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PIFSC Metadata Library > PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Metad... > Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment > Benthic Missions >

Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020

Data Set (DS)  |  Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:25371  |  Updated: March 4, 2026  |  Published / External 
Short Citation:
Full Citation Examples
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2026: Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25371.

Item Identification

Title: Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020
Short Name: Faga'alu: benthic images
Status: On Going
Publication Date: 2022
Abstract:

The data described herein are part of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project aimed establishing a baseline and assessing the status and trends for coral demographics and benthic cover and composition via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys conducted by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) -former Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP), at Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2012, 2015, and 2020.

Photoquadrat benthic images were collected in 2012, 2015, and 2020 only, via belt transect surveys of coral demography according to protocols established by ESD in 2012 and by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in 2015.

In 2012 through 2015, the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic coral reef community, and a one-stage StRS design in 2020. 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.

Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0146682. The 2015 and 2020 photos have been analyzed for benthic cover (documented separately).

Data from coral demographic surveys in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2020, in addition benthic cover data from line-point intercept surveys in 2012 were also collected ESD and are documented separately.
Purpose:

These data are part of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project aimed at establishing baseline and assessing 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. The Samoa Maritime rock quarry was found to be a major contributor to the periodic flux of excessive sediments onto the adjacent reef in Faga‘alu. In September–December 2014, mitigation actions were implemented at the Samoa Maritime Quarry, including the installation of drainage systems, alternative ground cover, and retention ponds.

Data were collected to assess the effectiveness of management actions implemented to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts originating from the Samoa Maritime rock quarry. Pre-intervention baseline images data were collected in 2012 and subsequent post-intervention monitoring in 2015 and 2020. Funding provided by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) through three internal projects entitled. 1) Comprehensive Baseline Assessment and Pilot Test of Outcome Performance Measures in Faga’alu Bay, American Samoa, awarded to Susie Holst. 2) Status and Trends Assessment for Land-based Sources of Pollution Impacts on Benthic Reef Communities in Faga’alu Bay and Vatia Bay, American Samoa, awarded to the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD). And 3) Status and Trends Assessment for Land-based Sources of Pollution Impacts on Benthic Reef Communities in Faga’alu Bay and Vatia Bay, American Samoa, awarded to the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division..
Other Citation Details:

S. Holst Rice, A. Messina, T. Biggs, B. Vargas-Angel, and D. Whitall. 2016. Baseline Assessment of Faga'alu Watershed: A Ridge to Reef Assessment in Support of Sediment Reduction Activities and Future Evaluation of their Success. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 23. 44 pp. DOI: 10.7289/V5BK19C3

Vargas-Angel B, Schumacher BD. 2018. Baseline surveys for coral reef community structure and demographics in Vatia Bay and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Special Publication, SP-18-002, 38 p. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/SP-PIFSC-18-002.

and

Vargas-Ángel B, Huntington B. 2020. Status and trends assessments for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic reef communities in Faga‘alu Bay, American Samoa. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-109, 38 p. doi:10.25923/0gvj-zm69.
Supplemental Information:

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 ESD in 2012 and 2013 serve as the pre-mitigation baseline, and surveys conducted in 2015 and 2020 by ESD and the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources serve to document any post-intervention changes to the coral community in Faga'alu Bay stemming 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.

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Visual Images > Habitats
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Rapid assessment studies
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral reef ecology > Coral cover
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities
CRCP Project 31259
CRCP Project 917
CRCP Project Comprehensive baseline assessment and pilot test of outcome performance measures in Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa
CRCP Project Status and trends assessment for LBSP impacts on reef communities in Faga'alu Bay and Vatia Bay
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS imagery
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Coral Reef Conservation Program
NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
None CRED
None CREP
None Faga'alu
None Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
None PIFSC
None Rapid Ecological Assessments
None REA

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Faga'alu (14S170W0005)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Pago Pago Harbor > Faga'alu (14S170W0005)
NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS South Pacific Ocean

Physical Location

Organization: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
City: Honolulu
State/Province: HI
Country: USA

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Data Set Type: JPG Files
Maintenance Frequency: None Planned
Data Presentation Form: Image (digital)
Entity Attribute Overview:

Raw data include 30 benthic photographs per survey site. Included in the archive package is a list of survey sites, including site id, location (latitude/longitude), and survey date, where photoquads were collected. The file naming convention for each photo/image is [SITE]_[YEAR]_[TRANSECT]_[PHOTO_NUMBER].JPG (for example: TUT-903_2012_A_01.JPG).
Distribution Liability:

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.
Data Set Credit: PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 268407
Date Effective From: 2012
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Vargas-Angel, Bernardo
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X
Email Address: bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5423

Distributor

CC ID: 319294
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Address:
ROR: https://ror.org/04r0wrp59
Email Address: ncei.info@noaa.gov
URL: NCEI Contact Information

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 1076009
Date Effective From: 2021
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Luers, Lori H
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: lori.luers@noaa.gov

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 205059
Date Effective From: 2012
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): DesRochers, Annette M
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: annette.desrochers@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5461
Business Hours: 8 am - 5 pm

Originator

CC ID: 205062
Date Effective From: 2012
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
ROR: https://ror.org/02apffz65
Email Address: pifsc.info@noaa.gov
Phone: 808-725-5360
URL: https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
Business Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Originator

CC ID: 319293
Date Effective From: 2012
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
Address: 1305 East West Highway 10th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281
Phone: (301) 713-3155
URL: https://coralreef.noaa.gov
Contact Instructions:

Funders

Point of Contact

CC ID: 205060
Date Effective From: 2012
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Vargas-Angel, Bernardo
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-463X
Email Address: bernardo.vargasangel@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5423
View Historical Support Roles

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Description:

Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 205058
W° Bound: -170.6808019
E° Bound: -170.6787708
N° Bound: -14.28890124
S° Bound: -14.29325329
Description

Location of round 2 of 2 Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2012

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 205057
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2012-08-14
End: 2012-08-16
Description:

Round 2 of 2 Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2012

Extent Group 2

Extent Description:

Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa

Extent Group 2 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 319296
W° Bound: -170.681125
E° Bound: -170.672613
N° Bound: -14.28695194
S° Bound: -14.29477025
Description

Location of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2015 and 2020

Extent Group 2 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 319297
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2015-10-29
End: 2015-11-11
Description:

Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2015

Extent Group 2 / Time Frame 2

CC ID: 1182630
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2020-01-15
End: 2020-01-24
Description:

Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in Faga'alu 2020

Extent Group 3

Extent Description:

Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa

Extent Group 3 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 319299
W° Bound: -170.68044341
E° Bound: -170.67263173
N° Bound: -14.28706602
S° Bound: -14.29516353
Description

Location of round 1 of 2 Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2012

Extent Group 3 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 319300
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2012-03-28
End: 2012-03-30
Description:

Round 1 of 2 Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys in 2012

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Security Classification System:

Not applicable
Security Handling Description:

Not applicable
Data Access Policy:

NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015:

The ESD welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. The ESD 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 ESD principal investigators.

2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by ESD, proper acknowledgement of both ESD 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, ESD requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections.

4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the ESD 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 Coral Reef 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 Access Procedure:

Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, with links provided in the Distribution Informatoin.
Data Access Constraints:

None
Data Use Constraints:

Please cite NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data.

Example

Cite as: Vargas-Angel, Bernardo; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2020). Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020. [Access Date]
Metadata Access Constraints:

None
Metadata Use Constraints:

None

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 205063
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146682
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2016 - Present)
Description:

Photoquadrat benthic images collected in 2012 and 2015 at monitoring sites (30 photos per site) in Faga'alu Bay via belt transect surveys of coral demography by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP).
File Type (Deprecated): JPEG
Distribution Format: JPEG

Distribution 2

CC ID: 325099
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146682
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2016 - Present)
File Name: Site Information (Fagaalu 2012).csv
Description:

List of survey sites, including site id, location (latitude/longitude), and survey date, where photoquads were collected.
File Date/Time: 2016-05-11 00:00:00
File Type (Deprecated): csv (comma-separated values)
Distribution Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
File Size: 3k

Distribution 3

CC ID: 325100
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146682
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2016 - Present)
File Name: Site Information (Fagaalu 2015).csv
Description:

List of survey sites, including site id, location (latitude/longitude), and survey date, where photoquads were collected.
File Date/Time: 2016-05-11 00:00:00
File Type (Deprecated): csv (comma-separated values)
Distribution Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)
File Size: 2k

Distribution 4

CC ID: 1078471
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0259389
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2016 - Present)
File Name: Site_Information_Fagaalu_2020.csv
Description:

List of survey sites, including site id, location (latitude/longitude), and survey date, where photoquadrat benthic images collected in 2020

File Type (Deprecated): .csv
Distribution Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)

Distribution 5

CC ID: 1078472
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0259389
Distributor: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2016 - Present)
Description:

Photoquadrat benthic images collected in 2020 at stratified randomly selected sites (30 photos per site) in Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa.
File Type (Deprecated): .jpg
Distribution Format: JPEG

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 205065
URL: https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/corals.php
Name: PIFSC Ecological Assessment of Corals
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: HTML

URL 2

CC ID: 325063
URL: https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/fagaaluWatershed/
Name: Baseline Assessment of Faga'alu Watershed: A Ridge to Reef Assessment in Support of Sediment Reduction Activities and Future Evaluation of their Success
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: JPG
Description:

NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 23

URL 3

CC ID: 747865
URL: https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/SP-PIFSC-18-002
Name: Baseline surveys for coral reef community structure and demographics in Vatia Bay and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: PDF
Description:

PIFSC Special Publication, SP-18-002, 38 p.

URL 4

CC ID: 1076014
URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/27088
Name: Status and trends assessments for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic reef communities in Faga‘alu Bay, American Samoa.
URL Type:
Online Resource
Description:

NOAA Technical Memorandum, NMFS-PIFSC-109, 38 p.

Technical Environment

Description:

PIFSC network/file system:

\\picmakai\optical\OPTICAL\AMSM\2012\TUT\REA\BENTHIC

T:\Cruise\CruiseData\MP1602\Optical\TUT\REA\BENTHIC

T:\Cruise\CruiseData\MP2006\Optical\TUT\REA\BENTHIC

Data Quality

Accuracy:

Benthic Image collection was conducted by experienced benthic survey personnel who have been trained.

Handheld GPS units were used to mark site locations.
Bias:

Not applicable.
Comparability:

Site GPS location and depth are appropriately collected to allow spatiotemporal comparisons.
Completeness Measure:

Complete; photoquads were taken at all sites surveyed. On occasions instrument malfunction or sea conditions may preclude the collection of 30 benthic images per site.
Completeness Report:

Backreef and forereef, hard bottom habitats were surveyed.
Conceptual Consistency:

Survey methods were consistent across all sites within the same year. Methods used in 2012 and 2015 are slightly different from the current standard protocol that was used in 2020.

Quality Control Procedures Employed:

Instrumentation and camera setting are updated periodically to improve image quality.

An optical validation QC procedure is employed to verify number of images, per site and file name. Also, image color correction is implemented to improve image quality.

Benthic images and the file structure are quality controlled by CREP personnel before they are migrated and integrated into CREP's master optical directory on the PIFSC network.

Data Management

Have Resources for Management of these Data Been Identified?: Yes
Approximate Percentage of Budget for these Data Devoted to Data Management: Unknown
Do these Data Comply with the Data Access Directive?: Yes
Is Access to the Data Limited Based on an Approved Waiver?: No
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Dissemination: Unknown
Actual or Planned Long-Term Data Archive Location: NCEI-MD
Approximate Delay Between Data Collection and Archiving: Unknown
How Will the Data Be Protected from Accidental or Malicious Modification or Deletion Prior to Receipt by the Archive?:

NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets.

Lineage

Lineage Statement:

Benthic photographs were collected during belt transect surveys of corals by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) following the same protocol in 2015 to that established by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP), and by a slightly different protocol in 2012 established by CREP.

Sources

Baseline assessment of Faga’alu Watershed: a ridge to reef assessment in support of sediment reduction activities and future evaluation of their success.

CC ID: 325097
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Coral Reef Conservation Program
Citation URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/8439
Citation URL Name: NOAA Technical Memorandum: 23
Citation URL Description:

Holst Rice, S., A.T. Messina, T. Biggs, B. Vargas-Angel, and D.R. Whitall. 2016. Baseline assessment of Faga’alu Watershed: a ridge to reef assessment in support of sediment reduction activities and future evaluation of their success. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 23. Silver Spring, MD. 44 pp. doi:10.7289/V5BK19C3

Baseline surveys for coral reef community structure and demographics in Vatia Bay and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa

CC ID: 332978
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC
Citation URL: https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/SP-PIFSC-18-002
Citation URL Name: NOAA, PIFSC Special Publication, SP-18-002
Citation URL Description:

Vargas-Angel B, Schumacher BD. 2018. Baseline surveys for coral reef community structure and demographics in Vatia Bay and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Special Publication, SP-18-002, 38 p.

Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys

CC ID: 1076016
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: me: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Citation URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/18267
Citation URL Name: NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-PIFSC ; 71
Citation URL Description:

Swanson, D., Bailey, H., Schumacher, B., Ferguson, M., and B. Vargas-Ángel. 2018. Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-PIFSC-71, 63 p. https://doi.org/10.25923/39jh-8993

Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys, 2019 Update

CC ID: 1076017
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Citation URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/23951
Citation URL Name: NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-PIFSC ; 96
Citation URL Description:

Winston W, Couch C, Huntingon B, Vargas-Ángel B. 2020. Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys,2019 update. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-PIFSC-96, 56 p

Status and Trends Assessment for Land-based Sources of Pollution Impacts on Benthic Reef Communities in Faga‘alu Bay, American Samoa

CC ID: 1076015
Contact Role Type: Originator
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Citation URL: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/27088
Citation URL Name: NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-PIFSC ; 109
Citation URL Description:

Vargas-Ángel B, Huntington B. 2020. Status and trends assessments for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic reef communities in Faga‘alu Bay, American Samoa. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-109, 38 p. doi:10.25923/0gvj-zm69.

Process Steps

Process Step 2012

CC ID: 325098
Description:

In 2012 the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic 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.

At each site, belt-transects were the focal point of the biological surveys. In 2012, fifteen images were collected along each, two haphazardly laid, 18-m transects. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transects with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Along each transect photographs were taken every meter from the 1 m to the 15 m mark. This work generates 30 photographs per site, which can be later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet.

Survey protocols followed the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program methodologies historically implemented by NOAA's Ecosystem Sciences Division.
Process Contact: Swanson, Dione W
Email Address: dione.swanson@noaa.gov
Phone (Voice): (808)725-5417
Source: Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for rapid ecological assessment benthic surveys

Process Step 2015

CC ID: 205068
Description:

In 2015, the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic 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.

At each site fifteen images were collected along each, two haphazardly laid, 18-m transects. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transects with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Photographs were taken every 1 m from the 1 m to the 15 m mark . This work generates 30 photographs per site, which are later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet. This analysis is the basis for estimating benthic cover and composition at each site.

Survey protocols followed the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program methodologies historically implemented by NOAA's Ecosystem Sciences Division.
Process Contact: Swanson, Dione W
Email Address: dione.swanson@noaa.gov
Phone (Voice): (808)725-5417
Source: Baseline assessment of Faga’alu Watershed: a ridge to reef assessment in support of sediment reduction activities and future evaluation of their success.

Process Step 2020

CC ID: 1076019
Description:

In 2020, the survey implemented a one -stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic 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, thirty images were collected along one, haphazardly laid, 30-m transects Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transect with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Photographs were taken every 1 m from the 1 m to the 30 m mark. This work generates 30 photographs per site, which are later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet. This analysis is the basis for estimating benthic cover and composition at each site.

Survey protocols followed the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program methodologies historically implemented by NOAA's Ecosystem Sciences Division.
Process Contact: Winston, Morgan S
Email Address: morgan.winston@noaa.gov
Phone (Voice): (808)725-5480
Source: Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys, 2019 Update

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Entity Site_Information_DataDictionary_Fagaalu_2020

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 25371
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:25371
Metadata Record Created By: Annette M DesRochers
Metadata Record Created: 2015-06-15 13:08+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2026-03-04 19:17+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2022-09-19
Owner Org: PIFSC
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2022-08-26
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2023-08-26