Benthic Habitat Images from American Samoa Coral Reefs, 2015 Onward

American Samoa's coral reef ecosystems are documented through benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted since 2014. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collected this imagery using a stratified random sampling design across reef zones in the 0-30 meter depth range. The data supports estimates of benthic cover, taxonomic composition, and generic richness.

Use Cases

• Estimating relative benthic cover based on photo-quadrat imagery
• Analyzing benthic community taxonomic composition across stratified sites
• Modeling coral reef habitat change over time based on longitudinal imagery
• Comparing frequency of occurrence for benthic organisms across different reef zones and depths

Strengths

• Data collection employs a stratified random sampling design to reduce estimate variance
• Surveys cover the majority of mapped reef and hard bottom habitats in the 0-30 m depth range
• Sampling stratification includes island, reef zone, and depth as environmental covariates

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Site-level estimates and site-to-site comparisons should be used with caution per the description

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Benthic photo-quadrat surveys conducted along transects at stratified random sites as part of Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) surveys

Time Range

since 2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 22:59:28.193824; freshness should be verified

Geography

American Samoa, Central Pacific Ocean