Santa Barbara Channel Marine BON: Integrated benthic cover

The Santa Barbara Channel MBON tracks long-term patterns in species abundance and
diversity. This dataset contains cover of kelp forest sessile invertebrates, understory
macroalgae, and substrate types by integrating data from four contributing projects working
in the kelp forests of the Santa Barbara Channel, USA. Divers collect data on using either
uniform point contact (UPC) or random point contact (RPC) methods.
The four contributing projects are two research projects: the Santa Barbara Coastal
LTER (SBC LTER) and the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO),
and the kelp forest monitoring program of the Santa Barbara Channel National Park, and the
San Nicolas Island monitoring program supported by USGS. Together, these projects have
recorded data for more than 200 species at approximately 100 sites on both the mainland
coast and on the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. Sampling began in 1982 and is ongoing.
Percent cover is recorded for taxa where individuals cannot be counted. Cover can be
calculated from the data here as the fraction of total points at which the taxon was present
x 100. With UPC and RPC, multiple species can be recorded at any given point. The total
percent cover of all species combined using this method can exceed 100%; however, the
percent cover of any single species cannot exceed 100%. See Methods for information on
integration and data processing.