Santa Barbara Channel Marine BON: Nearshore kelp forest integrated fish, 1981-ongoing

The Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
(SBCMBON) tracks long-term patterns in species abundance and
diversity. This dataset contains counts of fish (including cryptic
fish, which are deliberately sought out) produced by integrating data
from four contributing projects working in the kelp forests of the
Santa Barbara Channel, USA.

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 1980 and is ongoing. Data
were collected by human observation (divers using SCUBA) during
regular surveys.

This dataset includes five entities, three data tables and two R
scripts. The main data table contains counts of organisms, the
bottom-area and height of the water column over which the fish were
surveyed. The column labeled “count” records the number of organisms
found in each plot/transect at a given timestamp. A second data table
contains place names and geolocation for sampling sites. Information
is sufficient for the calculation of fish density, which is left to
the user. The third data table contains the depths of each transect
the for the fish survey. Sample R script is included to illustrate
generation of a basic table of areal density by taxa and sampling
site. A second R script is included to convert these data from their
primary MBON structure to a Darwin Core Archive (and available through
multiple sources).

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]