National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Benthic complexity and urchin abundance at climate stations of American Samoa

These data were gathered around American Samoa as a part of NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) led missions. During these missions, the variables of benthic complexity and urchin abundance were tracked by swimmer/diver visual surveys at NCRMP climate stations.

Three to four of these sites were chosen per island in a stratified random fashion so as to be roughly equally spaced, along the 15m contour, on hard bottom, and at least 1 km away from a river mouth or embayment. Once the sites were selected, multiple features of the coral reef environment were assessed, including: in-situ temperature (STR), seawater carbonate, net carbonate accretion (CAU), bioerosion (BMU), and cryptobiota diversity (ARMS).