SBC LTER: Reef: Long-term experiment: Kelp removal: Cover of sessile organisms, Uniform Point Contact

These data describe the percent cover of sessile invertebrates and
understory macroalgae 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. Percent cover was determined using a uniform point contact
method that consists of noting the identity and relative vertical
position of all organisms under 80 uniformly placed points located
within a 1 m wide band centered on permanent 40 m transects in
each sampling plot. Each species may only be recorded once per
point. Using this method, the percent cover of all species
combined may exceed 100%, however, the maximum percent cover
possible for any single species cannot exceed 100%. The 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. The last experimental removals of giant kelp
occurred in winter 2016 or winter 2017, depending on the site.
Data collection continued in all plots until spring 2023 to
document the recovery trajectory of the reef fish community
following the cessation of experimental kelp removal.