Maynard, Jeff

Village-based planning in American Samoa to address threats posed to coral reefs by climate change

2020

Marine Applied Research Center, LLC

64

"We developed village-specific climate impact and coral reef condition information for 30 villages in American Samoa where long-term coral reef monitoring has occurred. The project team included collaborators from NOAA PIRO, the CRAG, the DMWR, and the NPSA. This project involved a process very similar to what our team led and went through to deliver the first NCRMP Data Summary Report the U.S. Coral Reef Monitoring Data Summary 2018. Delivering reports on coral reef monitoring requires that we first complete a months-long process with staff in the jurisdictions to get their data organized. Local monitoring programs funded by CRCP through the states and territories grants have not ever been required to deliver their data for archiving, within any kind of standard annual report, or as summary-level data (averages with variance) for public access and use. We first worked with the Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG) in American Samoa to organize all of their most recent monitoring data November 2016 and March 2017 into summary level for ~40 metrics. ALL of their data for 30 coral reef sites near the villages of Tutuila (see Figure 1 below) was summarized into a user-friendly searchable master data table, similar to the summary level data organized by our team for each jurisdiction for NCRMP. We then collaboratively designed a 2-page report card template. Developing the template involved our adding collaborators working on the Ridge to Reef program in American Samoa, so the project now includes the US-EPA, AS-EPA and National Marine Sanctuaries, along with AS CRAG. The blank design template represented a month of collaboration with our colleagues in AS to decide what the sections would be and what information will be presented within each section. The final sections the project team settled on are: Village and Watershed, Coral Reef Fish, Coral Reefs, and Impacts of Climate Change. Variables/indicators we have decided to present within the report cards include: Village and Watershed Reef type, watershed class, Area disturbed 2017, Shed area 2017, Population 2010, Population area, Wave mean, Reef width, Stream name, Mean DIN, Reef DIN, Max DIN, Max Reef DIN Coral reef Fish Fish biomass by functional group, Predator biomass, Herbivore biomass, Size structure, Species richness. Coral Reefs Percent cover of all major benthic groups, Coral disease prevalence, Rugosity, Recruitment. Impacts of Climate Change Bleaching history, Trend, Sea level rise, Ocean acidification, Onset of annual severe bleaching."

NOS

FY2019 CRCP Project ID 31209; Project Title: FY18 - Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants; Principal Investigator: Liz Fairey; Grant NA18NOS4820111

NA18NOS4820111