Santa Barbara Channel Marine BON: Nearshore kelp forest integrated benthic cover, 1980-ongoing

The Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
(SBCMBON) 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), 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. Data were collected by human observation (divers using
SCUBA) during regular surveys. 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 methods, 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. MBON is funded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For users who are interested in using all or part of this integrated
datasets, please contact data owners to discuss your research
interests, data-related issues or any other questions. A recommended
citation for the data package is available from the download page.
In addition, any manuscript generated using this dataset is expected
to be sent to the data owners before publication so we can be sure
the data is used in the proper context and methods are reported
accurately: Santa Barbara Coastal LTER (LTER): Dan Reed [e-mail] Robert Miller [e-mail] Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO): Jenn Caselle [e-mail] Kelp forest monitoring (KFM): David Kushner [e-mail] Joshua Sprague [e-mail] San Nicolas Island monitoring (SNI): Kevin Lafferty [e-mail] Mike Kenner [e-mail]