions made by: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).
YOU CAN HELP US MAINTAIN THE CORAL BLEACHING DATABASE, BY USING OUR ONLINE
BLEACHING REPORT FOR ANY OBSERVATIONS YOU MAY HAVE (http://www.reefbase.org/input/bleachingreport/index.asp).
FORMAT:
The ReefBase Coral Bleaching dataset is available in GIS (ESRI shapefile), spreadsheet
(MS Excel), and comma-separated-text (.txt) formats. The dataset is available as a global
dataset, as well as regional sub-sets: Africa, Americas, Asia, Middle East, Pacific.
LEGEND:
Bleaching observations are displayed as colored dots, according to the following classification
scheme:
red - high bleaching severity (>30% of corals bleached)
blue - medium bleaching severity (~10-30% of corals bleached)
yellow - low bleaching severity (1-10% of corals bleached)
grey: - bleaching observed, severity unknown
green - no bleaching observed
ArcView legend files (RB_Bleaching.avl) stored in the same zip file will give a true legend type as used in ReefBase GIS.
ATTRIBUTE DATA:
Below are the Coral bleaching attribute data. Field name is the field name as it appears in the ReefBase database, the full name is used to
provide a more complete (sometimes) description.
Field name Full name Description
ID ID - ReefBase GIS ID
Region Region - ReefBase regional name
Subregion Subregion - ReefBase sub regional name
Country Country - ReefBase country name
Location Location - Location where bleaching was observed
Lat Lat - Latitude of observation
Lon Lon - Longitude of observation
Month Month - Month of observation
Year Year - Year of observation
Depth Depth - Depth at which observation was made (m)
Severity_co Severity_Code - Severity Code
–1: Unknown (bleaching observed, but no indication of severity)
0: No Bleaching (confirmed no bleaching observed at location)
1: Low (1-10% of corals bleached)
2: Medium (~10-30% of corals bleached)
3: High (>30% of corals bleached)
Bleaching_ Bleaching_Severity - Bleaching severity class: none, low, medium, high, unknown
Coral_fami Coral_family - Coral family affected
Coral_spec Coral_species - Coral Species affected
Percentage Percentage_affected - Percentage of corals bleached during observation
Bleaching_ Bleaching_Duration - Bleaching duration
Mortality_ Mortality_Code - Coral mortality code
Mortality Mortality - Coral mortality level (%)
Recovery_ Recovery_Code - Recovery code
Recovery Recovery - Coral recovery level (%)
Survey_ty SUrvey_type - Survey type
Survey_ar Survey_area - Area surveyed (km2)
Water_tem Water_temperature - Sea water temperature
Other_fac Other_factors - Other factor
Remarks Remarks - Observer remarks
Source Source - Original sources
Reference_ Reference_Code - ReefBase reference ID
Country_co Country_Code - ReefBase Country Code
COPYRIGHT AND USE OF DATA
Please refer to the specific terms and conditions for use of this ReefBase dataset, as outlined in the
"ReefBase Data License" that came with this file.
CONTACT:
For further questions, comments, or remarks about the ReefBase Coral Bleaching dataset,
please contact us:
ReefBase Project
WorldFish Center
PO Box 500 GPO
10670 Penang, Malaysia
reefbase@cgiar.org
