Results of the Territorial Monitoring Program of American Samoa for 2009, benthic section, including information on the tsunami effects

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fenner, Douglas
• Corporate Authors:
  United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ; Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.) ; American Samoa, Coral Reef Advisory Group
• NOAA Program & Office:
  CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)
• Description:
  Because of the Sept. 29, 2009 tsunami and a variety of other delays, only 7 sites were monitored in 2009. Coral cover, which had risen slightly in 2008, remained at that level, with 28.6% cover in 2009. Coralline algae continues to dominate the reefs and macroalgae continues to be rare. The live coral index increased slightly from the 2008 value which was already over 90%, and there is no overall trend from 2005-2009. The value is much higher than the South Pacific average, indicating relatively healthy reefs. Coral lifeforms continue to be dominated by encrusting corals. Porites was the most common single genus of corals, followed by Acropora and Montipora. The most common coral species is Poritesrus, followed by encrusting Montipora. While there was no overall trend in the number of lifeforms or genera per site, there was a small overall increase in the number of coral species recorded per site over the five years of monitoring.
• Keywords:
  Benthos Coral Bleaching Coral Reef Conservation Coral Reef Restoration Coral Reefs And Islands Corals Environmental Aspects Habitat Monitoring Tsunamis Coral Bleaching Coral Reef Conservation Coral Reef Restoration Coral Reefs And Islands Environmental Aspects

  More +
• Document Type:
  Professional Paper
• Place as Subject:
  American Samoa
• Rights Information:
  Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2d919e0500b797e2ad57febfb7d777a8a76feca81ca3acf8ef327ab9db64f0c6
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/888/noaa_888_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.33 MB ]