Overview_sediment_data.xlsx

Sediment trap accumulation rates in two inland bays and two nearby fringing reefs in the wet season only.

Replicate sediment traps were deployed in the wet season only (November 2020) to collect sediment particles in the water column during 16 and 19 days at all four sites (see Table S1 for dates). Sediment traps were constructed following the recommendations of Storlazzi, 2011 for coral reef environments. Two traps per site, spaced 85–100 cm apart, were deployed 2–3 m from the monitoring station, attached to a metal rod with the trap bottoms positioned 10 cm above the seafloor, resulting in a trap mouth height of 40 cm above the substrate (Storlazzi, 2011). This setup was designed to obtain representative sedimentation rates while minimizing the influence of microsite variability. To determine if trapped sediments were from local resuspension or transportation, benthic sediment at the base of each trap was also sampled. The content of the traps was dried, weighed, and analysed for particle size distribution and organic matter content.