This interactive map displays American Samoa data collected by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) cruises. The information presented is a combination of standard CRED monitoring summary data and more specific layers generated by request from resource managers and scientists in American Samoa. The fish and benthos data were collected either by rapid ecological assessment (REA) surveys conducted during 2010, or by towed-diver surveys conducted during 2008 and 2010. The map is accompanied by the summary data used to generate the data layers (as excel attachments) and is available in the form of an interactive pdf with layers to make it usable by those without GIS access.
The information layers included in this interactive PDF were initially developed to augment the existing Biogeographic Characterization and Marine Protected Area (MPA) network design analysis conducted by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). The NCCOS analysis and this product contribute to the Territory's overall goal to protect 20% of the territorial coral reefs as no-take MPAs to protect key coral reef species, and the layers are of particular interest to local resource managers as they are key ecosystem components that affect ecosystem processes, and therefore are essential to design the most effective MPA network.
Information about the original data collections from CRED's Pacific RAMP cruises to American Samoa in 2008 and 2010 can be found in the NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai's cruise reports on the PIFSC website, and in the metadata records for each survey method, island, and survey year: Hi'ialakai, Cruise ID HA-08-02, 18 February - 19 March 2008: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/cruise/Hiialakai/CRHI0802-REB.pdf Hi'ialakai, Cruise ID HA-10-01, Leg 2, 17 February - 23 March 2010: http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/cruise/Hiialakai/CRHA1001II-KD.pdf REA 2010 Metadata (surveys conducted 17 February - 21 March 2010: https://www.coris.noaa.gov/geoportal/rest/find/document?searchText=region%3AAmSam%20OR%20region%3A%22American%20Samoa%22%20AND%20CRED%20AND%20Rapid%20AND%20Ecological%20AND%20Assessment%20AND%20Reef%20AND%20Fish%20AND%20Survey%20AND%20American%20AND%20Samoa%20AND%202010%20NOT%20Intercept%20NOT%20Belt&start=1&max=25&f=html&dojo.preventCache=1399414232006 Towed diver 2008 and 2010 Metadata (surveys conducted 18 February - 11 March 2008, and 23 February - 20 March 2010): https://www.coris.noaa.gov/geoportal/rest/find/document?searchText=region%3AAmSam%20OR%20region%3A%22American%20Samoa%22%20AND%20CRED%20AND%20towed%20AND%20diver%20AND%20(2010%20OR%202008)%20NOT%20validation&start=1&max=25&f=html&dojo.preventCache=1399415031833 To use the interactive PDF make sure the layers view is enabled in Adobe Reader: View menu=>Show hide=>Navigation Panes=>Layers, or View menu=>Navigation Panels=>Layers (depending on your version of Adobe Reader). To view a layer click the box next to the title. It is recommended that only one layer be turned on at a time. The data is available as an attachment in the PDF: View menu=>Navigation Panels=>Attachments, or View menu=>Show hide=>Navigation Panes=>Attachments.
Ground Condition
NOAA IRC
NMFS/PIFSC/CRED
1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176
e-mail preferred. General contact information for the division is listed here. The specific diver who performed the classification is recorded in CRED's master database.
See Ault et al. 2006, Ayotte et al. 2011, Richards et al. 2011, or Williams et al. 2011 for details.
Please acknowledge the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division as the source of this information; Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/coris/data/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/cred/american_samoa_map/American_Samoa_CRED_monitoring_interactive_map.jpg
Data collection and analysis: Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Funding: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
The same methods of data collection were used at each of the sites surveyed at this location, and scientists/divers are required to complete training and pass identification examinations prior to conducting surveys. Divers typically enter their data into a database and perform quality assurance and control checks on the same day the data were collected. Data are examined for diver bias, outliers, and other discrepancies. Following a mission, data are processed, run through a series of validation checks, and then migrated into CRED’s master database.
Only hard-bottom habitats from 0 to 30 meters are surveyed due to NOAA diving restrictions. The survey sites were randomly selected using a systematic process based on available habitat and bathymetric data. However, although efforts are made to include broad spatial coverage, weather conditions and other environmental constraints may have prevented the team from surveying exposed reef areas.
Unless specified as towed survey data, all data presented were collected by rapid ecological assessments during the NOAA CRED cruise to American Samoa in 2010. Using CRED habitat and bathymetric maps, survey sites (< 30m in depth) on hard-bottomed habitat were selected using a random, depth stratified design. At each site, the fish assemblage was surveyed using a stationary point count (SPC) method. Details of the method are available (see Ault et al. 2006, Williams et al. 2011, Ayotte et al. 2011 [http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/admin/PIFSC_Admin_Rep_11-08.pdf]), but in brief, for each survey a pair of divers record the number, size and species of all fishes observed within adjacent visually estimated 15m-diameter cylinders. Fish abundance and size data were used to calculate fish biomass using species-specific length-weight conversion factors. Those factors and the formula used to generate weight estimates are available in Heenan et al. 2014 (http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/library/pubs/DR-14-003.pdf). At each site, a photo-transect was collected spanning the diameters of the adjacent SPC cylinder (30 photos at each site). These photos were then used to estimate planar percentage cover of benthic substrates using the point count method in Coral Point Count (CPCe [http://www.nova.edu/ocean/cpce/], a freely available tool, Kohler et al. 2006). Towed diver surveys involve a small boat towing two SCUBA divers. The divers work as a benthic and fish pair, with the fish diver recording the species, number, size and time in the survey, when large-bodied (>50 cm total length) reef fish are observed. The tow-track, together with a layback algorithm, and the time of observation are then used to estimate the geographic coordinates of sightings. This method supplements the SPC surveys by allowing for coverage of large areas of habitat that are necessary to adequately sample the generally rare and or clumped large-bodied reef fish species that are not well captured by small-scale comprehensive surveys (Richards et al. 2011). The fish data presented here were collected during towed surveys conducted during the NOAA-CRED 2010 cruise. Finally, towed benthic data collected during the 2008 cruise is also presented, as that was deemed the best information CRED has on the location of large coral colonies (> 2 m in diameter), which were noted by the towed-benthic divers during that cruise.
Survey Year
CRED
Surveys were conducted in 2010. See the cruise report for specific dates in 2010 that each site was surveyed.
Island
Site
Latitude
Longitude
Surveys are conducted in one of three depth strata; shallow, mid and deep depths
0 to 6 meters
6 to 18 meters
18 to 30 meters
Total fish biomass in grams per square meter
The mean number of unique species recorded per site
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large fish (defined as greater than 50cm in total length)
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large fish (defined as greater than 70% of the species maximum length Lmax; Williams et al. 2011)
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large fish (> 70% Lmax) of preferred fisheries target families: groupers
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large fish (> 70% Lmax) of preferred fisheries target families: surgeonfish
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large fish (> 70% Lmax) of preferred fisheries target families: parrotfish
Biomass (grams per square meter) of herbivorous functional groups indicative of reef resilience: browsers, which includes some parrotfishes, some unicornfishes, rudderfishes, batfishes and a rabbitfish.
Biomass (grams per square meter) of herbivorous functional groups indicative of reef resilience: detritivores
Biomass (grams per square meter) of herbivorous functional groups indicative of reef resilience: grazers and detritivores, which includes rabbitfishes, small angelfishes and many species of surgeonfish
Biomass (grams per square meter) of herbivorous functional groups indicative of reef resilience: scrapers / small excavators. Scrapers includes the majority of parrotfishes (Hipposcarus and Scarus species) while excavating species includes all Chlorurus species, the humphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum and the bicolor parrotfish Cetoscarus bicolor.
Biomass (grams per square meter) of herbivorous functional groups indicative of reef resilience: large excavators / bioeroders. Large excavators and bioeroders are the excavators mentioned in scrapers/small excavators, but greater than 35 cm in standard length.
Acanthurus lineatus biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Acanthurus nigricans biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Chlorurus japanensis biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Ctenochaetus striatus biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Myripristis berndti biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Naso unicornis biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Naso lituratus biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Sargocentron tiere biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Scarus oviceps biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Scarus rubroviolaceus biomass (grams per square meter): one of several species that are landed in greatest weight by spearfishing (Domingo Ochavillo pers. comm. September 2011)
Percent cover of (hard) corals
Percent cover of macro-algae
Percent cover of coralline algae
The ratio of positive (hard coral and coralline algae) vs. negative (macro-algae, turf algae and soft coral) colonizers.
Percent cover of turf algae
Percent cover of soft corals.
Island name where sampling occurred
Unique identifier for towed-diver surveys (tracks). 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, single-digit tow number (1-6)
Unique identifier for 5-min observations (segments) of tow surveys (tracks). 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, single-digit tow number (1-6), 2-digit segment number (01-10)
Latitude of the calculated centroid (using ArcGIS) for each 5-min observation (segment) of the tow survey
Longitude of the calculated centroid (using ArcGIS) for each 5-min observation (segment) of the tow survey
Length in meters for each 5-min observation (segment) of the tow survey
Area in square meters surveyed for each 5-minute observation (segment) of the tow survey. Divers survey 5 meters on either side of tow track.
Biomass (grams) of large-bodied fish greater than 50 cm total length.
Biomass (grams per square meter) of large-bodied fish greater than 50 cm total length.
Depth in meters of each diver for each 5-min observation (segment) of the tow survey. Divers are usually towed approximately 1 meter above the seafloor.
Taxonomic family name of observed species.
Genus and species of of observed species.
CRED's 4-letter (internal) species code
The number of species observed of a particular size (cm) during a 5-minute observation (segment)
The size in centimeters of species observed during a 5-minute observation (segment)
NMVS/PIFSC/CRED
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.