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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Vatia, American Samoa from 2015-11-02 to 2015-11-12 (NCEI Accession 0169726)

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The benthic cover data described here were generated from the quantitative analysis of photoquadrat benthic images using image analysis software, whereby random points are projected on each image and the benthic elements falling directly underneath each point are identified. The images were collected at 18 stratified randomly selected sites in Vatia Bay in 2015 during belt transect surveys of coral demography by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP).

The benthic cover data can be accessed online via the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Ocean Archive. The benthic images and coral demography data are described and archived separately.
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Vatia, American Samoa from 2015-11-02 to 2015-11-12 (NCEI Accession 0169726). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169726. Accessed [date].
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Distribution Formats
  • Originator data format
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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 2015-11-02 to 2015-11-12
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -170.674
East: -170.667
South: -14.2501
North: -14.2432
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Analysis of Benthic Survey Images via CoralNet: A Summary of Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines
  • Land-based pollution impacting coral reefs in Vatia Bay
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2022: Benthic Surveys in Vatia, American Samoa: benthic cover derived from analysis of benthic images collected during belt transect surveys of coral demography in 2015 and 2020, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/31611.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2018-01-27
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: Y0WBL1

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.
Purpose These data were generated from benthic surveys undertaken in Vatia Bay to establish a comprehensive baseline for benthic composition and coral demographics, and are part of a broader NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) funded project led by NCCOS to assess eutrophication impacts on coral ecosystem health in the bay. These efforts feed into the higher-level CRCP objectives by establishing an in-situ tracking system to assess the effects of management and mitigation strategies and activities in the target watersheds to reduce land-based sources of pollution.
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.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Vatia, American Samoa from 2015-11-02 to 2015-11-12 (NCEI Accession 0169726). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169726. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Collaborators
Contributors
Resource Providers
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Related Funding Agency: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
  • Numeric Data Sets > Benthic
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting Macroalgae
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Fleshy Macroalgae
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Turf Algae
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Baseline studies
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Benthos Analysis > Transect monitoring
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Photographic Analysis
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Benthic biology
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Coral Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > Hard Coral Cover
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral Reef Ecology > OctoCoral Cover
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Contributing Data Centers
  • CRED
  • CREP
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
  • Coral Reef Ecosystem Program
  • PIFSC
  • Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Provider Instruments
  • software
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS CoRIS Place Thesaurus
  • COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Vatia Bay (14S170W0028)
  • OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Tutuila Island > Vatia Bay (14S170W0028)
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS CRCP Project
  • 31090
  • Eutrophication Impacts on Coral Ecosystem Health in Vatia, American Samoa
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (2018). Benthic cover derived from photo transects in Vatia, American Samoa from 2015-11-02 to 2015-11-12 (NCEI Accession 0169726). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0169726. Accessed [date].
  • NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) Data Sharing Recommendations, version 9.0 updated August 12, 2015: CREP welcomes the opportunity to collaborate on research issues contributing to the scientific basis for better management of marine ecosystems. CREP has a very diverse set of field activities that generates large volumes of data using an array of data collection protocols. The following recommendations are for your consideration as you use this data: 1) Data analyses should take all field exigencies into account. The most effective way to do this would be active collaboration with CREP principal investigators. 2) In all presentations, product releases, or publications using data generated by CREP, proper acknowledgement of both CREP and the individuals responsible for data collection is expected. Citing the DOI (if available) is preferred, a non-DOI example is listed below. 3) If you collect or generate data for the same study areas, CREP requests that you share relevant information on complimentary data collections. 4) Those receiving data are strongly urged to inform the CREP Data Management Team of any errors and discrepancies that are discovered during the course of using these data. They are further urged to bring to the attention of the Team all problems and difficulties encountered in using these data. This information is necessary in order to improve the collections and to facilitate more efficient and economical data processing and retrieval. The users are asked to supply copies of any missing data that may be located, and to provide information as to significant subsets and special aggregations of data that are developed in using the material provided. Example citation: "This publication makes use of data products provided by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with funding support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). The analysis and interpretations presented here are solely that of the current authors.”
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
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2018-01-27T01:45:09Z - NCEI Accession 0169726 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Parameter or Variable: REEF AND/OR BOTTOM REGIME - PERCENT COVER (calculated); Units: percent; Observation Category: laboratory analysis; Sampling Instrument: software; Sampling and Analyzing Method: See the published standard operating procedures: Lozada-Misa P, Schumacher BD, Vargas-Angel B. 2017. Analysis of benthic survey images via CoralNet : a summary of standard operating procedures and guidelines. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, PIFSC Administrative Report, H-17-02, 169 p. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/AR-PIFSC-H-17-02..
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • photograph
Last Modified: 2024-02-21T13:44:27Z
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