National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic Complexity and Urchin Abundance at Climate Stations in American Samoa from 2015 to 2018

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
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159143
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187897
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36099
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/ecosystem_sciences/
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
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/36099.pdf
21 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). https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159143
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36099
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/ecosystem_sciences/
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
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/36099.pdf
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187897
21 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). https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program at sites across Amerian Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0159143
0 Benthic complexity and urchin abundance data captured by the PIFSC Ecosystem Sciences Division at sites across American Samoa during ASRAMP 2018. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0187897
21 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). https://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/erddap/tabledap/CRCP_Benthic_Complexity_Urchin_Abundance_Pacific.html
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/36099
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center website https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/ecosystem_sciences/
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
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/36099.pdf

Tags

  • sea urchins
  • crep
  • ofu island (14s169w0013)
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc
  • united states of america
  • american samoa (14s170w0000)
  • reef monitoring and assessment
  • aquatic habitat
  • corals
  • benthic habitat
  • coral reef ecosystem division
  • benthic
  • echinoderms
  • pifsc
  • biosphere
  • national coral reef monitoring program
  • tutuila island (14s170w0016)
  • oceans
  • rose atoll marine national monument
  • coral reef conservation program
  • marine invertebrates
  • american samoa
  • noaa
  • numeric data sets
  • nmfs
  • biological classification
  • macroinvertebrates
  • swains atoll (11s171w0001)
  • us doc
  • ta'u island (14s169w0012)
  • pacific islands fisheries science center
  • manu'a group
  • olosega island (14s169w0014)
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • earth science
  • national marine fisheries service
  • olosega island
  • ramp
  • marine biology
  • cred
  • survey - swimmer/diver
  • 743
  • visual estimate
  • ofu (14s169w0002)
  • reef habitat
  • reef assessment and monitoring program
  • ofu island
  • coral reef ecology
  • ocean basin
  • habitat - benthic
  • ecosystem sciences division
  • esd
  • coastal processes
  • hi'ialakai
  • macroinvertebrate census
  • olosega (14s169w0016)
  • zoology
  • coral reefs
  • rose atoll (14s168w0001)
  • pacific ocean
  • animals/invertebrates
  • country/territory
  • rugosity
  • south pacific ocean
  • coral reef studies
  • coral reef ecosystem program

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