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Benthic Surveys in Aua, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys from 2022-09-12 to 2022-09-22 (NCEI Accession 0277490)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 29, 2026 | Last Modified: 2023-06-08T00:00:00.000+00:00
This dataset includes coral demographic data of Aua Reef, American Samoa, generated from observations by divers of the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). Benthic coral demographic surveys were conducted within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Aua, American Samoa in September 2022. Surveys were conducted at 18 randomly-selected sites and provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level (where possible) and genus level for juveniles. The survey design and site selection of stratified-random sites (StRS) follows protocols established by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Data from benthic surveys of Aua Reef establishes a comprehensive biological baseline for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic composition and coral demography. These efforts feed into the higher-level CRCP objectives by establishing an in-situ tracking system to assess the effects of management and mitigation strategies and activities in the target watersheds to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts on coral reefs.

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0277490 biological data CORAL CORAL - CENSUS CORAL - COLONY SIZE CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION swimmer/diver visual observation biological in situ survey survey - biological survey - coral reef survey - swimmer/diver CHARTERED VESSEL NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) CORAL REEF STUDIES South Pacific Ocean oceanography DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce 31303 Linking watershed management actions to reef health in American Samoa Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Numeric Data Sets > Biology EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Damage Assessment > Pollution 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 > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Coral Colony Size and Condition 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 EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS > CORAL REEFS COLONY - RECENT MORTALITY CAUSE CORAL - BLEACHING SEVERITY CORAL - CONDITION EXTENT CORAL - HEALTH CONDITION CORAL - MORPHOLOGY CORAL - MORTALITY VISUAL OBSERVATIONS > VISUAL OBSERVATIONS COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016) OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016) OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN GBGBUL

Complete Metadata
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description This dataset includes coral demographic data of Aua Reef, American Samoa, generated from observations by divers of the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). Benthic coral demographic surveys were conducted within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Aua, American Samoa in September 2022. Surveys were conducted at 18 randomly-selected sites and provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level (where possible) and genus level for juveniles. The survey design and site selection of stratified-random sites (StRS) follows protocols established by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Data from benthic surveys of Aua Reef establishes a comprehensive biological baseline for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic composition and coral demography. These efforts feed into the higher-level CRCP objectives by establishing an in-situ tracking system to assess the effects of management and mitigation strategies and activities in the target watersheds to reduce land-based sources of pollution impacts on coral reefs.
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identifier gov.noaa.nodc:0277490
issued 2023-04-05T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
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  "biological data",
  "CORAL",
  "CORAL - CENSUS",
  "CORAL - COLONY SIZE",
  "CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION",
  "swimmer/diver",
  "visual observation",
  "biological",
  "in situ",
  "survey",
  "survey - biological",
  "survey - coral reef",
  "survey - swimmer/diver",
  "CHARTERED VESSEL",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
  "CORAL REEF STUDIES",
  "South Pacific Ocean",
  "oceanography",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
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  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
  "Numeric Data Sets > Biology",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Damage Assessment > Pollution",
  "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 > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Coral Colony Size and Condition",
  "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",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS > CORAL REEFS",
  "COLONY - RECENT MORTALITY CAUSE",
  "CORAL - BLEACHING SEVERITY",
  "CORAL - CONDITION EXTENT",
  "CORAL - HEALTH CONDITION",
  "CORAL - MORPHOLOGY",
  "CORAL - MORTALITY",
  "VISUAL OBSERVATIONS > VISUAL OBSERVATIONS",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)",
  "OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN",
  "GBGBUL"
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language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2023-06-08T00:00:00.000+00:00
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rights otherRestrictions
spatial -170.665,-14.2881,-170.669,-14.2717
temporal 2022-09-12T00:00:00+00:00/2022-09-22T00:00:00+00:00
title Benthic Surveys in Aua, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys from 2022-09-12 to 2022-09-22 (NCEI Accession 0277490)

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