National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Towed-diver Surveys of Benthic Habitat, Key Benthic Species, and Marine Debris Sightings of American Samoa in 2015

Description

The towed-diver method is used to conduct benthic surveys, assessing large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching) and quantifying benthic components such as habitat complexity/type and the general distribution and abundance patterns of live coral, crustose coralline algae (CCA), macroalgae, and macroinvertebrates. Surveys are conducted in the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas as part of the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). A suitable method for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat, the method involves towing a pair of SCUBA divers—one benthic and one fish—behind a small boat for approximately 50 min following the ~15-m depth contour and covering about 2–3 km of habitat. Each diver is equipped with a towboard and attempts to maintain a constant elevation above the surface of the reef (~1 m) for the duration of the survey. A complete towed-diver survey is divided into 10, 5-min segments, with visual observations recorded by 5-min segment. The visual estimate data provided in this dataset were collected during towed-diver surveys which includes percentage cover of total live hard corals, stressed hard corals, soft corals, sand, coralline algae, and macroalgae, and the number of individual macroinvertebrates (crown of thorns starfish (COTS), sea urchins, and giant clams). Benthic habitat complexity and type data are also collected as part of the survey with the following habitat type categories: continuous reef, spur and groove, patch reefs, rock boulders, pavement, rubble flat, sand flats, pinnacle, and wall. The data were collected around American Samoa as part of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led mission in 2015. These data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive.

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/35768
0 Information about the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) on the NOAA Coral Reef Information System website. http://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
33 NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/35768.pdf
0 Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. PIFSC Administrative Report H-18-02. https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
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 Observations from towed-diver surveys of the benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted in American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157566
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Benthic Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/benthic_monitoring.php
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, survey methods page, which includes a brief description of the towed-diver survey method used since 2000 to survey the benthic habitat. http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Information about the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) on the NOAA Coral Reef Information System website. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, survey methods page, which includes a brief description of the towed-diver survey method used since 2000 to survey the benthic habitat. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php
0 Observations from towed-diver surveys of the benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted in American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157566
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35768
0 Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. PIFSC Administrative Report H-18-02. https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Benthic Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/benthic_monitoring.php
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/35768.pdf
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35768
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Benthic Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/benthic_monitoring.php
0 Information about the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) on the NOAA Coral Reef Information System website. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, survey methods page, which includes a brief description of the towed-diver survey method used since 2000 to survey the benthic habitat. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php
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/35768.pdf
0 Observations from towed-diver surveys of the benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted in American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157566
0 Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. PIFSC Administrative Report H-18-02. https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
0 Observations from towed-diver surveys of the benthic habitat by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) conducted in American Samoa in 2015. https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157566
0 Ecosystem Sciences Division standard operating procedures: data collection for towed-diver benthic and fish surveys. PIFSC Administrative Report H-18-02. https://doi.org/10.25923/59sb-sy51 https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157633
0 View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35768
0 Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center homepage https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov
0 Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, Benthic Monitoring https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/benthic_monitoring.php
0 Information about the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) on the NOAA Coral Reef Information System website. https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/
0 NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program website, survey methods page, which includes a brief description of the towed-diver survey method used since 2000 to survey the benthic habitat. https://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/cred/survey_methods.php
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/35768.pdf

Tags

  • crep
  • coral cover
  • ofu island (14s169w0013)
  • hard coral cover dead percentage
  • doc/noaa/nmfs/pifsc
  • united states of america
  • american samoa (14s170w0000)
  • reef monitoring and assessment
  • aquatic habitat
  • towed diver
  • corals
  • rose island
  • coral reef ecosystem division
  • pifsc
  • biosphere
  • survey - coral reef
  • national coral reef monitoring program
  • tutuila island (14s170w0016)
  • survey
  • oceans
  • photic zone corals
  • coral reef conservation program
  • marine invertebrates
  • reef and/or bottom regime - percent cover
  • population density
  • rose island (rose atoll) (14s168w0001)
  • american samoa
  • hard coral cover
  • survey - biological
  • noaa
  • numeric data sets
  • nmfs
  • hard coral cover live percentage
  • macroinvertebrates
  • biology
  • swains atoll (11s171w0001)
  • us doc
  • debris
  • habitats
  • ta'u island (14s169w0012)
  • pacific islands fisheries science center
  • manu'a group
  • olosega island (14s169w0014)
  • u.s. department of commerce
  • earth science
  • tds
  • benthic biology
  • national marine fisheries service
  • triennial
  • tows
  • marine biology
  • coral communities
  • cred
  • survey - swimmer/diver
  • 743
  • visual estimate
  • reef habitat
  • coral reef ecology
  • ocean basin
  • towed-diver surveys
  • habitat - benthic
  • ecosystem sciences division
  • coral
  • temperature
  • coastal processes
  • hi'ialakai
  • coral mortality
  • macroinvertebrate census
  • census
  • zoology
  • coral reefs
  • pacific ocean
  • towboard
  • country/territory
  • south pacific ocean
  • coral reef studies
  • coral reef ecosystem program
  • depth - sensor

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