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    • Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020

    Metadata Updated: March 16, 2024

    The data described herein are part of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project aimed establishing a baseline and assessing the status and trends for coral demographics and benthic cover and composition via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys conducted by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) -former Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP), at Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2012, 2015, and 2020.

    Photoquadrat benthic images were collected in 2012, 2015, and 2020 only, via belt transect surveys of coral demography according to protocols established by ESD in 2012 and by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in 2015.

    In 2012 through 2015, the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga'alu benthic coral reef community, and a one-stage StRS design in 2020. 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.

    Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0146682. The 2015 and 2020 photos have been analyzed for benthic cover (documented separately).

    Data from coral demographic surveys in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2020, in addition benthic cover data from line-point intercept surveys in 2012 were also collected ESD and are documented separately.

    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.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2022 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date March 16, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2022 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:25371
    Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25371., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) when using the data. Example Cite as: Vargas-Angel, Bernardo; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2020). Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa since 2012: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2012, 2015, 2020. [Access Date], 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.
    Bbox East Long -170.6787708
    Bbox North Lat -14.28890124
    Bbox South Lat -14.29325329
    Bbox West Long -170.6808019
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned
    Harvest Object Id 5e591f9a-c381-4a71-a715-0fc6a3f1fbdb
    Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
    Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage Benthic photographs were collected during belt transect surveys of corals by the NOAA Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) following the same protocol in 2015 to that established by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP), and by a slightly different protocol in 2012 established by CREP.
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-170.6808019, -14.29325329], [-170.6787708, -14.29325329], [-170.6787708, -14.28890124], [-170.6808019, -14.28890124], [-170.6808019, -14.29325329]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2012-08-14
    Temporal Extent End 2012-08-16

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