25290 RAMP: Coral Demographics in 2008 (even size-class bins) Data Set Published / External 21559 Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project Completed 2017-09-26 2019 The coral demographic data described here result from belt transect surveys conducted by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD)---formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division---from January 27 to April 27, 2008 at coral reef sites in American Samoa and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of NOAA's Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP), with funding from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Surveys were conducted at fixed sites at depths ranging from 3-21 m. Sites were surveyed using belt transects to collect coral colony metrics. At each site, the surveyor listed and identified to the genus or species level, all coral colonies occurring within 0.5 sq. meters of each side of two, 25-m transect lines; and recorded the visually estimated size class to which the maximum diameter of each colony belonged (0-5 cm; 6-10 cm; 11-20 cm; 21-30 cm; etc. Size-class bins continue through 300 cm in 10-cm increments). These coral demographic data provide information on coral abundance (density, proportion occurrence, and total colony abundance), size distribution, and taxonomic richness. Belt transect surveys of corals were conducted during Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) cruises to support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems. Pacific RAMP, established by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) and supported by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), was tasked with documenting and understanding the status and trends of coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region. Pacific RAMP involved interdisciplinary monitoring of oceanographic conditions and biological surveys of organisms associated with hard-bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range and aimed to support integrated, consistent and comparable monitoring of coral reef systems. RAMP missions were conducted in each Pacific region, including the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas, on a biennial cycle. Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme CRCP Project 1221 Theme CRCP Project C204 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP): Biennial monitoring for the US Pacific Islands and Atolls Theme CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Numeric Data Sets > Biology Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species Richness Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Rapid assessment studies Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - CENSUS Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - COLONY SIZE Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - biological Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - swimmer/diver Theme NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS HI'IALAKAI Theme NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CORAL REEF STUDIES Theme NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Coral Reef Conservation Program Theme NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Pacific Reef and Assessment Monitoring Program Theme NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division Theme CRED Theme CREP Theme Coral Reef Ecosystem Division Theme Coral Reef Ecosystem Program Theme ESD Theme Ecosystem Sciences Division Theme PIFSC Theme Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Theme RAMP Theme REA Theme Rapid Ecological Assessment Theme Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program Theme belt transect Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Manu'a Islands (14S170W0038) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ofu Island (14S169W0013) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Olosega Island (14S169W0014) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Rose Atoll (14S168W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Swains Atoll (11S171W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Baker Island (00N176W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Howland Island (00S176W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > USA Minor Outlying Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Manu'a Islands (14S170W0038) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Rose Atoll (14S168W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Swains Atoll (11S171W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Baker Island > Baker Island (00N176W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Howland Island > Howland Island (00S176W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Johnston Atoll > Johnston Atoll (16N169W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Jarvis Island (00S160W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Kingman Reef (06N162W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > Line Islands > Palmyra Atoll (05N162W0001) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ofu Island (14S169W0013) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Olosega Island (14S169W0014) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012) Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Equatorial Pacific Ocean Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Rose Atoll Marine National Monument Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS South Pacific Ocean Spatial PRIA Spatial Pacific Remote Island Areas Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Honolulu HI USA Data Set CSV Files None Planned Table (digital) Raw survey data includes field metadata for each survey (mission, region, island, site, LAT/LON, survey date); site characteristics (depth, reef type); survey transect characteristics (length and width); and individual coral observations identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, including count and size-class bin. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/56577 While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable 56577 V0_CORAL_OBS_B Published / External Completed Coral belt observations (2008) Data View Yes GISDAT Coral belt observations (2008) 1 ROUNDID NUMBER 22 Yes No 28 0 Active Unique Identifier for MISSION 2 MISSIONID VARCHAR2 30 Yes No Active Mission Identifier 4 REGION_NAME VARCHAR2 30 No No Active The name of the region surveyed in the Pacific Islands region: American Samoa, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Mariana Archipelago, main Hawaiian Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 5 ISLAND NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active Name of island or atoll surveyed in the Pacific Islands region (REGION_NAME). 6 ISLANDCODE NVARCHAR2 15 No No Active 3-letter code for ISLAND. 7 SITE NVARCHAR2 150 Yes No Active The code for the site surveyed at the island or atoll (ISLAND). Combines a 3-letter island code (ISLANDCODE) with a 2-4 digit site number. 8 LATITUDE NUMBER 22 No No 38 Active Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the given SITE. 9 LONGITUDE NUMBER 22 No No Active Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84 for the given SITE. 11 REEF_ZONE NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active The zone for the given SITE (Forereef, Backreef, Lagoon). 12 DEPTH_BIN NVARCHAR2 60 No No Active Classification of depth (shallow, mid, deep) based on midpoint between minimum and maximum depths of transect(s) of a given SITE. Shallow: >0-6 m, Mid: >6-18 m, Deep: >18-30 m 14 SITEVISITID NUMBER 22 Yes No Active Unique identifier created each time a SITE is surveyed on a DATE_. 15 DATE_ DATE 7 Yes No Active Local date the survey was conducted. 18 OBS_YEAR NUMBER 22 No No Active 4-digit year the survey was conducted (DATE_). 23 DIVER NVARCHAR2 150 Yes No Active Initials of diver conducting survey 24 BELTTRANSECTRUN NUMBER 22 Yes No 38 0 Active Unique identifier for TRANSECT 25 METHODNAME NVARCHAR2 150 Yes No Active References the coral belt survey method: method B. 26 TRANSECT NUMBER 22 Yes No 38 0 Active Transect number surveyed at a site. Two 25-m transects were deployed at each site. 28 TRANWIDTH NUMBER 22 No No 38 8 Active Transect width in meters. Transect width was 1 meter except for site PAL-04 where a 2-m wide belt was surveyed. 29 TRANLENGTH NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Transect length in meters. Two 25-m transects were deployed at each site. 30 MINDEPTH NUMBER No No Active Minimum transect depth in feet. 31 MAXDEPTH NUMBER No No Active Minimum transect depth in feet. 32 TAXONCODE NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active 4-letter taxon code for TAXONNAME 34 SIZECLASS TEXT 50 No No Active Colony size binned into 1 of 29 size-class categories (0-5 cm; 6–10 cm; 11-20 cm; 21-30 cm; etc.). Bin size-class categories continue in 10-cm increments through 300 cm. 35 COUNT NUMBER No No Active Number of colonies of a specific taxon belonging to a specific size class 47 TAXONNAME NVARCHAR2 765 No No Active Scientific name of observed organism to the finest taxonomic resolution that divers can identify a colony to, either to species or genus level identification (see RANK). 48 PHYLUM VARCHAR2 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Phylum of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 49 CLASS NVARCHAR2 60 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Class of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 50 S_ORDER VARCHAR2 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Order of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 51 FAMILY VARCHAR2 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Family of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 53 GENUS NVARCHAR2 300 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Genus name of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 54 SCIENTIFIC_NAME VARCHAR2 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: the true scientific name (genus and species) of the observed organism (TAXONNAME). If NULL, organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). 55 RANK VARCHAR2 20 No No Active Lowest defined rank in taxonomic hierarchy, from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database (Genus or Species) 56 APHIAID VARCHAR2 20 No No Active Aphia ID from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. Null if organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). If value = 0, the species does not exist in WoRMS. Data Set Credit 2008 Organization NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program CRCP 1305 East West Highway 10th Floor Silver Spring MD 20910-3281 (301) 713-3155 https://coralreef.noaa.gov Link to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program website Online Resource Data Steward 2008 Person Vargas-Angel, Bernardo bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5423 Distributor 2019 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information NCEI ncei.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. Online Resource Metadata Contact 2025-11-11 Person Akridge, Michael W michael.akridge@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5483 Metadata Contact 2010 Person DesRochers, Annette M annette.desrochers@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5461 8 am - 5 pm Originator 2008 Organization Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center PIFSC pifsc.info@noaa.gov https://ror.org/02apffz65 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA 808-725-5360 https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage Online Resource 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Point of Contact 2008 Person Vargas-Angel, Bernardo bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5423 Ground Condition American Samoa -171.092233 -168.13982 -11.04588 -14.559317 American Samoa, including Tutuila, Ofu and Olosega, Tau, Rose, and Swains. Range 2008-02-18 2008-03-18 HI0802 Mission HI0802 to Ofu & Olosega, Rose, Swains, Ta'u, and Tutuila. Pacific Remote Island Areas -176.623989 -159.9731 16.76325 -0.3818 Pacific Remote Island Areas, including Johnston, Kingman, Palmyra, Howland, Baker, and Jarvis. Range 2008-01-27 2008-02-09 HI0801 Mission HI0801 to Johnston, Baker, and Howland. Range 2008-03-26 2008-04-07 HI0803 Mission HI0803, to Jarvis, Palmyra, and Kingman. Unclassified Not applicable Not applicable NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015: CREP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. CREP has a very diverse set of field activities that generates large volumes of data using an array of data collection protocols. The following recommendations are for your consideration as you use this data: 1) Data analyses should take all field exigencies into account. The most effective way to do this would be active collaboration with CREP principal investigators. 2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by CREP, proper acknowledgement of both CREP and the individuals responsible for data collection is expected. Citing the DOI (if available) is preferred, a non-DOI example is listed below. 3) If you collect or generate data for the same study areas, CREP requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections. 4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the CREP Data Management Team of any errors and discrepancies that are discovered during the course of using these data. They are further urged to bring to the attention of the Team all problems and difficulties encountered in using these data. This information is necessary in order to improve the collections and to facilitate more efficient and economical data processing and retrieval. The users are asked to supply copies of any missing data that may be located, and to provide information as to significant subsets and special aggregations of data that are developed in using the material provided. Example citation: "This publication makes use of data products provided by the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). The analysis and interpretations presented here are solely that of the current authors.” Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. None Please cite PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data. Example: Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2019: Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Belt Transect Surveys of Corals at U.S. Pacific Reefs in 2008 (even size-class bins), https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25290. None None https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0189728 2019 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 V0_CORAL_OBS_B.csv Coral colony observations from coral demographic surveys of sites at American Samoa and the Pacific Remote Island Areas in 2008 conducted by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division. 2019-05-31T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/ecosystems/surveying-vast-ocean Ecosystem Sciences Online Resource Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website PIFSC Oracle Database View: V0_CORAL_OBS_B Observations were made by experienced benthic survey personnel who were trained and tested to meet a set of minimum standards for colony assessment and taxon identification in each region. The expected taxonomic level of coral identification was genus; however a number of common and conspicuous species were identified to the species level. Taxonomic identities were verified against pictorial guides. The accuracy of coral taxa identification at the genus level is highly reliable; however, identification at the species level in field conditions is known to be challenging. Field identification of coral taxa at the species level improved with time, as surveyors gained a better knowledge of the morphological plasticity of individual coral species across the different study locations. Handheld GPS units were used to locate random sites and mark site locations. Only shallow water (0 to 30 meter depth range) hard-bottom habitats were surveyed. The survey sites were fixed and selected in consultation with local jurisdictional coral reef management practitioners, because of their ecological uniqueness, management needs (e.g., Marine Protected Areas), and to include a broad spatial coverage of surveys sites at each island/reef system. Weather conditions and other environmental constraints may have prevented the selection and/or execution of surveys in exposed and windward reef areas. The same methods of data collection were used at each surveyed site. Periodic examination of the data is conducted throughout each mission to check for diver bias or other discrepancies. At Palmyra, site PAL-04, the protocol was amended to include all corals occurring within 1 sq. meter of each side of the transect lines. Quality control of the data occurred at a few stages from data entry to data ingestion into the Oracle database. Observations, including species identification, were periodically checked during expeditions for consistency between and among divers, as well as verified against pictorial guides. Data entry was usually conducted on the same day as the surveys in an MS Access database. The data was quality controlled against the physical data sheets following data entry. Given the size of the data set, there remains some possibility of typographical or other errors. Data was later migrated from the MS Access database to the PIFSC Oracle database. Yes Unknown Yes No Unknown NCEI-MD Unknown The data is captured in several locations: physical data sheets, MS Access cruise databases, and the PIFSC Oracle database. The physical data sheets are housed at PIFSC. The MS Access cruise databases were regularly backed up by the cruise data manager while at sea. The PIFSC Oracle database is regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS. Belt transect survey method for corals, version B: even size-class bins, employed by the Ecosystem Sciences Division in 2008. 1 At each site, benthic Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys of corals were conducted along dedicated transects lines deployed following a specific isobath. At each site, the surveyor listed and identified to the genus or species level, all coral colonies occurring within 0.5 sq.meters of each side of the transect lines; and recorded the visually estimated size class to which the maximum diameter of each colony belonged (0-5 cm; 6-10 cm; 11-20 cm, 21-30 cm; 31-40 cm; 41-50 cm; 51-60 cm; 61-70 cm; 71-80 cm; 81-160 cm; 81-90 cm; 91-100 cm; 101-110 cm; 111-120 cm; 121-130 cm; 131-140 cm; 141-150 cm; 51-160 cm; 161-170 cm; 171-180 cm; 181-190 cm ;191-200 cm; 201-210 cm; 211-220 cm; 221-230 cm; 241-250 cm; 251-260 cm; 261-270 cm; 291-300 cm). At Palmyra, site PAL-04, the protocol was amended to include all corals occurring within 1 sq. meter of each side of the transect lines Person Vargas-Angel, Bernardo bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5423 Not Applicable Not Applicable 56577 Entity 25260 Data Set Cross Reference 10512 Data Set Cross Reference gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:25290 Annette DesRochers 2015-06-08T20:41:04 SysAdmin InPortAdmin 2026-03-04T19:17:28 2019-05-31 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center PIFSC 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA 808-725-5300 https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 1001 Public No No 2019-05-31 1 Year 2020-05-31