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Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2020 (NCEI Accession 0259389)

Metadata Updated: December 1, 2023

The benthic images provided here are part of the CRCP-funded project aimed at establishing baseline Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys for coral reef benthic cover and composition at Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa. In 2020, the survey implemented a one -stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic coral reef community. The survey domain encompassed the majority of the mapped area of reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0–30 m depth range. The stratification scheme included cardinal position (i.e., north and south), reef zone (i.e., backreef and forereef), and depth (i.e., shallow: >0–6 m and mid-depth: >6–18 m). Sampling effort allocation was determined based on strata area and sites randomly located within strata. The StRS design effectively reduces estimate variance through stratification using environmental covariates and by sampling more sites rather than more transects per site. Therefore, site-to-site comparisons should proceed with caution.

In 2020, thirty images were collected along one, haphazardly laid, 30-m transects. Still photographs were collected to record the benthic community composition at predetermined points along belt transect with a high-resolution digital camera mounted on a pole. Photographs were taken every 1 m from the 1 m to the 30 m mark. This work generates 30 photographs per site, which are later analyzed by ESD staff and partners using the computer program CoralNet. This analysis is the basis for estimating benthic cover and composition at each site, which is accessible on a separate NCEI accession.

Survey protocols followed the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program methodologies historically implemented by NOAA's Ecosystem Sciences Division.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Date 2023-04-30T14:16:50Z
Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
Reference Date(s) September 12, 2022 (publication)
Frequency Of Update asNeeded

Metadata Source

Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

Graphic Preview

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Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date 2023-04-30T14:16:50Z
Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2023
Reference Date(s) September 12, 2022 (publication)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0259389
Access Constraints Cite as: Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2022). Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2020 (NCEI Accession 0259389). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0259389. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Bbox East Long -170.672613
Bbox North Lat -14.28678
Bbox South Lat -14.293791
Bbox West Long -170.681125
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update asNeeded
Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0259389
Graphic Preview Type PNG
Harvest Object Id 6f25da7b-c4a8-4b8f-a7cd-66834ffe5b97
Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
Licence accessLevel: Public
Lineage
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-170.681125, -14.293791], [-170.672613, -14.293791], [-170.672613, -14.28678], [-170.681125, -14.28678], [-170.681125, -14.293791]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2020-01-15
Temporal Extent End 2020-01-24

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