PISCO: OSU: Subtidal: Community Surveys: UPC Surveys

This metadata record documents the uniform point contact (UPC) surveys for PISCO
subtidal benthic community surveys. UPC sampling consists of recording the substrate
type, physical relief and percent cover of non-mobile invertebrates and algae along 30m
long transects. Benthic surveys are comprised of three components, all sampled along the
same transects: (1) uniform point contact (UPC) estimates of benthic cover and substrate
characteristics, (2) swath transects to estimate the density of kelps and macroinvertebrates
and (3) quadrat sampling to estimate the density of recruits of selected invert species,
small invertebrates, cryptic fishes and recruit macroalgae.

Subtidal community structure surveys are conducted annually at all sites during the
summer or early fall, and quantify substrate type and relief, benthic cover, abundance of
major groups of macroalgae and invertebrates, and abundance and size of fishes. Spatial
allocation of sampling is designed to measure year-to-year site-wide variability in
community structure and the spatial scales at which such variation occurs. A site is
defined as a fixed stretch of coastline, occupying approximately 500m. Each site is
divided into 2 halves (areas), which comprise a random factor stratifying sampling over
the entire site.