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

Description

Jurisdictional managers have expressed concerns that nutrients from the village of Vatia, Tutuila, American Samoa, are having an adverse effect on the adjacent coral reef ecosystem. Excess nutrient loads promote increases in algal growth that can have deleterious effects on corals, such as benthic algae outcompeting and overgrowing corals. Nitrogen and phosphorus can also directly impact corals by lowering fertilization success, and reducing both photosynthesis and calcification rates. Land-based contributions of nutrients come from a variety of sources; in Vatia the most likely sources are poor wastewater management from piggeries and septic systems. NOAA scientists conducted benthic surveys to establish a baseline against which to compare changes in the algal and coral assemblages in response to land-based sources of pollution, including nutrient fluxes. 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 Vatia Bay American Samoa in 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 2015, the survey implemented a two-stage stratified random sampling (StRS) design to assess the Vatia 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) 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.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/30771
0 Coral demographic data of juvenile corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0165016
0 Coral demographic data of adult corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2020. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0240417
0 Coral demographic data of juvenile corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2020. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0240417
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Link to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program website https://coralreef.noaa.gov
33 A summary of the monitoring activities conducted in Vatia Bay by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program. ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NMFS/PIFSC/PIFSC_special_publication/SP-16-001.pdf
0 NCCOS Project Details: Nutrient Dynamics and Changes to Benthic Communities in Vatia, American Samoa https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=245
0 Overview of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program's methods to assess corals. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/corals.php
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/30771.pdf
0 Coral demographic data of adult corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0165016
0 Draft Coral Reef Ecosystem Program - Standard Operating Procedures: Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) Benthic Survey Data Collection - latest draft as of March 21, 2016. Refer to the Methodology - Benthic Survey sections only for the survey methodology details, as the other components are not relevant to this particular set of non-RAMP surveys. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146680
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2024. GCMD Keywords, Version 19. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Coral demographic data of adult corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0165016
0 Coral demographic data of juvenile corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0165016
0 Draft Coral Reef Ecosystem Program - Standard Operating Procedures: Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) Benthic Survey Data Collection - latest draft as of March 21, 2016. Refer to the Methodology - Benthic Survey sections only for the survey methodology details, as the other components are not relevant to this particular set of non-RAMP surveys. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0146680
0 Coral demographic data of adult corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2020. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0240417
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/30771
0 Link to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program website https://coralreef.noaa.gov
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
33 A summary of the monitoring activities conducted in Vatia Bay by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program. ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NMFS/PIFSC/PIFSC_special_publication/SP-16-001.pdf
0 NCCOS Project Details: Nutrient Dynamics and Changes to Benthic Communities in Vatia, American Samoa https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=245
0 Overview of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program's methods to assess corals. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/corals.php
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/30771.pdf
0 Coral demographic data of juvenile corals from belt transect surveys conducted by the NOAA PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) in Vatia Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa in 2020. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0240417
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords

Tags

  • benthic missions
  • crep
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc
  • united states of america
  • reef monitoring and assessment
  • corals
  • coral reef ecosystem division
  • coral - colony size
  • pifsc
  • in situ biological
  • biosphere
  • coral - species identification
  • survey - coral reef
  • oceans
  • vatia
  • coral reef conservation program
  • american samoa
  • survey - biological
  • noaa
  • numeric data sets
  • coral - census
  • nmfs
  • baseline studies
  • biology
  • us doc
  • pacific islands fisheries science center
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • earth science
  • coral colony size and condition
  • benthic biology
  • national marine fisheries service
  • reef damage assessment
  • eutrophication impacts on coral ecosystem health in vatia
  • coral diseases
  • marine biology
  • coral communities
  • cred
  • pollution
  • benthos analysis
  • survey - swimmer/diver
  • transect monitoring
  • coral reef ecology
  • ocean basin
  • ecosystem sciences division
  • coral
  • vatia bay (14s170w0028)
  • esd
  • coastal processes
  • coral mortality
  • tutuila island
  • zoology
  • coral reefs
  • 31090
  • pacific ocean
  • country/territory
  • belt transect
  • south pacific ocean
  • coral reef ecosystem program

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