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OAS accession Detail for 0157752
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Title: National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Cover Derived from Analysis of Benthic Images Collected during Stratified Random Surveys (StRS) across American Samoa in 2015 (NCEI Accession 0157752)
Abstract: The data described here result from benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites across American Samoa in 2015 as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for corals and fish. Benthic habitat imagery were quantitatively analyzed using the web-based annotation tool CoralNet (Beijbom et al. 2015). In general, images are analyzed to produce three functional group levels of benthic cover: Tier 1 (e.g., hard coral, soft coral, macroalgae, turf algae, etc.), Tier 2 (e.g., Hard Coral = massive, branching, foliose, encrusting, etc.; Macroalgae = upright macroalgae, encrusting macroalgae, bluegreen macroalgae, and Halimeda, etc.), and Tier 3 (e.g., Hard Coral = Astreopora sp, Favia sp, Pocillopora, etc.; Macroalgae = Caulerpa sp, Dictyosphaeria sp, Padina sp, etc.).

A stratified random sampling (StRS) design was employed to survey the coral reef ecosystems throughout the U.S. Pacific regions. 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 island, reef zone, and depth in all regions, as well as habitat structure type in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Sampling effort was allocated based on strata area and sites were randomly located within strata. Sites were surveyed using photo-quadrats along transects to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (percent cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness.

The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than sampling more transects at a site. Therefore, site-level estimates and site to site comparisons should be used with caution.
Date received: 20161230
Start date: 20150215
End date: 20150326
Seanames: South Pacific Ocean
West boundary: -171.0925737
East boundary: -168.1373351
North boundary: -11.04525081
South boundary: -14.56050273
Observation types: laboratory analyses
Instrument types: camera, laboratory analysis, photograph, swimmer/diver
Datatypes: REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER
Submitter: Kanemura, Troy
Submitting institution: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Collecting institutions: US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
Contributing projects: ASRAMP, CORAL REEF STUDIES, CRCP, NCRMP, Pacific RAMP
Platforms: Hi'ialakai (33HL)
Number of observations:
Supplementary information:
Availability date:
Metadata version: 6
Keydate: 2017-01-06 12:55:03+00
Editdate: 2024-09-09 21:48:34+00