RESULTS
Corals in Fatatele Bay: 2007/8
A total of 2417 coral colonies belonging to 94 species were recorded during surveys in Fagatele Bay in 2007/8. The most common coral in the bay (531 colonies) was Galaxea fascicularis. Three other species were common in the bay and were represented by more than 200 colonies each, including Montipora grisea (368 colonies), Porites lichen (213 colonies), and Porites rus (227 colonies). Most species (67 of 94 species) were numerically rare, and represented by less than 20 colonies (Table 1). In diverse ecosystems, most species are rare. This pattern is similar to that in the 2004 survey.
Coral cover was relatively high in Fagatele Bay based on the belt transect data (64.1% cover, Table 1). However, the numerically abundant corals did not always have the highest percent cover. For example, although Galaxea fascicularis was the most abundant coral in Fagatele Bay, it covered only 2.1% of the area surveyed. In contrast, we recorded only 10 colonies of Acropora clathrata, but it covered 12.7% of the area surveyed. Acropora hyacinthus, Montipora grisea, and Pocillopora eydouxi each had 5-10% cover in the bay (Table 1).
Table 1. Total number of colonies and percent cover of each coral species recorded in Fagatele Bay and Pago Pago Harbor sites in 2007/8.
|
Fagatele Bay
|
|
Pago Pago Harbor
|
|
Species
|
Abundance
|
% Cover
|
Abundance
|
% Cover
| Acropora abrotanoides |
3
|
0.7
|
|
|
Acropora austera
|
18
|
0.4
|
|
|
Acropora azurea
|
35
|
0.7
|
|
|
Acropora cerealis
|
2
|
0.05
|
|
| Acropora clathrata |
10
|
12.7
|
|
|
Acropora crateriformis
|
64
|
3.0
|
|
|
Acropora cytherea
|
6
|
0.8
|
|
|
Acropora digitate
|
4
|
|
|
| Acropora divaricata |
7
|
0.2
|
|
|
Acropora formosa
|
1
|
0.01
|
|
|
Acropora gemmifera
|
4
|
0.1
|
|
|
Acropora humilis
|
6
|
0.05
|
|
|
Acropora hyacinthus
|
49
|
7.5
|
|
|
Acropora “juvenile”
|
3
|
0.001
|
|
| Acropora loripes |
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Acropora nana
|
12
|
0.09
|
|
|
Acropora nasuta
|
10
|
0.5
|
|
|
Acropora nobilis
|
26
|
3.5
|
|
|
Acropora pagoensis
|
16
|
0.3
|
|
|
Acropora palifera
|
13
|
0.4
|
|
|
Acropora paniculata
|
3
|
0.2
|
|
|
Acropora samoensis
|
4
|
0.06
|
|
| Acropora valida |
1
|
0.001
|
|
|
Acropora spp.
|
6
|
0.7
|
3
|
0.09
|
Alveopora sp.
|
12
|
0.005
|
|
|
Astreopora microphthalma
|
1
|
0.04
|
1
|
0.005
|
Caulastrea furcata
|
3
|
0.2
|
|
|
Coscinaraea collumna
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Cyphastrea seralia
|
2
|
0.2
|
1
|
0.0006
|
Diploastrea heliopora
|
|
|
3
|
14.1
|
Echinopora gemmacea
|
5
|
0.8
|
|
|
Echinopora hirsutissima
|
2
|
0.04
|
|
|
Echinopora lamellosa
|
3
|
0.06
|
|
|
Favia pallida
|
1
|
0.15
|
|
|
Favia stelligera
|
2
|
0.8
|
|
|
Favites abdita
|
2
|
0.02
|
|
|
Favites complanata
|
12
|
0.3
|
|
|
Fungia concinna
|
2
|
0.01
|
|
|
Fungia fungites
|
3
|
0.01
|
6
|
0.09
|
Fungia klunzingeri
|
1
|
0.01
|
|
|
Fungia scutaria
|
1
|
0.01
|
|
|
Galaxea astreata
|
5
|
0.15
|
1
|
0.0006
|
Galaxea fascicularis
|
531
|
2.1
|
3
|
0.02
|
Gardinoseris planulata
|
|
|
2
|
0.7
|
Goniastrea retiformis
|
44
|
3.0
|
|
|
Goniastrea sp.
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Hydnophora exesa
|
37
|
3.5
|
|
|
Hydnophora microconos
|
|
0.1
|
|
| Hydnophora rigida |
10
|
0.06
|
|
|
Leptastrea purpurea
|
5
|
0.08
|
|
|
Leptastrea transversa
|
1
|
0.04
|
1
|
0.09
|
Leptoria phrygia
|
|
0.04
|
1
|
0.0006
|
Leptoseris mycetoseroides
|
2
|
0.005
|
|
|
Lobophyllia hemprichii
|
2
|
0.04
|
|
|
Merulina ampliata
|
2
|
0.08
|
|
|
Merulina scabricula
|
|
|
5
|
0.2
|
Millepora dichotoma
|
|
|
8
|
0.8
|
Millepora exaesa
|
|
|
2
|
0.1
|
Millepora platyphylla
|
|
|
4
|
0.1
|
Millepora sp.
|
|
|
9
|
1.7
|
Montastrea annuligera
|
4
|
0.2
|
|
|
Montastrea curta
|
21
|
0.3
|
|
|
Montipora efflorescens
|
57
|
1.0
|
1
|
0.02
|
Montipora foveolata
|
4
|
0.02
|
|
|
Montipora grisea
|
368
|
5.6
|
80
|
1.0
|
Montipora hispida
|
1
|
<0.001
|
|
|
Montipora informis
|
5
|
0.1
|
3
|
0.006
|
Montipora nodosa
|
14
|
0.15
|
|
| Montipora tuberculosa |
5
|
0.8
|
4
|
0.01
|
Montipora turgescens
|
9
|
0.2
|
|
|
Montipora venosa
|
137
|
0.5
|
|
|
Montipora sp.
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Pavona divaricata
|
|
|
29
|
0.2
|
Pavona maldivensis
|
3
|
0.08
|
|
|
Pavona varians
|
76
|
1.4
|
78
|
4.8
|
Pavona varians “colines”
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Pavona venosa
|
21
|
0.1
|
|
|
Platygyra dadaelea
|
3
|
0.02
|
|
|
Platygyra sinensis
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Pocillopora damicornis
|
5
|
0.01
|
53
|
0.3
|
Pocillopora eydouxi
|
87
|
4.1
|
2
|
0.03
|
Pocillopora meandrina
|
4
|
0.1
|
|
|
Pocillopora verrucosa
|
53
|
0.5
|
26
|
0.5
|
Pocillopora woodjonesi
|
9
|
0.5
|
|
|
Porites annae
|
2
|
0.0005
|
|
|
Porites cylindrica
|
14
|
0.2
|
|
|
Porites lichen
|
213
|
1.3
|
|
|
Porites “mound”
|
13
|
0.07
|
2
|
0.1
|
Porites rus
|
227
|
2.3
|
10
|
0.4
|
Porites sp.
|
6
|
0.003
|
|
|
Porites sp. 2
|
75
|
0.2
|
|
|
Porites vaughani
|
7
|
0.006
|
|
|
Psammocora contigua
|
1
|
0.01
|
32
|
0.8
|
Psammocora sp. 1
|
1
|
0.04
|
|
|
Psammocora hameana
|
3
|
0.01
|
3
|
0.09
|
Psammocora nierstraszi
|
|
|
1
|
0.09
|
Psammocora profundacella
|
5
|
0.09
|
40
|
0.2
|
Stylocoeniella armata
|
7
|
0.004
|
|
|
Symphyllia radians
|
|
|
1
|
0.006
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2417
|
|
401
|
|
Total number of species
|
94
|
|
31
|
|
Overall coral cover
|
64.1
|
|
26.8
|
| |