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Catalog Details

Summary

Diver counting coral reef fishes at Pearl and Hermes Reef using the SPC method.

Short Citation
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2024: Rebreather Fish Surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35774.
Full Citation Examples

Abstract

Surveys were conducted in the course of a reef fish survey cruise conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). These data come from surveys conducted using close-circuit rebreathers. The use of rebreathers is intended to provide data that can be compared against data gathered on open-circuit SCUBA, which is the breathing apparatus typically used by CREP.

The survey domain encompassed hard bottom habitats in American Samoa and the stratification included island, reef zone, and depth. Sites were surveyed using the stationary point count (SPC) method to quantify reef fish assemblages. At each survey site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted paired fine-scale (~700 square meters) and high degree of taxonomic resolution Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) survey to assess species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fishes at the site. At each site, one survey was conducted on open-circuit SCUBA and one on closed circuit rebreather. Only rebreather survey data is described here.

Distribution Information

  • CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)

    Observations from stationary point count surveys of coral reef fishes conducted on closed circuit rebreathers by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at various islands in American Samoa (SE1602) in 2016.

  • PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format

    NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Fish Surveys.

Access Constraints:

None

Use Constraints:

Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data.

Suggested citation:

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). Rebreather Fish Surveys in American Samoa. NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35774.

Controlled Theme Keywords

biota

Child Items

Type Title
Entity View: V0_FISH_REA

Contact Information

Point of Contact
Ivor D Williams
ivor.williams@noaa.gov
(808)725-5427

Metadata Contact
Annette M DesRochers
annette.desrochers@noaa.gov
(808)725-5461

Extents

Geographic Area 1

-170.837773° W, -168.138168° E, -14.148619° N, -14.560622° S

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

Time Frame 1
2016-04-15 - 2016-05-05

SE1602 REEF FISH SURVEYS

Item Identification

Title: Rebreather Fish Surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05
Short Name: Reef Fish Surveys: CCR American Samoa
Status: Completed
Publication Date: 2016
Abstract:

Surveys were conducted in the course of a reef fish survey cruise conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). These data come from surveys conducted using close-circuit rebreathers. The use of rebreathers is intended to provide data that can be compared against data gathered on open-circuit SCUBA, which is the breathing apparatus typically used by CREP.

The survey domain encompassed hard bottom habitats in American Samoa and the stratification included island, reef zone, and depth. Sites were surveyed using the stationary point count (SPC) method to quantify reef fish assemblages. At each survey site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted paired fine-scale (~700 square meters) and high degree of taxonomic resolution Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) survey to assess species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fishes at the site. At each site, one survey was conducted on open-circuit SCUBA and one on closed circuit rebreather. Only rebreather survey data is described here.

Purpose:

The goal of the project that these data were gathered for was to assess the effect of reducing the disturbance caused by divers on reef fish counts, at a range of locations varying from relatively heavily to relatively lightly fished areas. More specifically, it is understood that in locations with heavy fishing pressure, some fishes can associate the presence of divers with a risk of being targeted. There is therefore potential for diver presence to cause avoidance behavior which could lead to lowered fish counts and inaccurate estimates of differences between heavily-fished and lightly-fished locations.

One of the main sources of disturbance caused by most SCUBA divers comes from the bubbles released by open circuit SCUBA equipment when divers exhale. Those bubbles produce both a visual and audible disturbance. Closed circuit rebreathers do not release bubbles during normal operations, and therefore use of rebreathers has the potential to reduce disturbance and possibly therefore reduce avoidance behavior, leading to more accurate counts in some locations.

Because the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) of NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) uses fish surveys by divers on SCUBA to gather data that is used for a variety of management and research purposes---including the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP)---a series of studies were initiated to assess the importance of this issue - and these data are the rebreather component of those comparative surveys.

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Numeric Data Sets > Fish Census
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species Richness
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Rapid assessment studies
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Reef fish census
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Reef fish census > Stationary
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 > Marine Biology > Fish
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish > Fish Assemblages
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS FISH - CORAL REEF
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS FISH BIOMASS
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS FISH SPECIES
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS SPECIES IDENTIFICATION
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS SPECIES IDENTIFICATION - COUNT
NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS SPECIES IDENTIFICATION - ORGANISM LENGTH
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - biological
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - swimmer/diver
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS visual estimate
NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS OSCAR ELTON SETTE
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Pacific Reef and Assessment Monitoring Program
NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
None Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
None CRED
None CREP
None Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
None PIFSC
None RAMP
None Rapid Ecological Assessment
None REA
None Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program
None Reef Fish
None SPC
None Stationary Point Count

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ofu Island (14S169W0013)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Olosega Island (14S169W0014)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Rose Island (Rose Atoll) (14S168W0001)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ofu Island (14S169W0013)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Olosega Island (14S169W0014)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012)
CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Rose Island > Rose Island (Rose Atoll) (14S168W0001)
NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
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: CSV Files
Maintenance Frequency: As Needed
Data Presentation Form: Table (digital)
Entity Attribute Overview:

Raw survey data includes metadata for each survey (where, when, who, area); site characteristics (depth, reef type, habitat); individual reef fish observations identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible (usually species) including size, count, and observation type; and parameters needed to calculate biomass and density. Method is always for closed-circuit rebreather SPC surveys for these data.

Entity Attribute Detail URL: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35991
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 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program and partners

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 360922
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Williams, Ivor D
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: ivor.williams@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5427
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Distributor

CC ID: 363436
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Beck, Brian
Address: 1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20902
Email Address: brian.beck@noaa.gov
Phone: 301-713-4844

Distributor

CC ID: 360924
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Kanemura, Troy T
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: troy.kanemura@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5422
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 360920
Date Effective From: 2016
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
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Originator

CC ID: 360923
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
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: 363438
Date Effective From: 2016
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

Point of Contact

CC ID: 360921
Date Effective From: 2016
Date Effective To:
Contact (Person): Williams, Ivor D
Address: 1845 Wasp Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96818
USA
Email Address: ivor.williams@noaa.gov
Phone: (808)725-5427
Contact Instructions:

Email preferred

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Description:

American Samoa

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 363415
W° Bound: -170.837773
E° Bound: -168.138168
N° Bound: -14.148619
S° Bound: -14.560622
Description

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

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 363416
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 2016-04-15
End: 2016-05-05
Description:

SE1602 REEF FISH SURVEYS

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Security Classification System:

Not applicable

Security Handling Description:

Not applicable

Data Access Policy:

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) and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). 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.

Data Access Constraints:

None

Data Use Constraints:

Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data.

Suggested citation:

Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2016). Rebreather Fish Surveys in American Samoa. NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35774.

Metadata Access Constraints:

None

Metadata Use Constraints:

None

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 360940
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157573
Distributor:
File Name: V0_FISH_REA SPC-CCR SAMOA 2016.csv
Description:

Observations from stationary point count surveys of coral reef fishes conducted on closed circuit rebreathers by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at various islands in American Samoa (SE1602) in 2016.

File Type (Deprecated): csv (comma-separated values)
Distribution Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text)

Distribution 2

CC ID: 360939
Download URL: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
Distributor: Brian Beck (2016 - Present)
File Name: PIFSC_H-15-07_2015_SOP_Fish.pdf
Description:

NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Fish Surveys.

File Type (Deprecated): PDF
Distribution Format: PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 360929
URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/fish.php
URL Type:
Online Resource

URL 2

CC ID: 360930
URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/img/diver_counting_fish_using_spc_sm.jpg
URL Type:
Browse Graphic
Diver counting coral reef fishes at Pearl and Hermes Reef using the SPC method.
File Resource Format: JPG
Description:

Diver counting coral reef fishes at Pearl and Hermes Reef using the SPC method.

URL 3

CC ID: 360931
URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php#new_stationary_point_count
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: PHP
Description:

NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, description of Stationary Point Count (nSPC) Method used to survey coral reef fishes (2007-Present).

URL 4

CC ID: 360932
URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/reef_fish_survey_methods_and_data.pdf
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: PDF
Description:

Overview of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) reef fish survey methods and data.

URL 5

CC ID: 360933
URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/pacific_ramp.php
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: PHP
Description:

Official NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) project page.

URL 6

CC ID: 363225
URL: https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods/fish_surveys/rapid_ecological_assessment_of_fish-survey_method_training.php
URL Type:
Online Resource
File Resource Format: PHP
Description:

NOAA PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) website, fish survey methods training page

Technical Environment

Description:

PIFSC Oracle database view: V0_FISH_REA

Data Quality

Accuracy:

Observations at each site were made by divers who have been trained, and met minimum standards in identifying species present at the survey locations and in estimating size of fishes in survey counts. However, all species identifications are made visually, sometimes in situations where a fish is only briefly seen.

Completeness Report:

Only shallow water (0 to 30 meter depth range) hard-bottom habitats are surveyed. The survey sites were randomly selected using a systematic process based on available habitat and bathymetric data. Although efforts are made to include broad spatial coverage of surveys at each island, weather conditions and other environmental constraints may have prevented the team from surveying exposed reef areas.

Conceptual Consistency:

The same methods of data collection are used at each surveyed site, and periodic examination of the data is conducted throughout each mission to check for diver bias or other discrepancies.

Quality Control Procedures Employed:

Observations, including species identification and sizing, are periodically checked during expeditions for consistency between divers. Data entry is usually conducted on the same day as the surveys using a data entry interface with several data controls employed, and are quality controlled by the divers using a two-person system. Following a mission, the data is then run through rigorous quality control checks by the data management team before the data are migrated to the Oracle database. Given the size of the data set, there remains some possibility of typographical or other errors.

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:

Stationary Point Count survey of coral reef fish methodology, employed by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) since 2007.

Sources

Ayotte, P., K. McCoy, A. Heenan, I. Williams, and J. Zamzow. 2015. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division standard operating procedures: data collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment fish surveys. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96818-5007. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-15-07, 33 p.

CC ID: 360937
Contact Type: Organization
Contact Name: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC
Publish Date: 2015-12-21
Citation URL: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/admin/PIFSC_Admin_Rep_15-07.pdf

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 360938
Description:

For the current NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) stationary point count (SPC) method, pairs of divers record the number, size, and species of all fishes observed within visually estimated cylinders 15 meters (m) in diameter. At the start of a survey dive, a pair of divers first lay down a 30-m transect line along a predetermined depth contour, and then the two divers move to the 7.5- and 22.5-m marks on that line; these marks serve as the centers of two adjacent SPC cylinders. During the first 5 minutes of a survey, the divers create a list of the fish species observed in or passing through their cylinder. After the first 5 minutes, divers systematically proceed down their species lists, counting and estimating the size (total length, or TL) of each fish present to the nearest centimeter. Species seen after the 5 minutes or outside of the survey area are recorded as present.

Process Contact: Ayotte, Paula M
Phone (Voice): (808)725-5403
Email Address: paula.ayotte@noaa.gov
Source: Ayotte, P., K. McCoy, A. Heenan, I. Williams, and J. Zamzow. 2015. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division standard operating procedures: data collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment fish surveys. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96818-5007. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-15-07, 33 p.

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity View: V0_FISH_REA

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 35774
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:35774
Metadata Record Created By: Troy T Kanemura
Metadata Record Created: 2016-11-23 18:02+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2023-10-17 16:12+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2017-11-22
Owner Org: PIFSC
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2017-11-22
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2018-11-22