Coral reef ecosystem marine protected area monitoring in Fagamalo, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2015

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 11:20 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 01, 2016 at 12:00 AM

In 2010 the village of Fagamalo, Tutuila, American Samoa, designated a no-take Marine Protected Area that sees the protection of 2.25 square kilometers of ocean. Because little is known regarding the status of living marine communities in the area, and at the request of the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, NOAA scientists conducted surveys to assess the status of the benthic communities and establish a baseline against which to compare temporal change. 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) according to protocols established by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP). In 2015 data were collected at 18 stratified randomly selected sites. These data include photoquadrat benthic images. Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0146681. These photos have been analyzed for benthic cover (documented separately). Data from coral demographic surveys, including 1) an assessment of coral colony density and size-class distribution, 2) an assessment of coral recruitment, and 3) an evaluation of coral colony mortality, disease, and bleaching, were also collected for the selected monitoring sites and are also documented separately by CREP.

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Site Information (Fagamalo 2015).csv

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GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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Full Metadata Record

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@type	dcat:Dataset
accessLevel	non-public
contactPoint	{ "fn": "Not provided - Contact data.gov", "hasEmail": "mailto:datagovsupport@gsa.gov" }
describedByType	application/octet-steam
description	In 2010 the village of Fagamalo, Tutuila, American Samoa, designated a no-take Marine Protected Area that sees the protection of 2.25 square kilometers of ocean. Because little is known regarding the status of living marine communities in the area, and at the request of the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, NOAA scientists conducted surveys to assess the status of the benthic communities and establish a baseline against which to compare temporal change. 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) according to protocols established by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP). In 2015 data were collected at 18 stratified randomly selected sites. These data include photoquadrat benthic images. Data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive, accession #0146681. These photos have been analyzed for benthic cover (documented separately). Data from coral demographic surveys, including 1) an assessment of coral colony density and size-class distribution, 2) an assessment of coral recruitment, and 3) an evaluation of coral colony mortality, disease, and bleaching, were also collected for the selected monitoring sites and are also documented separately by CREP.
distribution	[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Site Information (Fagamalo 2015).csv", "accessURL": "https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146681", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "List of survey sites, including site id, location (latitude/longitude), and survey date, where photoquads were collected.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page", "accessURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2026. GCMD Keywords, Version 24. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "Full Metadata Record", "accessURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/31223", "mediaType": "text/html", "description": "View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.", "describedByType": "application/octet-stream" } ]
identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/iso/xml/31223.xml
issued	2016-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "1083", "Coral reef ecosystem monitoring training and capacity building to support improved resource management in American Samoa", "Visual Images > Habitats", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities", "PHOTOQUADRAT IMAGES", "imagery", "Coral Reef Conservation Program", "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; Ecosystem Sciences Division; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Fagamalo (14S170W0047)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Tutuila Island > Fagamalo (14S170W0047)", "South Pacific Ocean", "CRED", "CREP", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "Fagamalo", "PIFSC", "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "Benthic Missions" ]
landingPage	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/31223
language	[]
license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2016-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "@type": "org:Organization" }
rights	otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial	-170.79879018,-14.29253127,-170.81195363,-14.28060332
temporal	2015-10-26T00:00:00+00:00/2015-11-13T00:00:00+00:00
theme	[ "geospatial" ]
title	Coral reef ecosystem marine protected area monitoring in Fagamalo, American Samoa: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2015

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