Twenty-six distinct and non-overlapping habitat types were identified that could be mapped by visual photointerpretation. Habitats or features that cover areas smaller than the MMU were not considered. For example, sand halos surrounding patch reefs are too small to be mapped independently. Habitat refers only to each benthic community's substrate and/or cover type and does not address location (e.g., on the shelf or in the lagoon). Habitats are defined in a collapsible hierarchy ranging from four broad classes (unconsolidated sediment, submerged vegetation, coral reef and hardbottom, and other), to more detailed categories (e.g., mangrove, seagrass, algae, individual patch reefs, bedrock, etc.), to patchiness of some specific features (e.g., 50-70 percent cover of seagrass).
