The biological communities at ten sites around the Island of Tutuila, American Samoa were surveyed in October 2002 by a team of four investigators. Diving observations and collections of benthic observations using scuba and snorkel were made at six stations in Pago Pago Harbor, two stations in Fagatele Bay, and one station each in Vatia Bay and Fagasa Bay. These results were compared with all marine organism reports for these areas by previous investigators.

A survey of the marine macroalgae and invertebrates in the intertidal and subtidal zones was conducted at seven sites around Kaho'olawe Island from January 12 to 14, 1998. A total of 298 species were observed or collected, including 152 taxa in the intertidal and 193 in the subtidal. Most of these are new reports for Kaho'olawe and include only 35 species previously reported, which were mostly reef corals and macroalgae. Data are provided as derived from the report: 1998-002. Coles, S.L., R.C. DeFelice, J.E. Smith, D. Muir & L.G. Eldredge. 1998. Determination of baseline conditions for introduced marine species in nearshore waters of the of Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i. Report prepared for the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission. 13 + [22] p. http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pdf/kahoolawe.pdf

A survey of the marine communities of Midway Atoll harbor and surrounding lagoon was conducted at 12 sites from September 5 to 9, 1998. The primary focus of these surveys was the invertebrates of the fouling communities present on artificial substrates. Occurrence of reef fishes at each site was also recorded, and algae was collected and identified from four stations. A total of 444 taxa were identified (47 algae, 316 invertebrates, and 81 fishes) from all stations. Approximately 250 invertebrate and 35 algae species are considered new records for Midway Atoll. All fishes observed were previously recorded from the atoll. Only three invertebrates identified in this survey are considered to be nonindigenous species in the Hawaiian Islands. One introduced bryozoan, Amathia distans, dominated the fouling communities at most stations where artificial substrates were available. Another introduced bryozoan, Schizoporella errata, was also common at the same stations. A non indigenous barnacle, Chthamalus proteus, recently introduced from the Caribbean, was common on pier pilings inside Midway harbor. No introduced invertebrates were present in natural habitats. The introduced snapper, Lutjanus kasmira, was also present along the reef outside the lagoon. The threat to the native reef community by established non-indigenous species is considered minimal. The presence of these introduced species at Midway, especially Chthamalus proteus, suggests that vectors of future, potentially more deleterious introductions exist. Transport of these introductions was most likely as fouling on ship bottoms, but other sources of introductions, such as ballast water carried in ships, should be guarded against to protect the relatively pristine reefs of Midway Atoll.

The marine and estuarine invertebrate and fish communities in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii were surveyed between January and October, 1996. Samples were taken and observations were made at fifteen stations throughout the harbor, in a variety of environments ranging from near oceanic conditions at the harbor entrance channel to areas receiving land runoff with high sediment loads and turbidity. All organisms were identified to species or the highest practicable taxonomic level, and results were compared to previous published and unpublished marine biological surveys conducted in the harbor, published taxonomic descriptions of organisms collected from the harbor and Pearl Harbor specimens cataloged in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum collections. All data were entered on a relational database at the Bishop Museum (database is not included in this dataset) which enables tracking the appearance of individual species with time. Based on a number of criteria, nonindigenous and cryptogenic (i. e. origin unsure, but with good evidence of being introduced) species were designated and their introductions noted on a timeline beginning from the first organisms reported in Pearl Harbor in the last century. This study collected or observed a total of 434 species or higher taxa (36 algae, 1 spermatophyte, 338 invertebrate and 59 fish) from the 15 stations sampled, the highest number of taxa that have been collected for any Pearl Harbor study. Ninety six species, or about 22%, are considered to be introduced or cryptogenic. The areas of highest species richness were in the entrance channel and in Rainbow Bay at the northeast head of East Loch where number of taxa were around 150. Lowest species richness occurred in the areas of high sedimentation and turbidity at the head of West Loch where fewer than 50 taxa occurred. Dendrographs based on Sorensen Indices of Similarity of species composition among stations suggest three types of communities in the harbor, one associated with relatively oceanic conditions in channel areas, one with the highly turbid West Loch sedimentary environment and one with conditions prevailing throughout the rest of the harbor. This report also contains historical maps, a chronology of important events, and a bibliography of related work.

A survey of the marine communities of Midway Atoll harbor and surrounding lagoon was conducted at 12 sites from September 5 to 9, 1998. The primary focus of these surveys was the invertebrates of the fouling communities present on artificial substrates. Occurrence of reef fishes at each site was also recorded, and algae was collected and identified from four stations. A total of 444 taxa were identified (47 algae, 316 invertebrates, and 81 fishes) from all stations. Approximately 250 invertebrate and 35 algae species are considered new records for Midway Atoll. All fishes observed were previously record form the atoll. Only three invertebrates identified in this survey are considered to be nonindigenous species in the Hawaiian Islands. One introduced bryozoan, Amathia distans, dominated the fouling communities at most stations where artificial substrates were available. Another introduced bryozoan, Schizoporella errata, was also common at the same stations. A non indigenous barnacle, Chthamalus proteus, recently introduced from the Caribbean, was common on pier pilings inside Midway harbor. No introduced invertebrates were present in natural habitats. The introduced snapper, Lutjanus kasmira, was also present along the reef outside the lagoon. The threat to the native reef community by established non-indigenous species is considered minimal. The presence of these introduced species at Midway, especially Chthamalus proteus, suggests that vectors of future, potentially more deleterious introductions exist. Transport of these introductions was most likely as fouling on ship bottoms, but other sources of introductions, such as ballast water carried in ships, should be guarded against to protect the relatively pristine reefs of Midway Atoll.

A survey of the marine macroalgae and invertebrates in the intertidal and subtidal zones was conducted at seven sites around Kaho'olawe Island from January 12 to 14, 1998. A total of 298 species were observed or collected, including 152 taxa in the intertidal and 193 in the subtidal. Most of these are new reports for Kaho'olawe and include only 35 species previously reported, which were mostly reef corals and macroalgae. Data are provided as derived from the report: 1998-002. Coles, S.L., R.C. DeFelice, J.E. Smith, D. Muir & L.G. Eldredge. 1998. Determination of baseline conditions for introduced marine species in nearshore waters of the of Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i. Report prepared for the Kaho`olaweIsland Reserve Commission. 13 + [22] p.http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pdf/kahoolawe.pdf

Six permanent transects in Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, American Samoa, and 11 other sites around Tutuila Island were established in 1985. This dataset contains coral reef surveys taken in 1995 and 1998 along these established transect lines. Data were taken on 30-m transects along isobaths on the reef platform and at depths of 3, 5, 9, and 12 m. Data on algae, fish, and macroinvertebrates were also collected by other investigators, but are not included with this data set. Data includes coral species, size distribution of colonies, frequency, density per 100m2, relative density, percent cover and relative cover.

The marine algae, invertebrate and fish communities were surveyed at ten islet or offshore island sites in the Main Hawaiian Islands in the vicinity of Lanai, (Puu Pehe and Poo Poo Islets), Maui (Kaemi and Hulu Islets and the outer rim of Molokini), off Kaulapapa National Historic Park on Molokai (Mokapu, Okala and Namoku Islets) and Oahu (Kaohikaipu Islet and outside Kapapa Island) in 2007. Survey protocol at all sites consisted of an initial reconnaissance survey on which all algae, invertebrates and fishes that could be identified on site were listed and or photographed and collections of algae and invertebrates were collected for later laboratory identification. Following the reconnaissance surveys, quantitative estimates of coral and algal coverage and size and biomass of fishes along 25 m transects were conducted at each site and their locations were recorded using GPS. This dataset consists of the photographic images from this project (.jpg) with associated .mxd and .lyr files for use in a GIS, plus documentation. In a separate submission, NCEI Accession 0042684, quantitative results in spreadsheets are provided. The images could serve useful as new software becomes available for assessing coral and algae types and coverage via digital photographs.

Collections and observations in 2002-2003 at harbor and nearby reef sites at Nawilwili and Port Allen, Kauai; Hale O Lono and Kaunakakai, Molokai; Kahului and Maalaea, Maui; and Kawaihae and Hilo, Hawaii recorded a total of 1039 taxa of marine algae, invertebrates, and fishes, 872 of which were identified to the species level. Of these 11 were new reports for Hawaii and 112 were identified as introduced or cryptogenic species (NIS), for an overall NIS component of 10.9% of the total taxa recorded. Contrasting patterns were found between the distributions of the total identified taxa and NIS, with greater numbers of total taxa occurring at reef stations and greater numbers of NIS occurring in harbors, where they composed up to 36% of the total identified taxa. Occurrence and abundance of NIS decreased systematically from maxima in highly used commercial harbors which are isolated from oceanic circulation to relatively exposed small boat harbors to fully exposed reef sites. Only a few NIS that frequently occurred at harbor sites also occurred at reef sites. These results concur with previous studies in Hawaii and the tropical Pacific that have indicated NIS to show maximum numbers in harbors and embayments with restricted oceanic circulation and few introduced or cryptogenic species to occur on coral reefs or other ocean exposed environments.