SBC LTER: Reef: Long-term experiment: Kelp removal: Fish abundance

These data describe the abundance and size of reef-associated fish within permanent plots of a long-term experiment designed to examine trajectories of change in the structure and productivity of kelp forest communities in response to changes in the frequency and severity of disturbance to giant kelp. The number, size and species identity of reef fish are recorded within a 2 m wide swath centered along a 40 m long transect extending up to 2 m off the bottom. Fish size is measured as total length estimated to the nearest cm. The kelp disturbance experiment was initiated in 2008 at five reef sites along the mainland coast of the Santa Barbara Channel and included an annual kelp removal treatment designed to simulate increases in the frequency and severity of winter wave disturbance and a continual kelp removal treatment that allowed the effects of giant kelp on the community to be evaluated.