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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa from 2015-10-29 to 2015-11-11 (NCEI Accession 0169725)

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The benthic cover data described herein were generated by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) 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 sites in Fagaʻalu Bay in 2015 during belt transect surveys of coral demography. The benthic images and coral demography data are described and archived separately.
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa from 2015-10-29 to 2015-11-11 (NCEI Accession 0169725). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169725. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0169725
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Distribution Formats
  • Originator data format
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information(link is external)
+1-301-713-3277
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information(link is external)
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2015-10-29 to 2015-11-11
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -170.681
East: -170.674
South: -14.2948
North: -14.287
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Holst Rice, S., Messina, A. T., Biggs, T., Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo, 1965-, & Whitall, D. R. (2 C.E.). Baseline assessment of Fagaʻalu Watershed : a ridge to reef assessment in support of sediment reduction activities and future evaluation of their success. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Office for Coastal Management, Coral Reef Conservation Program. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5bk19c3
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2022: Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa: benthic cover derived from analysis of benthic images collected during belt transect surveys of coral demography in 2015 and 2020, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/32707.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2018-01-27
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Purpose These data are part of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project aimed at establishing baseline data for benthic cover and composition via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at Faga'alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa between 2012 and 2015. In August 2012 Faga’alu watershed in American Samoa was adopted by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Watershed Partnership Initiative as a priority site, with the objective to reduce inputs of land-based sources of pollution to nearby coastal areas and coral reefs within the watershed. As a result, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) invested in 1) the collection of baseline data for corals in Faga’alu Bay (REA surveys conducted by NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program [CREP]), and 2) the monitoring of sediment loads in Faga’alu Stream to document pre- and post-mitigation levels of sedimentation in the stream and the receiving waters below. Led by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, the overall goal of this capacity-building CRCP-funded project is to establish and eventually turn over the long-term monitoring to the local partners in the jurisdiction, thereby meeting the goals of the Watershed Partnership Initiative.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa from 2015-10-29 to 2015-11-11 (NCEI Accession 0169725). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169725. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Collaborators
Contributors
Resource Providers
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Funding Agency: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Benthic
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • 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 > Fleshy Macroalgae
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Turf Algae
  • 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 > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect monitoring
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Photographic Analysis
  • 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 > OctoCoral Cover
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Contributing Organizations
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Provider Instruments
  • software
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Faga'alu (14S170W0005)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Pago Pago Harbor > Faga'alu (14S170W0005)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CRCP Project
  • 917
  • Comprehensive baseline assessment and pilot test of outcome performance measures in Faga'alu Bay, American Samoa
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Keywords Send2NCEI Submission Package ID
  • 7263PL
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Fagaʻalu, American Samoa from 2015-10-29 to 2015-11-11 (NCEI Accession 0169725). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169725. Accessed [date].
  • NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015: CREP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. CREP 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 CREP principal investigators. 2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by CREP, proper acknowledgement of both CREP 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, CREP requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections. 4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the CREP 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 Program (CREP), 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.”
Access Constraints
  • 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.
Fees
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Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2018-01-27T01:45:06Z - NCEI Accession 0169725 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Parameter or Variable: REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER (calculated); Units: percent; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: software; Sampling and Analyzing Method: See the published standard operating procedures: Lozada-Misa P, Schumacher BD, Vargas-Angel B. 2017. Analysis of benthic survey images via CoralNet : a summary of standard operating procedures and guidelines. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Administrative Report, H-17-02, 169 p. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/AR-PIFSC-H-17-02.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • photograph
Last Modified: 2025-05-16T15:33:44Z
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