UPC surveys of shallow rocky reefs and kelp forest habitats

This metadata record documents the uniform point contact (UPC) surveys for kelp forest community surveys. UPC sampling consists of recording the percent cover of sessile/colonial invertebrate and turf algal species, as well as four categories of substrate type and four categories of vertical relief at fixed points along survey transects. These points are at 1m intervals along a 30m transect tape. 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 area of coastline comprised of 3 cells, occupying approximately 500m. Each cell is comprised of 6 benthic transects stratified across the four zones described below.