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    • 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

    Metadata Updated: May 24, 2025

    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.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date May 15, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date May 24, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 2017 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS PIFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 23

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date May 15, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 19, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date May 24, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 2017 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:25369
    Access Constraints Cite As: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: 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 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25369., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) when using the data. Example Cite as: Vargas-Angel, Bernardo; Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Benthic Surveys in Faga'alu, American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys in 2013 and 2015. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/25369, Distribution Liability: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
    Bbox East Long -170.675
    Bbox North Lat -14.28722222222
    Bbox South Lat -14.295
    Bbox West Long -170.68277777778
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned
    Graphic Preview Description NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 23
    Graphic Preview File https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/coris/library/NOAA/CRCP/project/917/Fagaalu_TM_CRCP_23_DOI_Cover_200.jpg
    Graphic Preview Type JPG
    Harvest Object Id 33a237a2-731e-420c-84a4-39f3fd3594c3
    Harvest Source Id c0beac72-5f43-4455-8c33-1b345fbc2dfe
    Harvest Source Title NMFS PIFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage 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): 2013: belt transect surveys of corals (version c) with individual colony counts. 2015-2020: belt transect surveys of adult corals (version e) with individual colony counts and health condition cause codes, and belt transect surveys of juvenile corals (version f) with individual colony counts
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-170.68277777778, -14.295], [-170.675, -14.295], [-170.675, -14.28722222222], [-170.68277777778, -14.28722222222], [-170.68277777778, -14.295]]]}
    Progress underDevelopment
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2013-04-01
    Temporal Extent End 2013-04-10

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