Pacific Region RCSD Projects & Activities (PAWS) Worksheet
Form used for a entering PAWS into Piko (Worsheet Version April 27 2012)
Acronym
Name/Title
Monitoring Annual Summer Bleaching in Backreef Pools of Tutuila, American Samoa
Capability Area: Understanding Climate Variability and Change
Understanding Climate Variability and Change
Observing Systems, Data Stewardship, Data Services
Operational Products and Services
Research/Development
Historical Observations (hindcasts/climatologies)
Projections (modeling and downscaling)
Training and Capacity Building, Education, Outreach
Best Practices/Guidance
Decision Support Tools
Essential Climate Variable/Parameter
Atmospheric:
Surface (e.g., temp, precip, wind)
Upper-Air
Composition
Oceanic:
Surface (e.g., SST, SSH, salinity, ocean color)
Sub-surface (e.g., temp, salinity, nutrients, carbon, phytoplankton)
Terrestrial:
(e.g., surface water, glaciers and ice caps, land cover, biomass)
Time Frame
Seasonal (outlook)
Intra-annual to Decadal
Multi-decadal (scenarios)
Capability Area: Understanding Climate Impacts and Informing Adaptation
Understanding Climate Impacts and Informing Adaptation
Climate Impacts
Observing Systems, Data Stewardship, Data Services
Research/Development
Historical Observations (hindcasts/climatologies)
Projections (modeling and downscaling)
Climate Adaptation
Training and Capacity Building, Education, Outreach
Best Practices/Guidance
Decision Support Tools
Policies and Legislation
Assessment and Evaluation
Sector
Public Health and Safety
Fresh Water Resources
Energy
Transportation/Communication and Commerce
Community Planning and Development
Social and Cultural Resources
Agriculture and Fisheries
Recreation and Tourism
Ecosystems
Other
Status
Completed
Ongoing
Planned
Proposed
Focus Area
Fresh Water Resources and Drought
Coastal Inundation/Sea Level Rise, Extreme Weather, and Community Resilience
Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems
Region/Locale
Central North Pacific
State of Hawaii
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Pacific Remote Islands
Western North Pacific
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
Guam
Republic of Palau
Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI)
Other Western North Pacific
South Pacific
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Kiribati
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Other South Pacific
Pacific Basin
Global
Description
Annual coral bleaching is monitored in two backreef pools on Tutuila, at the airport and the village of Alofau. Bleaching typically happens each Austral summer. Bleaching prevalence is estimated every few weeks based on a one hour swim over a standard route.
Objectives/Outcomes
Plot of bleaching prevalence over each year. Eight years of data have been collected so far. One publication so far: Fenner, D., and S. Heron. 2009. Annual summer mass bleaching of a multi-species coral community in American Samoa. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale. 1289-1293.
Lead Agencies, Institutions and Organizations
Territorial Coral Reef Monitoring Program, Dept. Marine & Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Government
Contacts(names, emails)
Douglas Fenner, douglasfennertassi@gmail.com
Partnering Agencies, Institutions, and Organizations
NOAA/CRCP (coral reef monitoring grant)
Required Resources
The entire monitoring budget is about $140,000 per year, but includes all reef monitoring activities.
Projected Timelines
Began late 2003, ongoing indefinite.
Feedback Mechanisms and Evaluation Measures
Peer review of papers.
Url
Worksheet
PnA_BBPAS.doc
Keywords
Understanding Climate Variability and Change Research/Development Observing Systems, Data Stewardship, Data Services Intra-annual to Decadal Understanding Climate Impacts and Informing Adaptation Climate Impacts Observing Systems, Data Stewardship, Data Services Research/Development Ecosystems Ongoing Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems American Samoa South Pacific