Description
Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data were collected as part of NOAA's ongoing National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). These data were gathered around American Samoa as a part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Ecosystem Sciences Division (formerly the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division) led missions from 2015 to 2018.
During these missions, the variables of benthic complexity and urchin abundance were recorded by SCUBA divers during visual surveys at NCRMP climate stations. A select number of climate sites were chosen per island in hard-bottom habitat at 15-m depths in a stratified random fashion.
To record benthic complexity, the divers ran a 15-m transect from the reference stake for the site and estimated two maximum vertical relief measurements per meter along the 15-m transect (based on an area of 0.5 m x 1 m to the left and 0.5 m x 1 m to the right of each meter on the transect) for a total of 30 measurements. The measurements were tallied into five substrate height bins, including 0-20 cm, 20-50 cm, 50-100 cm, 100-150 cm, and >150 cm. The total frequency for the five substrate height bins is 30 units for a 15-m transect. Maximum depth, minimum depth, and maximum vertical relief were also recorded for the climate station.
Free and boring urchin abundance was estimated within the climate station and recorded using DACOR, an abundance code based on visual estimation; dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), and rare (R).
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2015.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. | Open resource |
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2015.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. | Open resource |
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2015.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. | Open resource |
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2018.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. | Open resource |
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2018.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. | Open resource |
| V0_TOPOGRAPHIC_COMPLEXITY SAMOA 2018.csv | Unknown | Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. | Open resource |
| https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html | HTML | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) ERDDAP web service for the benthic complexity and urchin abundance data collected by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at sites across the Pacific Islands Region during ESD-led NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program missions from 2013 to 2018. ERDDAP acts as a middleman between you and various remote data servers. ERDDAP offers an easy-to-use, consistent way to request data: via the OPeNDAP standard. Many datasets can also be accessed via ERDDAP's Web Map Service (WMS). ERDDAP returns data in the common file format of your choice. ERDDAP offers all data as .html table, ESRI .asc and .csv, Google Earth .kml, OPeNDAP binary, .mat, .nc, ODV .txt, .csv, .tsv, .json, and .xhtml. ERDDAP can also return a .png or .pdf image with a customized graph or map. ERDDAP also has web pages (for humans with browsers) and RESTful web services (for computer programs). | Open resource |
| https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html | HTML | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) ERDDAP web service for the benthic complexity and urchin abundance data collected by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at sites across the Pacific Islands Region during ESD-led NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program missions from 2013 to 2018. ERDDAP acts as a middleman between you and various remote data servers. ERDDAP offers an easy-to-use, consistent way to request data: via the OPeNDAP standard. Many datasets can also be accessed via ERDDAP's Web Map Service (WMS). ERDDAP returns data in the common file format of your choice. ERDDAP offers all data as .html table, ESRI .asc and .csv, Google Earth .kml, OPeNDAP binary, .mat, .nc, ODV .txt, .csv, .tsv, .json, and .xhtml. ERDDAP can also return a .png or .pdf image with a customized graph or map. ERDDAP also has web pages (for humans with browsers) and RESTful web services (for computer programs). | Open resource |
| https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html | HTML | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) ERDDAP web service for the benthic complexity and urchin abundance data collected by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) at sites across the Pacific Islands Region during ESD-led NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program missions from 2013 to 2018. ERDDAP acts as a middleman between you and various remote data servers. ERDDAP offers an easy-to-use, consistent way to request data: via the OPeNDAP standard. Many datasets can also be accessed via ERDDAP's Web Map Service (WMS). ERDDAP returns data in the common file format of your choice. ERDDAP offers all data as .html table, ESRI .asc and .csv, Google Earth .kml, OPeNDAP binary, .mat, .nc, ODV .txt, .csv, .tsv, .json, and .xhtml. ERDDAP can also return a .png or .pdf image with a customized graph or map. ERDDAP also has web pages (for humans with browsers) and RESTful web services (for computer programs). | Open resource |
| GCMD Keyword Forum Page | Unknown | 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 | Open resource |
| GCMD Keyword Forum Page | Unknown | 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 | Open resource |
| GCMD Keyword Forum Page | Unknown | 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 | Open resource |
| Full Metadata Record | Unknown | View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. | Open resource |
| Full Metadata Record | Unknown | View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. | Open resource |
| Full Metadata Record | Unknown | View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. | Open resource |
| NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) | NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. | Open resource | |
| NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) | NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. | Open resource | |
| NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) | NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. | Open resource | |
| Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Website | Unknown | Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage | Open resource |
| Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Website | Unknown | Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage | Open resource |
| Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Website | Unknown | Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage | Open resource |
| Ecosystem Sciences Division | Unknown | NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website | Open resource |
| Ecosystem Sciences Division | Unknown | NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website | Open resource |
| Ecosystem Sciences Division | Unknown | NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website | Open resource |
Tags
- 743
- american samoa
- american samoa (14s170w0000)
- animals/invertebrates
- aquatic habitat
- benthic
- benthic habitat
- biological classification
- biosphere
- coastal processes
- coral reef conservation program
- coral reef ecology
- coral reef ecosystem division
- coral reef ecosystem program
- coral reefs
- coral reef studies
- corals
- country/territory
- cred
- crep
- doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc
- earth science
- echinoderms
- ecosystem sciences division
- esd
- habitat - benthic
- hi'ialakai
- macroinvertebrate census
- macroinvertebrates
- manu'a group
- marine biology
- marine invertebrates
- national coral reef monitoring program
- national marine fisheries service
- nmfs
- noaa
- numeric data sets
- ocean basin
- oceans
- ofu (14s169w0002)
- ofu island
- ofu island (14s169w0013)
- olosega (14s169w0016)
- olosega island
- olosega island (14s169w0014)
- pacific islands fisheries science center
- pacific ocean
- pifsc
- ramp
- reef assessment and monitoring program
- reef habitat
- reef monitoring and assessment
- rose atoll (14s168w0001)
- rose atoll marine national monument
- rugosity
- sea urchins
- south pacific ocean
- survey - swimmer/diver
- swains atoll (11s171w0001)
- ta'u island (14s169w0012)
- tutuila island (14s170w0016)
- united states of america
- u.s. department of commerce
- us doc
- visual estimate
- zoology