74830 Nu'uuli LBSP: Coral Demography Data Set Published / External 64847 LBSP Project Completed 2024 2025 This metadata record describes the coral demographic data of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa. Surveys were conducted by snorkelers from the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), in collaboration American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the Coral Reef Advisory Group. Benthic coral demographic surveys were conducted within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa in November 2024. Surveys were conducted at 20 randomly-selected sites and provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level (where possible) and genus level for juveniles. The survey design and site selection of stratified-random sites (StRS) follows protocols established by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Data from benthic surveys of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef establishes a comprehensive biological baseline for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic composition and coral demography. These efforts feed into the higher-level CRCP objectives by establishing an in-situ tracking system to assess the effects of management and mitigation strategies and activities in the target watersheds to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts on coral reefs. The focal point of this project was to establish a comprehensive ecological and water quality baseline for Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef. This work aims at identifying measurable spatial differences in the structure and composition of the benthic and coral community at Nu'uuli that can be explained by measurable spatial patterns of water quality (nutrients and sediments) and environmental conditions (pH, temperature, salinity). This work is of fundamental importance for the development of future watershed management plans in Nu'uuli and will enable Federal and jurisdictional resource managers to more effectively assess the effectiveness of watershed management actions reducing land-based pollution and impacts to the adjacent coral reef ecosystems. This project builds on prior baseline and status and trends assessments conducted in 2012, 2015, and 2020 in Faga'alu Bay (U.S. Task Force watershed priority site) and Vatia (Territorial priority watershed) and in 2022 in Aua Reef (Territorial priority watershed) to address National and Jurisdictional goals to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts in coral reef ecosystems. This project is part of a larger CRCP-funded project ID 31303: "Linking watershed management activities to reef health in American Samoa". Subsurface temperature recordings and water samples also were collected as part of this baseline assessment for the analysis of dissolved nutrients (nitrate + nitrite, phosphate, ammonia), total suspended solids, chlorophyll-a, temperature, salinity, and seawater pH. These data are documented and archived separately. https://doi.org/10.25921/b3t7-5a64 NOAA NCEI 2025-09-26 Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/HEXACORALS > HARD OR STONY CORALS Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme CRCP Project 31454 Theme CRCP Project Develop monitoring capacity of American Samoan jurisdictional partners and observing LBSP impacts on coral reefs Theme CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Numeric Data Sets > Biology Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Damage Assessment > Pollution Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Coral Colony Size and Condition Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological 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 Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Theme CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - CENSUS Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - COLONY SIZE Theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS in situ Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - biological Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - coral reef Theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS survey - swimmer/diver Theme NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Coral Reef Conservation Program Theme NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division Theme ARP Theme Archipelagic Research Program Theme CRCP Theme ESD Theme Ecosystem Sciences Division Theme LBSP Theme PIFSC Theme Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Theme land-based source pollution Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Aua (14S170W0028) Spatial CoRIS Place Thesaurus OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Tutuila Island > Aua (14S170W0028) Spatial NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS South Pacific Ocean Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Honolulu HI USA Data Set CSV Files None Planned Table (digital) Raw data include individual colony records with the corresponding physical data which reflect the description of the site. An individual colony record for adult corals includes colony species/genus identification, morphology, maximum diameter (centimeter), percent old dead, percent recent dead, cause of recent dead general category, cause of recent dead specific category, condition, extent and severity. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/74878 Juvenile coral colony records include colony species/genus identification, morphology, and size information (cm). https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/74879 The physical record for juvenile and adult corals includes the following: region, island, site, date (day, month, year), latitude (decimal degrees), longitude (decimal degrees), transect, segment, segment length, segment width, minimum depth (feet), and maximum depth. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. PIFSC, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Archipelagic Research Program and funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program 74878 Coral Belt Adult Data Dictionary Published / External Completed Data Table Yes GISDAT This entity describes the columns in the dataset for coral belt observations (adult) 1 ROUNDID NUMERIC 22 Yes No 28 0 Active Unique identifier for ROUND record. 2 MISSIONID TEXT 30 Yes No Active Mission identifier. 3 REGION TEXT 20 Yes No Active Code for REGION_NAME. 4 REGION_NAME TEXT 30 No No Active The name of the region surveyed in the Pacific Islands region: American Samoa, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Mariana Archipelago, main Hawaiian Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 5 ISLANDCODE TEXT 15 No No Active 3-letter code for ISLAND. 6 ISLAND TEXT 150 No No Active Name of island or atoll surveyed in the Pacific Islands region (REGION_NAME). 7 SITE TEXT 150 Yes No Active The code for the site surveyed at the island or atoll (ISLAND). Combines a 3-letter island code (ISLANDCODE) with a 2-4 digit site number. 8 LATITUDE NUMERIC 22 No No 38 Active Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the given SITE. 9 LONGITUDE NUMERIC 22 No No Active Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84 for the given SITE. 11 REEF_ZONE TEXT 150 No No Active The zone for the given SITE (Forereef, Backreef, Protected Slope, Lagoon). 12 HABITAT_TYPE TEXT 30 No No Active Habitat type (e.g., aggregate reef, reef rubble, pavement) for the given SITE. 12 SITE_MIN_DEPTH NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Minimum SITE depth (ft). All NULL values because this data was not collected for this project. 13 SITE_MAX_DEPTH NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Maximum SITE depth (ft). All NULL values because this data was not collected for this project. 14 DEPTH_BIN TEXT 60 No No Active Classification of depth (shallow, mid, deep) based on midpoint between minimum and maximum depths of transect(s) of a given SITE. Shallow: >0-6 m, Mid: >6-18 m, Deep: >18-30 m 14 DEPTH_CODE TEXT 1 No No Active Single-letter code for DEPTH_BIN (S, M, D). 14 SITEVISITID NUMERIC 22 Yes No Active Unique identifier created each time a SITE is surveyed on a DATE_. 15 DATE_ DATE 7 Yes No Active Local date the survey was conducted (YYYY-MM-DD). 16 OBS_DAY NUMERIC 22 No No Active Numeric day the survey was conducted (DATE_). 17 OBS_MONTH NUMERIC 22 No No 38 Active Numeric month the survey was conducted (DATE_). 18 OBS_YEAR NUMERIC 22 No No Active 4-digit year the survey was conducted (DATE_). 23 NO_SURVEY_YN NUMERIC 22 No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate transect was not surveyed (Added Sept. 2014). 23 PHOTOS_TAKEN NUMERIC 22 No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate that photographs were taken at the transect. 0 indicates no photographs were taken (Added in 2018). 24 DIVER TEXT 150 Yes No Active Initials of diver that conducted the survey. NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1. 25 METHODNAME TEXT 150 Yes No Active References the coral belt survey method. 25 SEGMENTID NUMERIC 22 No No Active Unique ID number for each segment surveyed during the same NCRMP mission (Added in 2018). 25 TRANSECTID NUMERIC 22 No No Active Unique transect ID number assigned to each transect during the same NCRMP mission (Added in 2018). 25 TRANSECTNUM NUMERIC No No Active Used from 2013-2017 as a unique identifier for each transect surveyed within a SITE. In 2018, TRANSECTNUM = 2 indicates a re-survey of the same transect by an additional diver. 27 SEGMENT TEXT 150 No No Active Segment number (1-7). Segments are within a TRANSECT and are typically 1 x 2.5 m in size and situated 2.5 m apart. 28 SEGLENGTH NUMERIC 22 No No 28 8 Active Segment length (m). 29 NO_COLONY_OBSERVED NUMERIC No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate that no coral colonies were observed. 0 indicates corals were present (Added in 2018). 29 SEGWIDTH NUMERIC 22 No No 38 8 Active Segment width (m). 31 COLONYID NUMERIC 22 No No 38 0 Active Coral colony identifier. NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1 or TAXONCODE/SPECIES = 'AAAA'. 32 COLONYLENGTH NUMERIC 22 No No 38 8 Active Length of coral colony (cm). Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. 33 MORPH_CODE TEXT 5 No No Active Code for MORPHOLOGY. 34 MORPHOLOGY TEXT 50 No No Active Coral morphology type (branching, columnar, encrusting, etc.). Required as of 2014. Does not apply to TAXONCODE/SPECIES = 'CALG' 35 FRAGMENT_YN NUMERIC No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate that the observed coral colony is a fragment and not attached to the substrate. 0 indicates the coral was not a fragment (Added in 2018). 36 OLDDEAD NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Percentage of older dead coral (0-100%), as opposed to recently dead coral recorded in RECENTDEAD. Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. 37 RECENTDEAD NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Percentage of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral (0-100%), as opposed to older dead coral recorded in OLDDEAD. Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. Deprecated, replaced by RECENTDEAD_1. 37 RECENTDEAD_1 NUMERIC No No Active Percentage of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral (0-100%), as opposed to older dead coral recorded in OLDDEAD. Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. Replaces RECENTDEAD. 38 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_CODE_1 TEXT 4 No No Active Code for RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_1. Replaces RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_CODE. 38 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_1 TEXT No No Active General cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_1. Required if RECENTDEAD_1 is >0. 39 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_CODE_1 TEXT 4 No No Active Code for RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_DESC_1. Replaces RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_CODE. 39 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_DESC_1 TEXT No No Active Specific cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_1. Required if RECENTDEAD_1 is >0. 40 RECENTDEAD_2 NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Percentage of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral. Only used if more than one cause of coral mortality was observed (RECENTDEAD_1 >0). 41 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_CODE_2 TEXT 4 No No Active Code for RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_2. 41 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_2 TEXT No No Active General cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_2. Required if RECENTDEAD_2 is >0. 42 CONDITION_1 NUMERIC No No Active Code for CONDITION_1_DESC. 42 RECENTDEAD_3 NUMERIC No No Active Percentage of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral. Only used if more than two causes of coral mortality were observed (RECENTDEAD_1 and RECENTDEAD_2 >0). 42 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_CODE_3 TEXT No No Active Code for RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_3. 42 RECENT_GENERAL_CAUSE_DESC_3 TEXT No No Active General cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_3. Required if RECENTDEAD_3 is >0. 42 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_CODE_2 TEXT 4 No No Active Code for RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_DESC_2. 42 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_CODE_3 TEXT No No Active Specific cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_3. Required if RECENTDEAD_3 is >0. 42 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_DESC_2 TEXT No No Active Specific cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_2. Required if RECENTDEAD_2 is >0. 42 RECENT_SPECIFIC_CAUSE_DESC_3 TEXT No No Active Specific cause of recently dead (freshly denuded skeleton not fouled by algae) coral recorded in RECENTDEAD_3. Required if RECENTDEAD_3 is >0. 43 COND TEXT 15 No No Active Code for COND_DESCRIPTION. 43 CONDITION_1_DESC TEXT No No Active Condition/disease observed affecting the coral colony (e.g., bleaching, infection, infestation, pigmentation response, growth anomaly, etc.), but which does not cause RECENT DEAD. 44 COND_DESCRIPTION TEXT 150 No No Active Condition/disease observed affecting the coral colony (e.g., bleaching, infection, infestation, pigmentation response, growth anomaly, etc.), but which does not cause RECENT DEAD. 44 EXTENT NUMERIC 22 No No 38 0 Active Extent of condition/disease observed on coral colony (1-100). Required if COND is recorded (<> 'NDZ). Value -9 is used as placeholder if COND was recorded and EXTENT was not. 44 EXTENT_1 NUMERIC No No Active Extent of condition/disease observed on coral colony (1-100). Required if CONDITION_1 is recorded (<> 'NDZ). Value -9 is used as placeholder if COND was recorded and EXTENT was not. 44 SEVERITY_1 NUMERIC No No Active Severity of condition/disease observed on coral colony (scale of 1-5 from least to most severe). SEVERITY required only if COND = BLE or BLP. Value -9 is used as placeholder if SEVERITY was required and not recorded. 45 CONDITION_2 TEXT No No Active Code for CONDITION_1_DESC. 45 CONDITION_2_DESC TEXT No No Active Condition/disease observed affecting the coral colony (e.g., bleaching, infection, infestation, pigmentation response, growth anomaly, etc.), but which does not cause RECENT DEAD. 45 CONDITION_3 TEXT No No Active Code for CONDITION_1_DESC. 45 CONDITION_3_DESC TEXT No No Active Condition/disease observed affecting the coral colony (e.g., bleaching, infection, infestation, pigmentation response, growth anomaly, etc.), but which does not cause RECENT DEAD. 45 EXTENT_2 NUMERIC No No Active Extent of condition/disease observed on coral colony (1-100). Required if CONDITION_1 is recorded (<> 'NDZ). Value -9 is used as placeholder if COND was recorded and EXTENT was not. 45 EXTENT_3 NUMERIC No No Active Extent of condition/disease observed on coral colony (1-100). Required if CONDITION_1 is recorded (<> 'NDZ). Value -9 is used as placeholder if COND was recorded and EXTENT was not. 45 SEVERITY NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Severity of condition/disease observed on coral colony (scale of 1-5 from least to most severe). SEVERITY required only if COND = BLE, BLP, PTR, or SGA. Value -9 is used as placeholder if SEVERITY was required and not recorded. 45 SEVERITY_2 NUMERIC No No Active Severity of condition/disease observed on coral colony (scale of 1-5 from least to most severe). SEVERITY required only if COND = BLE or BLP. Value -9 is used as placeholder if SEVERITY was required and not recorded. 45 SEVERITY_3 NUMERIC No No Active Severity of condition/disease observed on coral colony (scale of 1-5 from least to most severe). SEVERITY required only if COND = BLE or BLP. Value -9 is used as placeholder if SEVERITY was required and not recorded. 46 SPECIES TEXT No No Active 4-letter code for TAXONNAME. Code AAAA represents a SEGMENT that was surveyed and no individual colonies were found. NULL if TRANSECT was not surveyed (NO_SURVEY_YN = -1). 46 TAXONCODE TEXT 150 No No Active 4-letter code for TAXONNAME. Code AAAA represents a SEGMENT that was surveyed and no individual colonies were found. NULL if TRANSECT was not surveyed (NO_SURVEY_YN = -1). 46 TAXONNAME TEXT 765 No No Active Scientific name of observed organism to the finest taxonomic resolution that divers can identify a colony to, either to species or genus level identification (see RANK). NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1. 47 RANK TEXT 20 No No Active Lowest defined rank in taxonomic hierarchy, from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. 48 PHYLUM TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Phylum of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 49 CLASS TEXT 60 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Class of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 50 S_ORDER TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Order of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 51 FAMILY TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Family of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 52 GENUS_CODE TEXT 12 No No Active 4-letter code for GENUS. 53 GENUS TEXT 300 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Genus name of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 54 SCIENTIFIC_NAME TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: the true scientific name (genus and species) of the observed organism (TAXONNAME). If blank, organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). 56 APHIAID TEXT 20 No No Active Aphia ID from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. Null if organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). If value = 0, the species does not exist in WoRMS. 74879 Coral Belt Juvenile Data Dictionary Published / External Completed Data Table Yes GISDAT This entity describes the columns in the dataset for coral belt observations (juvenile) 1 ROUNDID NUMERIC 22 Yes No 28 0 Active Unique Identifier for ROUND record. 2 MISSIONID TEXT 30 Yes No Active Mission Identifier. 3 REGION TEXT 20 Yes No Active Code for REGION_NAME. 4 REGION_NAME TEXT 30 No No Active The name of the region surveyed in the Pacific Islands region: American Samoa, Pacific Remote Island Areas, Mariana Archipelago, main Hawaiian Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 5 ISLANDCODE TEXT 15 No No Active 3-letter code for ISLAND. 6 ISLAND TEXT 150 No No Active Name of island or atoll surveyed in the Pacific Islands region (REGION_NAME). 7 SITE TEXT 150 Yes No Active The code for the site surveyed at the island or atoll (ISLAND). Combines a 3-letter island code (ISLANDCODE) with a 2-4 digit site number. 8 LATITUDE NUMERIC 22 No No Active Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, for the given SITE. 9 LONGITUDE NUMERIC 22 No No 38 Active Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84 for the given SITE. 11 REEF_ZONE TEXT 150 No No Active The zone for the given SITE (Forereef, Backreef, Protected Slope, Lagoon). 12 HABITAT_TYPE TEXT 30 No No Active Habitat type (e.g., aggregate reef, reef rubble, pavement) for the given SITE. 12 SITE_MIN_DEPTH NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Minimum SITE depth (ft). All NULL values because this data was not collected for this project. 13 SITE_MAX_DEPTH NUMERIC 22 No No 5 0 Active Maximum SITE depth (ft). All NULL values because this data was not collected for this project. 14 DEPTH_BIN TEXT 60 No No Active Classification of depth (shallow, mid, deep) based on midpoint between minimum and maximum depths of transect(s) for the given SITE. Shallow: >0-6 m, Mid: >6-18 m, Deep: >18-30 m 14 DEPTH_CODE TEXT 1 No No Active Single-letter code for DEPTH_BIN (S, M, D). 14 SITEVISITID NUMERIC 22 Yes No 38 Active Unique identifier created each time a SITE is surveyed on a DATE_. 15 DATE_ DATE 7 Yes No Active Local date the survey was conducted (YYYY-MM-DD). 16 OBS_DAY NUMERIC 22 No No 38 Active Numeric day the survey was conducted (DATE_). 17 OBS_MONTH NUMERIC 22 No No Active Numeric month the survey was conducted (DATE_). 18 OBS_YEAR NUMERIC 22 No No 38 Active 4-digit year the survey was conducted (DATE_). 22 NO_SURVEY_YN NUMERIC No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate TRANSECT was not surveyed (Added Sept. 2014). 22 PHOTOS_TAKEN NUMERIC No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate that photographs were taken at the transect. 0 indicates no photographs were taken (Added in 2018). 23 DIVER TEXT 150 Yes No Active Initials of diver that conducted the survey. NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1. 23 METHODNAME TEXT 150 Yes No Active References the coral belt survey method. 24 TRANSECTID NUMERIC No No Active Unique transect ID number assigned to each transect during the same NCRMP mission (Added in 2018). 24 TRANSECTNUM NUMERIC No No Active Unique identifier for each transect surveyed within a SITE. 26 SEGMENTID NUMERIC No No Active Unique ID number for each segment surveyed during the same NCRMP mission. 27 SEGMENT TEXT 150 No No Active Segment number (1-7). Segments are within a TRANSECT and are typically 1 x 1 m in size and situated 2.5 m apart. 28 SEGLENGTH NUMERIC 22 No No 28 8 Active Segment length (m). 28 SEGWIDTH NUMERIC 22 No No 38 8 Active Segment width (m), usually 1 m. 29 NO_COLONY_OBSERVED NUMERIC No No Active Flag (-1) to indicate that no coral colonies were observed. 0 indicates corals were present (Added in 2018). 30 COLONYID NUMERIC 22 No No 28 0 Active Coral colony identifier. NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1 or TAXONCODE/SPECIES = 'AAAA'. 31 COLONYLENGTH NUMERIC 22 No No 38 8 Active Length of juvenile coral colony (<=5 cm). Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. 31 COLONYWIDTH NUMERIC 22 No No 28 8 Active Width of juvenile coral colony (<=5 cm). Required. Value -9 is a placeholder and represents a missing value. 32 MORPH_CODE TEXT 5 No No Active Code for MORPHOLOGY. 33 MORPHOLOGY TEXT 50 No No Active Coral morphology type (branching, columnar, encrusting, etc.). Required. 35 TAXONCODE TEXT 150 No No Active 4-letter code for TAXONNAME. Code AAAA represents a SEGMENT that was surveyed and no individual colonies were found. NULL if transect was not surveyed (NO_SURVEY_YN = -1). 35 TAXONNAME TEXT 765 No No Active Scientific name of observed organism to the finest taxonomic resolution that divers can identify a colony to, either to species or genus level identification (see RANK). NULL if NO_SURVEY_YN = -1. 36 RANK TEXT 20 No No Active Lowest defined rank in taxonomic hierarchy, from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. 37 PHYLUM TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Phylum of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 38 CLASS TEXT 60 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Class of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 39 S_ORDER TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Order of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 40 FAMILY TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Family of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 41 GENUS_CODE TEXT 12 No No Active 4-letter code for GENUS. 42 GENUS TEXT 300 No No Active Taxonomic classification: Genus name of observed organism (TAXONNAME). 43 SCIENTIFIC_NAME TEXT 255 No No Active Taxonomic classification: the true scientific name (genus and species) of the observed organism (TAXONNAME). If NULL, organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). 45 APHIAID TEXT 20 No No Active Aphia ID from the World Registry of Marine Species (WoRMS) database. Null if organism not identified to species taxonomic level (see RANK). If value = 0, species does not exist in WoRMS. Data Steward 2024 Person Smith, Joy joy.smith@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Bldg 176 Honolulu HI 96818 USA Email preferred Distributor 2017 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 2017 Person Kanemura, Troy T troy.kanemura@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA (808)725-5422 Email preferred Metadata Contact 2022 Person Luers, Lori H lori.luers@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Honolulu HI 96818 USA Metadata Contact 2021 2022 Person Olenski, Brooke brooke.olenski@noaa.gov Metadata Contact 2015 2020 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. Originator 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 Funders Point of Contact 2022 Person Smith, Joy joy.smith@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Bldg 176 Honolulu HI 96818 USA Point of Contact 2015 2024 Person Smith, Joy joy.smith@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Bldg 176 Honolulu HI 96818 USA Email preferred Ground Condition Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, Tutuila, American Samoa -170.7107 -170.6999 -14.31784 -14.32444 November 2024 fly-in mission to American Samoa (MP2505), location and date range of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys at stratified-random Sites (StRS) on Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef. Range 2024-11-11 2024-11-21 Time frame of coral demographic surveys of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef in 2024 during the NOAA PIFSC ESD fly-in mission to American Samoa (MP2505). Custom Unclassified Not applicable Not applicable 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 can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. None Please cite NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data. Example Cite as: Smith, Joy; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2025). Benthic Surveys in Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys in 2024. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. None None https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0307838 2017 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 ESD_CORAL_OBS_ADU_Nuuuli_2024.csv Coral demographic data of adult corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa in November 2024. csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0307838 2017 Organization NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information https://ror.org/04r0wrp59 ESD_CORAL_OBS_JUV_Nuuuli_2024.csv Coral demographic data of juvenile corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa in November 2024. csv (comma-separated values) CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) https://coralreef.noaa.gov/issues/lbsp.html NOAA CRCP Land-based Sources of Pollution Online Resource HTML NOAA CRCP page 'Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution'; includes other related links https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/ecosystems/coral-reefs-pacific Online Resource PHP Overview of NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division, Archipelagic Research Program's methods to assess corals. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/pacific-islands#science PIFSC website Online Resource Overview of research and programs at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) PIFSC Oracle database views: v0_coral_obs_e and v0_coral_obs_f (date and location selection criteria required to subset the dataset) Observations were made by experienced benthic survey personnel who have been trained, undergone a series of calibration surveys and coral taxon identification testing, and have met a set of minimum standards for colony assessment and taxon identification in each region. Handheld GPS units were used to locate sites and mark site locations. The taxon code AAAA is included where the segment was surveyed and no individual colonies were found in both the juvenile and adult colony records. These are true zeros. The value -9 is a placeholder or missing value for the fields: colony length, colony width (juveniles), extent, and severity. The value -1 is included where a coral colony is a fragment. While colony lengths are derived from physical measurements, recent and old mortality and disease extent are visual estimates; surveyors calibrate to reduce inter-observer bias Site GPS location and depth are appropriately collected to allow spatiotemporal comparisons. Complete. All planned demographic data were collected. Hard bottom habitats including lagoon and backreef were surveyed. Only shallow water (0 to 4 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. Survey methods were consistent across all sites. The quality control occurred at two major stages - 1) data entry and 2) data management. Data entry quality control included both review and manual error correction steps. Data management quality control included several standard error queries followed by correction prior to ingestion into Oracle database. Yes Unknown Yes No Unknown NCEI-MD Unknown NOAA IRC and NOAA Fisheries ITS resources and assets. The data described here were collected via belt transect surveys of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) following the same protocol to that established by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Baseline surveys for coral reef community structure and demographics in Vatia and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa Organization NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Originator https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17369 PIFSC special publication ; SP-18-002 Vargas-Angel, B., B.D. Schumacher. (2018). Baseline Surveys for Coral Reef Community Structure and Demographics in Vatia and Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Special Publication, SP-18-002, 38 p. 4 Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys, 2019 Update Organization NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Originator https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/23951 NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-PIFSC ; 96 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 of Benthic Coral Reef Communities in Vatia Bay, American Samoa, 2015–2020 Organization NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Originator https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/27437 PIFSC Data Report DR-20-020. Issued 25 November 2020. https://doi.org/10.25923/r7dd-wg50 Vargas-Ángel, B., and Huntington, B. 2010. Status and Trends Assessment of Benthic Coral Reef Communities in Vatia Bay, American Samoa, 2015–2020PIFSC Data Report DR-20-020. Issued 25 November 2020. https://doi.org/10.25923/r7dd-wg50 1 Biological surveys implemented a modified stratified random sampling design to assess the survey domain which encompassed the hard-bottom reef habitat of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and the southern half of the backreef from 0 to 4 m in depth. A digital map of the survey domain was overlaid with grid cells containing hard-bottom reef habitat, and 50 sites were designated as potential sampling units, hereafter referred to as survey sites. Survey sites were visited in the field to groundtruth the hard bottom criteria. Many survey sites did not fit the criteria, and additional sites were created in the field. Each survey site was 250 feet or further from one another. One, haphazardly laid, 30-m transect was the focal point of the coral demographic survey. Coral demographic surveys were conducted within four segments of specified length (2.5 m) and width (1 m) at four specified points on the transect line, for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa in November 2024. Surveys were conducted at 20 randomly-selected sites and provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level (where possible) and genus level for juveniles. The survey design and site selection of stratified-random sites (StRS) follows protocols established by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Person Smith, Joy joy.smith@noaa.gov 1845 Wasp Blvd. Bldg 176 Honolulu HI 96818 USA Ecosystem Sciences Division Standard Operating Procedures: Data Collection for Rapid Ecological Assessment Benthic Surveys, 2019 Update 74878 Entity 74879 Entity 74828 Data Set Cross Reference Additional surveys conducted during the same field mission / sites 67995 Data Set Cross Reference Related CRCP LBSP project 74827 Data Set Cross Reference Additional surveys conducted during the same field mission / sites gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:74830 Michael Akridge 2025-02-03T19:41:56 SysAdmin InPortAdmin 2026-03-04T19:17:17 2025-09-18 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 2025-09-08 1 Year 2026-09-08