National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Images Collected from Climate Stations across American Samoa since 2015

The data described here are photo-quadrat benthic habitat imagery (photographs) collected at climate stations and permanent sites established by the Ocean and Climate Change team of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD)--formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division--as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). The photo-quadrat surveys were conducted according to protocols established by ESD and NCRMP during ESD-led NCRMP missions to American Samoa from 2015 to 2018.

A select number of climate stations were established for each island in a stratified random fashion and were roughly equally spaced around each island along the 15-m depth contour on hard-bottom habitat and at least 1 km away from a river mouth or embayment. At the NCRMP climate station a 15-m transect was run from the reference stake. Along the 15-m transect tape, two images were taken per meter, for a total of 30 images per climate station.

Sites were surveyed using photoquadrats to collect benthic imagery to ultimately produce estimates of relative abundance (benthic cover), frequency of occurrence, benthic community taxonomic composition and relative generic richness.

The NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) details a long term approach to provide an ecosystem perspective via monitoring climate, fish, benthic, and socioeconomic variables in a consistent and integrated manner. The NCRMP coordinates various NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) biological, physical, and human dimensions activities into a cohesive NOAA-wide effort. Through the implementation of the NCRMP, NOAA is able to clearly and concisely communicate results of national-scale monitoring to national, state, and territorial policy makers, resource managers, and the public on a periodic basis.

NCRMP is a framework for conducting sustained observations of biological, climate, and socioeconomic indicators at 10 priority coral reefs across the U.S. and its territories. This integrated approach consolidates monitoring of coral reefs under a uniform method in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. NCRMP is funded by the CRCP and supported by NOAA Fisheries, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and many other partners. The Ecosystem Sciences Division at NOAA Fisheries is leading biological monitoring in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region.

The climate component of NCRMP in the Pacific provides a comprehensive view of climate change impacts on coral reef ecosystems and helps identify areas of resilience and vulnerability. The key indicators used to identify and monitor climate-driven trends include 1) thermal stress caused by changes in sea temperature, 2) ocean acidification resulting from changes in carbonate chemistry, and 3) ecological impacts by collecting data on coral growth rates, erosion, and community structure to understand the impacts of thermal stress and ocean acidification on the ecosystem. Each year, ESD scientists work closely with CRCP and partners during Pacific RAMP missions to collect data using moored oceanographic (subsurface temperature recorders) and ecological (calcification accretion units [CAUs] and autonomous reef monitoring structures [ARMS]) instruments stationed at fixed sites in the Pacific Ocean, and water samples collected by divers. The in-situ data and satellite-based observations are also used in modeling efforts. Innovative analysis techniques are used to develop products that give fellow scientists, managers, decision makers and the public a better understanding of a region's resources and how they are changing over time.

COLOR CORRECTION

Updated March 2019 to add imagery collected in 2018

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

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.

American Samoa including Tutuila, Manu'a (Ofo, Olosega, and Ta'u), Rose Atoll, and Swains.

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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.

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

Suggested citation:

Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2019). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Images Collected from Climate Stations across American Samoa since 2015. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25380

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PIFSC network/file system:

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Handheld GPS units were used to mark site locations.

Image data include ~30 benthic photographs per survey site. Appropriate site level image grouping should include all 30 images.

Survey transects were appropriately marked to allow direct, site-level temporal comparisons.

Only sites classified as climate stations / permanent sites were surveyed in shallow water (0-30 m depths) hard-bottom habitats.

Survey methods were consistent across all sites.

The photos are reviewed by the diver for accuracy and usability. An optical validation script is used to re-name photos and enforce several validation checks.

The images reside on a file server maintained and regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS.

Benthic photographs were collected for climate stations and permanent sites at pre-defined points along the transect. These photos are color-corrected (if necessary) prior to analysis. An optical validation script is used to re-name photos and enforce several validation checks.