Benthic Surveys in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys from 2020-01-15 to 2020-01-24 (NCEI Accession 0240418)
The data described here result from benthic coral demographic surveys within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa in 2020. The data provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence and causation of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level and genus level for juveniles.
In 2020, the survey implemented a one-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Fagaʻalu coral reef community. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0–30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included cardinal position (i.e., north and south), reef zone (i.e., backreef and forereef) and depth (i.e., shallow: >0–6 m and mid-depth: >6–18 m). Sampling effort allocation was determined based on strata area and sites randomly located within strata. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than more transects per site. Therefore, site-to-site comparisons should proceed with caution.
In 2020, the survey implemented a one-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Fagaʻalu coral reef community. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0–30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included cardinal position (i.e., north and south), reef zone (i.e., backreef and forereef) and depth (i.e., shallow: >0–6 m and mid-depth: >6–18 m). Sampling effort allocation was determined based on strata area and sites randomly located within strata. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than more transects per site. Therefore, site-to-site comparisons should proceed with caution.
Dataset Citation
- Cite as: Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2021). Benthic Surveys in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys from 2020-01-15 to 2020-01-24 (NCEI Accession 0240418). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0240418. Accessed [date].
Dataset Identifiers
ISO 19115-2 Metadata
gov.noaa.nodc:0240418
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NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 NCEI.Info@noaa.gov |
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NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov |
Time Period | 2020-01-15 to 2020-01-24 |
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates |
West: -170.68113
East: -170.67261
South: -14.29379
North: -14.28678
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Data Update Frequency | As needed |
Purpose | These data are part of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project aimed at establishing baseline, status, and trends data for coral demographics and benthic cover and composition via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa between 2012 and 2020. In August 2012 Faga’alu watershed in American Samoa was adopted by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Watershed Partnership Initiative as a priority site, with the objective to reduce inputs of land-based sources of pollution to nearby coastal areas and coral reefs within the watershed. As a result, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) invested in 1) the collection of baseline data for corals in Faga’alu Bay (REA surveys conducted by NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD), and 2) the monitoring of sediment loads in Faga’alu Stream to document pre- and post-mitigation levels of sedimentation in the stream and the receiving waters below (conducted by San Diego State University). Led by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, the overall goal of this capacity-building CRCP-funded project is to establish and eventually turn over the long-term monitoring to the local partners in the jurisdiction, thereby meeting the goals of the Watershed Partnership Initiative. An Erosion and Sediment Control Plan was implemented at Samoa Maritime quarry to reduce excess sedimentation from quarry operations, and mitigation actions from the Plan took place in 2014 to install retention basins designed to stem the input of excess sediments into Faga’alu Stream below the quarry. REA surveys conducted by CREP in 2012 and 2013 serve as the pre-mitigation baseline, and surveys conducted in 2015 by CREP and later by the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources serve to document the downstream effects (e.g., changes to the coral community) in Faga’alu Bay from the mitigation efforts to reduce the sediment loads upstream. Concurrent pre- and post-mitigation monitoring of turbidity and sediment load in Faga'alu is managed by San Diego State University via the CRCP-funded project titled, "Capacity Building for On-Island Impact Assessment of Sediment Load Reduction in Faga’alu Watershed, American Samoa". Long-term monitoring of the stream is transitioning to the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency. |
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Last Modified: 2024-09-17T19:15:34Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov