Coral reef ecosystem marine protected area monitoring in Fagamalo, American Samoa: benthic cover derived from analysis of benthic images collected during belt transect surveys of coral demography from 2015-10-26 to 2015-11-13 (NCEI Accession 0169724)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 03:03 AM | Dataset Last Updated: March 10, 2018 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 benthic cover data described here were generated from the quantitative analysis of photoquadrat benthic images using image analysis software, whereby random points are projected on each image and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point are identified. The images were collected at 18 randomly selected stratified sites in Fagamalo in 2015 during belt transect surveys of coral demography by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP). The benthic cover data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. The benthic images and coral demography data are described and archived separately.

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https://doi.org/10.7289/v5/ar-pifsc-h-17-02

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Summary Report of Baseline Surveys for Benthic and Fish Communities in the Fagamalo No-Take Marine Protected Area, American Samoa

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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 benthic cover data described here were generated from the quantitative analysis of photoquadrat benthic images using image analysis software, whereby random points are projected on each image and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point are identified. The images were collected at 18 randomly selected stratified sites in Fagamalo in 2015 during belt transect surveys of coral demography by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP). The benthic cover data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. The benthic images and coral demography data are described and archived separately.
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identifier	https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/0169724.xml
issued	2018-01-10T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword	[ "0169724", "BENTHIC COMMUNITIES", "biological data", "BOTTOM TYPE", "CORAL", "HABITAT", "HABITAT - BENTHIC", "photograph", "benthic", "biological", "laboratory analyses", "survey", "survey - biological", "survey - coral reef", "visual observation", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)", "CORAL REEF STUDIES", "South Pacific Ocean", "oceanography", "DOC/NOAA/NMFS > National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce", "CRED", "CREP", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Division", "Coral Reef Ecosystem Program", "PIFSC", "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center", "1083", "Coral reef ecosystem monitoring training and capacity building to support improved resource management in American Samoa", "Numeric Data Sets > Benthic", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Microbiota > Blue-green Algae", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting Macroalgae", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Turf Algae", "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 > Benthos Analysis", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Quadrat Monitoring > Photograph Analysis", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Photographic Analysis", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Rapid Assessment Studies", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Mollusks > Tridacna", "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Sponges", "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 > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover Live percentage", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Octocoral Cover", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Invertebrates > Macroinvertebrates", "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Plants > Seagrass", "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION", "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC", "EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS > CORAL REEFS", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)", "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Fagamalo (14S170W0047)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)", "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Tutuila Island > Fagamalo (14S170W0047)", "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN", "97FGU5" ]
landingPage	https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
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license	https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified	2018-03-10T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher	{ "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information", "@type": "org:Organization" }
references	[ "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/31621", "https://doi.org/10.7289/v5/ar-pifsc-h-17-02", "https://coast.noaa.gov/coral_storage/library/NOAA/CRCP/NMFS/PIFSC/Projects/1083/Fagamalo_summary_CREP.pdf" ]
rights	otherRestrictions
spatial	-170.799,-14.2925,-170.812,-14.2806
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 cover derived from analysis of benthic images collected during belt transect surveys of coral demography from 2015-10-26 to 2015-11-13 (NCEI Accession 0169724)

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