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Benthic Surveys in Nu’uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef in American Samoa: comprehensive assessment of coral demography (adult and juvenile corals) from belt transect surveys from 2024-11-11 to 2024-11-21 (NCEI Accession 0307838)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: October 04, 2025 | Last Modified: 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000+00:00
This dataset includes coral demographic data of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa. Surveys were conducted by snorkelers from the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), in collaboration American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the Coral Reef Advisory Group. Benthic coral demographic surveys were conducted within belt transects of specified length and width for two life stages (juveniles and adults) in Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef, American Samoa in November 2024. Surveys were conducted at 20 randomly-selected sites and provide information on adult coral colony counts, morphology, size, partial mortality (old and recent dead), presence of disease and other compromised health conditions, including bleaching. Juvenile colony surveys include morphology and size. Taxonomic identification of adult colonies is to the species level (where possible) and genus level for juveniles. The survey design and site selection of stratified-random sites (StRS) follows protocols established by the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP). Data from benthic surveys of Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon and Backreef establishes a comprehensive biological baseline for land-based sources of pollution impacts on benthic composition and coral demography. 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 impacts on coral reefs.

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0307838 biological data CORAL CORAL - CENSUS CORAL - COLONY SIZE CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION swimmer/diver visual observation in situ survey - biological survey - coral reef survey - swimmer/diver US DOC/NOAA/NMFS/Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center/Honolulu Laboratory NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) CORAL REEF STUDIES South Pacific Ocean oceanography ARP Archipelagic Research Program ESD Ecosystem Sciences Division PIFSC Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center DOC/NOAA/NMFS > National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce 31454 Develop monitoring capacity of American Samoan jurisdictional partners and observing LBSP impacts on coral reefs Numeric Data Sets > Biology EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Diseases EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Coral Mortality EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Damage Assessment > Pollution 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 > Transect Monitoring > Belt Transect EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Coral Colony Size and Condition EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > In Situ Biological 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 > Marine Biology > Coral EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Marine Biology > Coral Communities EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS > CORAL REEFS COLONY - RECENT MORTALITY CAUSE CORAL - BLEACHING SEVERITY CORAL - CONDITION EXTENT CORAL - HEALTH CONDITION CORAL - MORPHOLOGY CORAL - MORTALITY VISUAL OBSERVATIONS > VISUAL OBSERVATIONS COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > American Samoa > Tutuila Island > Nu'uuli (14S170W0037) OCEAN BASIN > Pacific Ocean > Tutuila Island > Nu'uuli (14S170W0037) OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN American Samoa Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon JRBG1J

Complete Metadata

describedByType application/octet-steam
identifier gov.noaa.nodc:0307838
issued 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000+00:00
landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language []
references 
[
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/74830",
  "https://doi.org/10.25923/ws5s-km69",
  "https://doi.org/10.25923/r7dd-wg50"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial -170.6999,-14.32444,-170.7107,-14.31784
temporal 2024-11-11T00:00:00+00:00/2024-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

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