Ann E. Gibbs
Nicole L. D'Antonio
Curt D. Storlazzi
Susan A. Cochran
2016
<p class="p1">The coral reef in Faga‘alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa, has suffered numerous natural and anthropogenic stresses. Areas once dominated by live coral are now mostly rubble surfaces covered with turf or macroalgae. In an effort to improve the health and resilience of the coral reef system, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force selected Faga‘alu Bay as a priority study area. To support these efforts, the U.S. Geological Survey mapped nearly 1 km<sup>2 </sup>of seafloor to depths of about 60 m. Unconsolidated sediment (predominantly sand) constitutes slightly greater than 50 percent of the seafloor in the mapped area; reef and other hardbottom potentially available for coral recruitment constitute nearly 50 percent of the mapped area. Of this potentially available hardbottom, only slightly greater than 37 percent is covered with at least 10 percent coral, which is fairly evenly distributed between the reef flat, fore reef, and offshore bank/shelf. </p>
application/pdf
10.3133/ofr20161077
en
U.S. Geological Survey
Benthic habitat map of U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Faga‘alu Bay priority study area, Tutuila, American Samoa
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