SBC LTER: Reef: Kelp Forest Community Dynamics: Fish abundance

These data describe the abundance and size of fish species as part of SBCLTER's kelp forest monitoring program to track long-term patterns in species abundance and diversity. This study began in 2000 in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, USA, and the dataset is updated periodically throughout the year. The abundance and size of all taxa of resident kelp forest fish encountered along permanent transects are recorded at nine reef sites located along the mainland coast of the Santa Barbara Channel and at two sites on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. These sites reflect several oceanographic regimes in the channel and vary in distance from sources of terrestrial runoff. In these surveys, fish were counted in either a 40x2m benthic quadrat, or in the water parcel 0-2m off the bottom over the same area.