Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys in 2013, 2015, and 2020

Published by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: December 19, 2025 | Last Modified: 2017-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
The data described here result from benthic coral demographic surveys within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Faga’alu, American Samoa in 2013, 2015, and 2020. The data provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence and causation 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 and genus level for juveniles. In 2013 and 2015, the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Faga’alu 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.

Find Related Datasets

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

917 American Samoa Comprehensive baseline assessment and pilot test of outcome performance measures in Faga'alu Bay 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 > 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 > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Rapid assessment studies EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral reef ecology EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities CORAL CORAL - CENSUS CORAL - COLONY SIZE CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION survey - biological survey - coral reef survey - swimmer/diver CORAL REEF STUDIES 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 > Faga'alu (14S170W0005) OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Pago Pago Harbor > Faga'alu (14S170W0005) South Pacific Ocean CRED CREP Coral Reef Ecosystem Division Coral Reef Ecosystem Program ESD Ecosystem Sciences Division PIFSC Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Faga'alu DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC > Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce Benthic Missions

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov