CRED REA Coral Health and Disease Assessment at Tutuila Island, American Samoa 2006

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
CRED REA Coral Health and Disease Assessment at Tutuila Island, American Samoa 2006
Abstract:
Belt transects along 2 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed at 50-cm intervals as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 22 sites at Tutuila Island in February, 2006 from the NOAA vessel Hi'ialakai (HI06-02). Raw survey data included percent cover of benthic parameters, including live coral, dead coral, carbonate pavement, sand, coral rubble, fleshy macroalgae, crustose coralline algae, and other sessile invertebrates along the two transect lines. In addition, an area of 3-4m on each side of each transect was surveyed; within this area, each coral colony was inspected and every diseased/afflicted colony identified to the lowest taxonomic and type of affliction recorded.
Supplemental_Information:
Maximum depth was 18 meters.

Corals observed: Common Name Scientific Name Species Genus Family Order Class Phylum- Kingdom Division Crustose algae Rhodophyta Plantae Coral Acropora Acroporidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia Coral Porites Poritidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia Coral Montipora Acroporidae Scleractinia Anthozoa Cnidaria Animalia

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (, NOAA Pacific Island Fisheries Scienc, 20080225, CRED REA Coral Health and Disease Assessment at Tutuila Island, American Samoa 2006.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -170.8612764
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -170.5045149
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: -14.22005532
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: -14.38281981

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 18-Feb-2006
    Ending_Date: 25-Feb-2006
    Currentness_Reference: Ground condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: spreadsheet

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Degrees and Decimal Minutes.

      The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80 (GRS80).
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.2572236.

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: Local surface
      Depth_Resolution: 1
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Explicit Depth Coordinate Included with Horizontal Coordinates

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), NOAA Pacific Island Fisheries Sciences Center
    c/o Bernardo Vargas-Angel
    1125B Ala Moana Blvd.
    Honolulu, HI 96814
    U.S.A.

    808-983-3730 (voice)

Why was the data set created?

Part of a long-term monitoring program at biennial intervals in which corals, algae, fish, and other macroinvertebrates are co-sampled along the same set of transect lines

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: Unknown (process 1 of 1)
    As a diver swam along the transect line, he inspected the benthic elements falling directly underneath each 50-cm mark on the transect line. Each such element was tallied under the following scheme: live coral, dead coral, carbonate pavement, coral rubble, sand, rock, algae, invertebrate, and other. Live benthic elements including coral, algae, and invertebrates were identified to the lowest taxominic level possible. At the end of this examination , the diver also surveyed an area of 3-4 m on either side of each transect lines, along which each coral was inspected and every diseased colony identified to the lowest taxonomic and type of affliction recorded.

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    Observations were made by a single diver who is an expert in coral diseases. The benthic cover and disease assessment surveys are conducted one time per site per survey year; it is not replicated.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    GPS unit

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Dive computer and SCUBA depth gauge

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    The survey sites were selected to be representative of the dominant habitats at this reef system.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    The same methods of data collection were used at each of the sites surveyed at this location, and were conducted by the same scientist.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: Data are available two years following data collection date.
Use_Constraints:
Please cite CRED when using the data. Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), NOAA Fisheries Pacific Island Fisheries Sciences Center
    c/o Michael Parke
    1125B Ala Moana Blvd.
    Honolulu, HI 96814
    U.S.A.

    808-983-3725 (voice)

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    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.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

    Contact CRED data management team for information

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    Contact CRED data management team for information

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 12-Aug-2008
Metadata author:
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), NOAA Pacific Island Fisheries Sciences Center
c/o Haiying Wang
1125B Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814
U.S.A.

808-983-3725 (voice)

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.8.23 on Fri Sep 5 04:19:01 2008