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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Rebreather fish surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05 (NCEI Accession 0157573)

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Surveys were conducted in the course of a reef fish survey cruise conducted by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). These data come from surveys conducted using closed-circuit rebreathers. The use of rebreathers is intended to provide data that can be compared against data gathered on open-circuit SCUBA, which is the breathing apparatus typically used by CREP. The survey domain encompassed hard bottom habitats in American Samoa and the stratification included island, reef zone, and depth. Sites were surveyed using the stationary point count (SPC) method to quantify reef fish assemblages. At each survey site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted paired fine-scale (~700 square meters) and high degree of taxonomic resolution Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) survey to assess species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fishes at the site. At each site, one survey was conducted on open-circuit SCUBA and one on closed-circuit rebreather. Only rebreather survey data is described here. All reef fish and benthic estimate data collected during SPC surveys on SCUBA can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Metadata for SCUBA surveys at these sites is available at https://inport.nmfs.noaa.gov/inport/item/34515
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Rebreather fish surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05 (NCEI Accession 0157573). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157573. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0157573
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Distribution Formats
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -170.838
East: -168.138
South: -14.5606
North: -14.1486
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Coral Reef Conservation Program (2016). Documentation for NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) data archived at NCEI (NCEI Accession 0157633). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157633.
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2016: Rebreather Fish Surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/35774.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2017-03-18
  • revision: 2018-01-19
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
Submission Package ID: C3M4N4
Purpose The goal of these surveys was to assess the effect of reducing the disturbance caused by divers on reef fish counts, at a range of locations varying from relatively heavily to relatively lightly fished areas. More specifically, it is understood that in locations with heavy fishing pressure, some fishes can associate the presence of divers with a risk of being targeted. There is therefore potential for diver presence to cause avoidance behavior which could lead to lowered fish counts and inaccurate estimates of differences between heavily-fished and lightly-fished locations. One of the main sources of disturbance caused by most SCUBA divers comes from the bubbles released by open circuit SCUBA equipment when divers exhale. Those bubbles produce both a visual and audible disturbance. Closed circuit rebreathers do not release bubbles during normal operations, and therefore use of rebreathers has the potential to reduce disturbance and possibly therefore reduce avoidance behavior, leading to more accurate counts in some locations. Because the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) of NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) uses fish surveys by divers on SCUBA to gather data that is used for a variety of management and research purposes -- including the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) -- a series of studies were initiated to assess the importance of this issue, and these data are from those comparative surveys.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Fish Census
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species Richness
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Rapid Assessment Studies
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Reef Fish Census
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Reef Fish Census > Stationary
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Fish > Fish Assemblages
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Provider Keywords
  • REA
  • Rapid Ecological Assessment
  • Reef Fish
  • SPC
  • Stationary Point Count
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ofu Island (14S169W0013)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Olosega Island (14S169W0014)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Rose Atoll (14S168W0001)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012)
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > American Samoa (14S170W0000)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Rose Atoll (14S168W0001)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ofu Island (14S169W0013)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Olosega Island (14S169W0014)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Manu'a Group > Ta'u Island (14S169W0012)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CRCP Project
  • 743
  • National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
Related Projects
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
  • RAMP
  • Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2017). Rebreather fish surveys in American Samoa from 2016-04-15 to 2016-05-05 (NCEI Accession 0157573). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157573. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
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Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2017-03-18T01:14:11Z - NCEI Accession 0157573 v1.1 was published.
  • 2018-01-19T02:22:11Z - NCEI Accession 0157573 was revised and v2.2 was published.
    Rationale: Updates were received for this dataset. These updates were copied into the data/0-data/ directory of this accession. These updates may provide additional files or replace obsolete files. This version contains the most complete and up-to-date representation of this archival information package. All of the files received prior to this update are available in the preceding version of this accession.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Data Type: REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER (measured); Units: percent; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: MACROINVERTEBRATE CENSUS (measured); Units: count; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Urchin and boring urchin categorized as dominant (D), abundant (A), common (C), occasional (O), or rare (R).
  • Data Type: FISH CENSUS (measured); Units: count; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
  • Data Type: INDIVIDUAL FISH EXAMINATION - LENGTH (measured); Units: centimeter; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: swimmer/diver.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • swimmer/diver
  • visual observation
Last Modified: 2024-02-21T13:44:27Z
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