Table_5_Insight into best practices: a review of long-term monitoring of the rocky intertidal zone of the Northeast Pacific Coast.xlsx

On the shores of the Northeast Pacific Coast, research programs have monitored the rocky intertidal zone for multiple decades across thousands of kilometers, ranking among the longest-term and largest-scale ecological monitoring programs in the world. These programs have produced powerful datasets using simple field methods, and many are now capitalizing on modern field-sampling technology and computing power to collect and analyze biological information at increasing scale and resolution. Considering its depth, breadth, and cutting-edge nature, this research field provides an excellent case study for examining the design and implementation of long-term, large-scale ecological monitoring. I curated literature and interviewed 25 practitioners to describe, in detail, the methods employed in 37 community-level surveys by 18 long-term monitoring programs on the Northeast Pacific Coast, from Baja California, México, to Alaska, United States of America. I then characterized trade-offs between survey design components, identified key strengths and limitations, and provided recommendations for best practices. In doing so, I identified data gaps and research priorities for sustaining and improving this important work. This analysis is timely, especially considering the threat that climate change and other anthropogenic stressors present to the persistence of rocky intertidal communities. More generally, this review provides insight that can benefit long-term monitoring within other ecosystems.

在东北太平洋沿岸，诸多研究项目已针对岩相潮间带（rocky intertidal zone）开展了数十年、覆盖数千公里的生态监测工作，跻身全球持续时间最久、规模最大的生态监测项目之列。这些项目依托简便的野外采样方法生成了极具价值的数据集，如今诸多项目正借助现代野外采样技术与计算能力，以不断提升的规模与分辨率收集、分析生物信息。鉴于该研究领域的深度、广度与前沿性，其可为长期、大规模生态监测的设计与实施提供绝佳的案例研究范本。本研究通过整理文献与访谈25名从业人员，详细描述了东北太平洋沿岸（从墨西哥下加利福尼亚州至美利坚合众国阿拉斯加州）18个长期监测项目所开展的37项群落水平调查所采用的方法。随后，本研究刻画了调查设计各组成要素之间的权衡关系，明确了其核心优势与局限性，并针对最佳实践提出了相关建议。借此，本研究明确了该领域现有数据缺口与研究重点，以支撑并完善这项重要工作。鉴于气候变化与其他人为胁迫因子对岩相潮间带群落存续构成的威胁，本分析具有极强的时效性。更广泛而言，本综述所提供的见解，可为其他生态系统的长期监测工作提供借鉴。