This raster data layer represents the presence of alien and invasive reef fish species (roi, ta‘ape, to‘au) within 2 km of an observation. Original data was queried from the UH Manoa Fisheries Ecology Research Lab’s (FERL) biological survey database which contains NOAA, DAR, CRAMP, TNC, and other surveys conducted across the Main Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii Fish and Benthic Biological Synthesis Database). This data should be considered presence only. Areas with no presence may be due to lack of survey data or observed absence. Raster values of 1 represent areas within 2 km of positive invasive fish observations while values of 0 represent the remaining area. The cell size is 500 m and the AOI is from the shoreline of the MHI extending 5 km offshore and 1 km inshore. This layer was developed as part of a geospatial database of key anthropogenic pressures to coastal waters of the Main Hawaiian Islands for the Ocean Tipping Points project (http://oceantippingpoints.org/). Ocean tipping points occur when incremental changes in human use or environmental conditions result in large, and sometimes abrupt, impacts to marine ecosystems. The ability to predict and understand ocean tipping points can enhance ecosystem management. The goal of the Hawaii case study of the Ocean Tipping Points project was to gather, process and map spatial data on environmental and anthropogenic drivers of coral reef ecosystem states. Understanding direct anthropogenic drivers is critical for coral reef management and implementing policies to protect ecosystem services generated by coral reefs. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.
Please contact the Ocean Tipping Points project in advance of applying these data sets to project work so the PI can track and communicate data uses and ensure no duplicate efforts are underway. When applying these data for publication, please reference and cite the complete journal article, Wedding et al. 2017, http://oceantippingpoints.org/our-work/publications.