Benthic Surveys in Vatia, American Samoa since 2015: benthic images collected during belt transect surveys in 2015 and 2020
Jurisdictional managers have expressed concerns that nutrients from the village of Vatia, Tutuila, American Samoa, are having an adverse effect on the adjacent coral reef ecosystem. Excess nutrient loads promote increases in algal growth that can have deleterious effects on corals, such as benthic algae outcompeting …