Shallow Depth - St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Reef National Monument - Habitat map (2009)

Benthic habitats of the shallow-water marine environment around St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands were mapped by NOAA using visual interpretation of acoustic imagery. This work replaces previous NOAA maps generated by Kendall et al. (2001) (1) for the waters around St. John. Overall, NOAA mapped 53.4 km2 of shallow-water habitats around St. John for the National Park Service's Inventory and Monitoring Program. Sand and pavement dominated the shallow-water habitats around St. John, covering 43 percent and 16 percent of the mapped area, respectively. Turf, fleshy, coralline, or filamentous algae were pervasive in both the shallow and moderate depth areas, accounting for 74 percent and 92.8 percent of these mapped areas, respectively. Only 17 percent of the shallow area and four percent of the moderate depth area had live hard and soft coral covers greater than 10 percent. NOAA assessed the thematic accuracy of thes map using independent data sets. This map was also reviewed and edited by local experts, including the National Park Service, before being finalized. The associated moderate-depth benthic habitat map (GUI:VI004003) also poduced by NOAA for the region begins at the optical limit of the shallow-water map, and continues to the edge of the acoustic imagery. The integration of these two maps is possible, given that the same general habitat classification schemes and minimum mapping units were applied to both the shallow-water and moderate-depth maps. That being said, NOAA emphasizes that the differences between the two maps must be thoroughly understood, in order to recognize the limitations associated with using the maps in an integrated fashion. Integration of the shallow-water and moderate-depth maps will provide a seamless benthic habitat map, extending from the shoreline of St. John southward to the 55 m isobath. Both maps are found at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/benthic-habitat-mapping-st-john-u-s-virgin-islands-national-park-reef-national-monument/.(1) Kendall, M.S., C.R. Kruer, K.R. Buja, J.D. Christensen, M. Finkbeiner, R.A. Warner and M.E. Monaco. 2001. Methods Used to Map the Benthic Habitats of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS CCMA 152. Silver Spring, MD