Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands
Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
20120801
CRED Towed-Diver Fish Biomass Survey at Tutuila, American
Samoa in 2012
spreadsheet
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/ecosystems/surveying-vast-ocean
To support NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
long-term goals for sustainable management and conservation
of coral reef ecosystems, towed-diver surveys (AKA towboard
surveys) are conducted by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division
(CRED) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
(PIFSC) as part of Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring
Program (RAMP) Cruises. 6 towboard surveys (totaling 13.51
km in length) were conducted from 20120227 to 20120325 and another 27 towboard surveys (totaling 58.72
km in length) were conducted at Tutuila in American Samoa
from 20120401 to 20120426 as part of RAMP Cruise HA1201.
Towboard surveys are a good method for obtaining a general
description of large reef areas, assessing the status of
low-density populations of large-bodied reef fish,
large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching), general
distribution and abundance patterns of macro-invertebrates
(e.g., crown of thorns sea stars, giant clams), and for
assessing trends in these populations and metrics. A pair of
scuba divers (1 fish diver and 1 benthic diver) are towed 60
m behind a small survey launch at a speed of 1-2 knots and a
depth of approximately 15 m. Each survey is 50 min long,
covers about 2 km of habitat, and is divided into ten
5-minute survey segments. The fish diver records, to the
lowest possible taxon, all large-bodied reef fishes (greater
than 50 cm total length) seen within 5 m either side and 10
m in front of the towboard. Length of each individual is
estimated to the nearest cm. The fish towboard is also
outfitted with a forward-facing digital video camera to
record the survey swath. The benthic diver records percent
cover of coral and macroalgae, estimates benthic habitat
type and complexity, and censuses a suite of benthic
macroinvertebrates including crown of thorns sea stars and
sea urchins. The benthic towboard is equipped with a
downward-facing digital still camera which images the
benthos at 15-second intervals. These images are analyzed
for percent cover of coral, algae, and other benthic
components. Both towboards are equipped with SEABIRD SBE-39
temperature/depth sensors set to record at 5-second
intervals. Latitude and longitude of each survey track is
recorded at 15-second intervals using a Global Positioning
System (GPS) receiver onboard the tow boat. A layback
algorithm is applied to more accurately map the position of
the divers with respect to the reef environment. This
algorithm calculates the position of the divers based on the
position of the tow boat taking into account the length of
the tow rope, the depth of the divers, and the curvature of
the survey track. This metadata applies to the fish biomass
observations.
Part of a long-term monitoring program which documents status
and trends of coral reef ecosystems withint the United States
Pacific Territories.
Data collected: Species level abundance and length
information for coral reef fishes greater than 50 cm total
length. Data is linked to a geographic shapefile via DiveID
or SegID. Abundance and/or biomass data can be provided at
the species or family level.
20120325
20120407
Ground Condition
asNeeded
-170.84603893
-170.5454568
-14.22829266
-14.37543016
NCEI Geoportal FilterCoRIS_MetadataCRCP ProjectPacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Monitoring coral reef ecosystems of the US Pacific Islands and Atolls587
None
Marine Ecosystem
Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP)
Towed Diver Surveys
Coral Reef
Reef Fishes
Benthic Habitat
American Samoa
Tutuila
HA1201
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
Numeric Data Sets > Biology
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs
EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs > Coral reef ecology
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef monitoring and assessment > Reef fish census
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
002
None
American Samoa
Tutuila
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > American Samoa > Tutuila Island (14S170W0016)
CoRIS Region
AmSam
None
Please cite CRED when using data. Coral Reef Ecosystem
Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
(PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands
Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
mailing and physical address
NOAA IRC
NMFS/PIFSC/CRED
1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
808 725-5360
808 725-5429
nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
e-mail preferred
Kevin Lino, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED); Mark Manuel,
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED)
Not applicable
Unclassified
Not applicable
Oracle
Observations were made by the divers who are trained in fish
taxonomy. Divers may change from year to year and by
location.
The same data collection protocols were used at each island or
bank surveyed.
The towboard surveys are completed in forereef, backreef, and
lagoon habitats. The minimum spatial resolution of the
towboard survey is the 5-minute survey segment which covers
approximately 200 m. As such, these surveys are appropriate
for broad estimates but cannot be used for fine scale,
site-level data analysis.
Although resource grade GPS units were used and a layback
model was applied to the survey tracks, the exact survey
positions were not physically marked and effort was not
made to re-visit exact same tracks.
1
Instrument parameters
SeaBird SBE-39 temp/depth recorder
0.3
Instrument parameters
The towboard survey involves a pair of scuba divers who
are towed 60 m behind a small boat at a constant speed
(~1.5 knots). The towboard survey is typically 50-min long
and covers about 2 km of habitat, depending on the depth
profile of the divers. The survey is divided into ten
5-min segments. During the survey, the fish diver records,
to the lowest possible taxon, large fishes observed within
a survey swath 5 m to either side of the diver and 10 m in
front the diver.
Unknown
0.0001
0.0001
Decimal Degrees
World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84)
Geodetic Reference System 80 (GRS80)
6378137
298.2572236
Local surface
1
meters
Explicit Depth Coordinate Included with Horizontal Coordinates
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands
Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
Data Manager
mailing and physical address
NOAA IRC
NMFS/PIFSC/CRED
1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
808 725-5360
808 725-5429
nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
e-mail preferred
Offline Data
While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are
accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state
of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages
caused by errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of
the failure of the data to function on a particular system.
NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the
fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
xls (Microsoft Excel worksheet) or csv (comma-separated
values)
CD-ROM or email
ISO 9660
None if receiving the data online
Contact CRED data management team for information
Contact CRED data management team for information
20190605
20120807
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands
Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
mailing and physical address
NOAA IRC
NMFS/PIFSC/CRED
1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176
Honolulu
HI
96818
USA
808 725-5360
808 725-5429
nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
e-mail preferred
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998
20120807060905
None
20120325
20120407
https://www.coris.noaa.gov/metadata/records/html/cred_metadata_fish_tow_tut_2012.html
6518