35768 NCRMP: Benthic Towed-diver Surveys American Samoa Data Set Published / External 32955 American Samoa Project Completed 2016 The towed-diver method is used to conduct benthic surveys, assessing large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching) and quantifying benthic components such as habitat complexity/type and the general distribution and abundance patterns of live coral, crustose coralline algae (CCA), macroalgae, and macroinvertebrates. Surveys are conducted in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). A suitable method for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat, the method involves towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for approximately 50 min following the ~15-m depth contour and covering about 2–3 km of habitat. Each diver is equipped with a towboard and attempts to maintain a constant elevation above the surface of the reef (~1 m) for the duration of the survey. A complete towed-diver survey is divided into 10, 5-min segments, with visual observations recorded by 5-min segment. The visual estimate data provided in this dataset were collected during towed-diver surveys which includes percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall. The data were collected around American Samoa as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led mission in 2015. These data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) details an integrated ecosystem approach to provide a consistent flow of information to assess and report the status and trends of environmental conditions, living reef resources, and the people and processes that interact with coral reef ecosystems. Although the scope of NCRMP is broad, it is intended to assess the status of coral reef ecosystems and their conditions throughout U.S. States and Territories and provide a steady and comprehensive analytical context to gauge changes in conditions at the sub-jurisdictional scale of an island or atoll. Through the implementation of the NCRMP, NOAA is able to clearly and concisely communicate results of national-scale monitoring to Federal, State, and Territorial policy makers, resource managers, scientists, and the public on a periodic basis. Lino K, Asher J, Ferguson M, Gray A, McCoy K, Timmers M, Vargas-Ángel B (2018) Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96818-5007. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-18-02, 76 p. The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (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 will consolidate 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 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at NOAA Fisheries is leading biological monitoring in the U.S. Pacific Islands Region. The biological component of NCRMP in the Pacific provides a triennial ecological characterization at a broad spatial scale of general reef condition for reef fishes, corals and benthic habitat (i.e., fish species composition/density/size, benthic cover, and coral density/size/condition). Each year, CREP scientists work closely with CRCP and local partners to collect biological data on fish populations and coral reef communities from strategically selected sites during Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) missions. Innovative analysis techniques are then 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. doi:10.7289/V59G5K30 NOAA Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme CRCP Project 743 Theme CRCP Project National Coral Reef Monitoring Program 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 > Zoology > Corals Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Photic Zone Corals Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Habitats Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Dead percentage Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Macroinvertebrates Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census > Macroinvertebrates Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Census > Population Density Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS DEBRIS Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS DEPTH - SENSOR Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS HABITAT - BENTHIC Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS TEMPERATURE Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - biological Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - coral reef Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - swimmer/diver Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS tows Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS visual estimate 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 National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Theme NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program Theme CRED Theme CREP Theme Coral Reef Ecosystem Division Theme Coral Reef Ecosystem Program Theme PIFSC Theme Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Theme TDS Theme Towed-diver surveys Theme towboard Theme towed diver Temporal Triennial 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 > 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 Island (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 OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000) 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 > 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 CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Rose Island > Rose Island (Rose Atoll) (14S168W0001) Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS South Pacific Ocean Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Honolulu HI USA Data Set CSV Files As Needed Table (digital) Raw survey data includes metadata for each survey (where, when, who, length, duration, depth, reef type, temperature); and benthic observations. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35770 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 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable 35770 VS_BENT_TDS Published / External Completed CREP Benthic Towed-Diver Survey spatial view Loaded by batch 9510, 11-21-2016 14:37 Data View Yes GISDAT Benthic towed-diver survey spatial view 1 ROUNDID NUMBER 22 Yes No 28 0 Active Unique Identifier for ROUND record 2 MISSIONID VARCHAR2 30 Yes No Active Mission Identifier 3 REGION_NAME VARCHAR2 30 No No Active One of the five Pacific Island regions CRED surveys 4 ISLAND NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active Foreign key reference to the LIST_OF_ISLANDS table for the given ISLANDVISIT record 5 LATITUDE NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the given island 6 LONGITUDE NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84 for the given island 7 OBS_YEAR NUMBER 22 Yes No 38 0 Active Year the survey was conducted 8 DIVEID NUMBER 22 No No Active Unique ID representing year, month, day, tow # of day 9 SEGMENTID NUMBER 22 No No Active Unique ID representing year, month, day, tow # of day, segment # 10 DATE_ DATE 7 Yes No Active Date of the Tow survey 11 REEF_ZONE NVARCHAR2 150 Yes No Active The reef zone for the given towed diver segment (Forereef, Backreef, Lagoon, unspecified). Forereef: The sloping bottom underlying the wave break zone, extending seaward from the reef crest. Comprehensive surveys of forereef habitats remain the priority for towed-diver operations. Backreef: The shallow strip of reef sheltered from breaking waves by the reef crest, situated between the reef crest and the lagoon floor. Lagoon: The zone sheltered from the waves by the reef crest, and separated from the reef crest by the back reef. Usually deeper than the back reef and covered in unconsolidated sediment, this term describes both an atoll's interior and the expanse situated between the back reef and shore of any islands present. Unspecified: these are other areas surveyed using towed-diver methods, which include: Bank: A submerged platform reef, often occurring either as an isolated feature atop a seamount or as a plateau situated between the fore reef and a deeper slope. These areas are no longer actively targeted, with Pathfinder Reef (MARAMP 2007, CNMI) and Tutuila (ASRAMP 2010; exploratory) represents the last banks actively surveyed. Channel: A submerged transition between forereef and backreef zones created by a gap in the reef crest. Divers should avoid using channels to transition from forereef to backreef habitats (i.e. stick with one or the other). In addition, divers should make a note in the ¿Comments¿ section whenever crossing a channel along a forereef/backreef survey. 12 METHODCODE NVARCHAR2 30 No No Active Survey method used 13 NO_OBS NUMBER 22 No No 38 0 Active No data recorded for a towed-diver survey due to diver recall, hazardous conditions, depth, etc. 14 DIVER1 NVARCHAR2 150 Yes No Active Initials of fish diver 15 DIVER2 NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active Initials of benthic diver 16 TOWKEY NUMBER 22 Yes No 38 0 Active Towkey for the given towed diver survey fish observation 17 SEGMENT NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Segments represent 5-minute increments; there are 10 segments per tow. 18 DEPTH NUMBER 22 No No Active Mean Depth (in meters) of the towed-diver segment 19 DEPTH_SD NUMBER 22 No No Active Standard deviation of depth of the towed-diver segment 20 TEMPERATURE NUMBER 22 No No 38 Active Temperature of the Towed Diver Survey 21 TEMPERATURE_SD NUMBER 22 No No 38 Active Standard deviation of temperature of the Towed Diver Survey 22 STARTLOCALTIME DATE 7 No No Active Local start time of the Towed Diver Survey 23 ENDLOCALTIME DATE 7 No No Active Local end time of the Towed Diver Survey 24 CENTROIDLAT NUMBER 22 No No 38 8 Active Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the center point of each 5-minute towed-diver survey segment 25 CENTROIDLON NUMBER 22 No No 38 8 Active Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the center point of each 5-minute towed-diver survey segment 26 PROJECTEDLENGTH NUMBER 22 No No 38 8 Active Length of tow segment (meters). Calculated from tow tracks using GIS 27 DOMINANT_HABITAT NVARCHAR2 15 No No Active Dominant Habitat 28 DOMINANT_HABITAT_DESC NVARCHAR2 150 No No Active Dominant Habitat description 29 COMPLEXITY NVARCHAR2 9 No No Active Complexity 30 LIVE_CORAL_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Live coral mid-point 31 SOFT_CORAL_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Soft coral mid-point 32 SAND_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Sand mid-point 33 STRESSED_CORAL_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Stressed coral mid-point 34 MACROALGAE_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Macro algae mid-point 35 CORALLINE_MID NUMBER 22 No No 28 8 Active Coralline algae mid-point 36 CROWN_OF_THORN NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Acanthaster planci. Macroinvertebrates are counted independently up to 25 individuals. Above that, numbers of each macroinvertebrate taxa are binned as follows: Category 1: 26 - 50 (1 with a circle around it; same for subsequent categories). Category 2: 51 - 100. Category 3: 101 - 250. Category 4: 251 - 500. Category 5: 501 - 1000. Category 6: > 1000 37 BORING_URCHIN NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active "Boring" sea urchins (e.g. Echinostrephus, Echinometra). Macroinvertebrates are counted independently up to 25 individuals. Above that, numbers of each macroinvertebrate taxa are binned as follows: Category 1: 26 - 50 (1 with a circle around it; same for subsequent categories). Category 2: 51 - 100. Category 3: 101 - 250. Category 4: 251 - 500. Category 5: 501 - 1000. Category 6: > 1000 38 FREE_URCHIN NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active "Free" sea urchins (e.g. Tripneustes, Diadema). Macroinvertebrates are counted independently up to 25 individuals. Above that, numbers of each macroinvertebrate taxa are binned as follows: Category 1: 26 - 50 (1 with a circle around it; same for subsequent categories). Category 2: 51 - 100. Category 3: 101 - 250. Category 4: 251 - 500. Category 5: 501 - 1000. Category 6: > 1000 39 GIANT_CLAM NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Giant clams (Tridacna sp.). Macroinvertebrates are counted independently up to 25 individuals. Above that, numbers of each macroinvertebrate taxa are binned as follows: Category 1: 26 - 50 (1 with a circle around it; same for subsequent categories). Category 2: 51 - 100. Category 3: 101 - 250. Category 4: 251 - 500. Category 5: 501 - 1000. Category 6: > 1000 40 NET_LINE NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Derelict fishing gear of any type (e.g. monofilament line, fishing nets or fragments of fishing nets, etc.) 41 MUNITION NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Munitions/unexploded ordinance 42 WRECK NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Shipwrecks 43 MANMADE_OBJECT NUMBER 22 No No 5 0 Active Man-made objects, whether of nautical or terrestrial origins (e.g. anchors/discarded mooring, tires, corrugated tin roofing). It is important to note that marine debris observations do not include highly mobile marine debris (e.g. bottles, cans, plastic bags, etc.) 44 MANMADE_NOTE NVARCHAR2 255 No No Active Manmade Note Data Set Credit 2015 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 2015 Person Ferguson, Marie H marie.ferguson@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 (808)725-5414 email preferred Distributor 2016 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 Distributor 2015 2016 Person Kanemura, Troy T troy.kanemura@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5422 Metadata Contact 2025-11-12 Person Akridge, Michael W michael.akridge@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5483 Metadata Contact 2015 Person DesRochers, Annette M annette.desrochers@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5461 8 am - 5 pm email preferred Originator 2015 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 2015 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 email preferred Ground Condition American Samoa -171.092526 -168.137397 -11.04523805 -14.56062599 American Samoa including Tutuila, Manu'a (Ofo, Olosega, and Ta'u), Rose Atoll, and Swains. Range 2015-02-15 2015-04-04 HA1501 ASRAMP 2015, Legs I through III 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 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP), 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 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data. Suggested citation: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of American Samoa in 2015. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35768. None None https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157566 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 VS_BENT_TDS SAMOA 2015.csv Observations from towed-diver surveys of the benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted in American Samoa in 2015. 2016-12-14T00:00:00 csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633 2016 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 PIFSC_H-18-02_2018_SOP_towed-diver.pdf Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. PIFSC Administrative Report H-18-02. https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 2018-06-01T00:00:00 PDF PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/img/towboard.jpg Browse Graphic JPG A diver conducting a survey of the benthos and benthic habitat using the towed diver method. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/ Online Resource HTML Information about the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) on the NOAA Coral Reef Information System website. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/benthic_monitoring.php Online Resource PHP Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Benthic Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php Online Resource PHP NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, survey methods page, which includes a brief description of the towed-diver survey method used since 2000 to survey the benthic habitat. PIFSC Oracle database view: VS_BENT_TDS The latitude and longitude coordinates of the survey track are recorded using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on-board the tow boat. The survey track is georeferenced and a layback model is applied (python script in ESRI ArcGIS for Desktop) that more accurately maps the positions of the recorded observations. The towed-diver surveys are completed in forereef, backreef, and lagoon habitats. Considering that the towed divers are covering ~200 m during each 5-min time frame of a 50-minute survey, benthic coverage calculations are broad estimates. These data can be used to see large differences but can not be processed to a fine scale. Observations during each tow were made by trained divers. The visual variation throughout the tow may change drastically as well as current and surface conditions for the support vessel impacting the preferred depth contour and accompanying track lines. The percentage cover for the different benthic elements are binned within 1 of 10 classification categories. NOAA PIFSC CREP’s use of the 10-category method is similar to AIMS, whereby percent cover of living hard coral, stressed coral, soft coral, macroalgae, crustose coralline algae, sand, and rubble are calculated from towed-diver results by representing each cover category through the midpoint of its range. Note that the total percentage cover will not add up to 100%, as several habitat categories (e.g., rock, pavement, etc) are not included. Benthic cover categories and the corresponding percentage range bins are as follows: Category 1: 0.1 -1 % Category 2: 1.1 - 5 % Category 3: 5.1 - 10 % Category 4: 10.1 - 20 % Category 5: 20.1 - 30 % Category 6: 30.1 - 40 % Category 7: 40.1 - 50 % Category 8: 50.1 - 62.5 % Category 9: 62.6 - 75 % Category 10: 75.1 - 100 % Macroinvertebrates are counted independently up to 25 individuals. Above that, numbers of each macroinvertebrate taxa are binned as follows: Category 1: 26 – 50 Category 2: 51 – 100 Category 3: 101 – 250 Category 4: 251 – 500 Category 5: 501 – 1000 Category 6: > 1000 Data entry conversion for each macroinvertebrate category is as follows: Category 1: 37 Category 2: 75 Category 3: 175 Category 4: 375 Category 5: 750 Category 6: 1001 The habitat complexity data is based on a six-point subjective assessment of topographical diversity and complexity of the benthic habitat. Classified according to 1 of 6 categories: low (L), medium-low (ML), medium (M), medium-high (MH), high (H), and very high (VH). There are a few scenarios that will affect the completeness of the data: -If the GPS points are not collected, associated diver's positions and survey tracks are not generated -If the estimation of the divers' positions are erroneous and it is impossible to make corrections, the tow tracks/points are flagged and removed from further analyses -If SEABIRD sensor (SB 39) is not operational during surveys, temperature and depth data are not available The same methods of data collection are used during each tow. Regular examination and comparisons of the data are conducted throughout each mission to check for diver bias or other discrepancies. The data is entered in an MS Access database, then quality controlled against the physical data sheets prior to the data being considered final. Several queries in the MS Access and Oracle databases flag any errors based on predefined criteria. Yes Unknown Yes No Unknown NCEI-MD Unknown The data is captured in several locations: physical data sheets, MS Access cruise database, and PIFSC Oracle database. The physical data sheets are housed at PIFSC. The MS Access cruise database is regularly backed up by the cruise data manager while at sea. The PIFSC Oracle database is regularly backed up by PIFSC ITS. Benthic towed-diver survey method Lino K, Asher J, Ferguson M, Gray A, McCoy K, Timmers M, Vargas-Ángel B (2018) Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96818-5007. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-18-02, 76 p. Organization Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Originator 2018-06-01 https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 NOAA Institutional Repository Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. Survey protocol 1 A pair of scuba divers is towed about 1 m above the reef roughly 60 m behind a small boat at a constant speed of about 1.5 knots. One diver quantifies fish populations, and the other diver quantifies the benthos. Each diver maneuvers their own towboard. Towboards are connected to the small boat by a bridle and towline and outfitted with various survey equipment, including a video camera on the fish towboard. The benthic diver records percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams) as well as benthic habitat complexity and type data. A towed survey is typically 50 min long and covers about 2 km of habitat. Each survey is divided into 5-min segments, with data recorded separately per segment to allow for georeferencing of observations within the ~200 m covered during each segment. Throughout a survey, the latitude and longitude of its survey track are recorded at 5-s intervals on the small boat with a global positioning system (GPS). Following a survey, diver tracks are generated using this GPS data and a layback algorithm to account for position of the diver relative to the small boat. Person Ferguson, Marie H marie.ferguson@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 (808)725-5414 35770 Entity 35767 Data Set Cross Reference 35769 Data Set Cross Reference 5567 Data Set Cross Reference 35761 Data Set Cross Reference 35618 Data Set Cross Reference gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:35768 Nicole Kamalu 2016-11-21T19:41:56 SysAdmin InPortAdmin 2026-03-04T19:17:28 2017-03-16 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 2017-03-16 1 Year 2018-03-16