PISCO: Intertidal: Coastal Biodiversity Surveys: Swath Surveys

This metadata record documents the Swath surveys for PISCO intertidal coastal biodiversity surveys. Swath sampling consists of recording the number of seastars and abalone on eleven 2m wide transects of variable length extending from the upper intertidal to the low intertidal. Intertidal surveys are comprised of four components, all sampled along the same transects: (1) point contact estimates of intertidal cover and substrate characteristics, (2) swath transects to estimate the density of seastars and abalone, (3) quadrat sampling to estimate the density of mobile invertebrates, and (4) topography (elevation relative to mean low low water (mllw)). Intertidal coastal biodiversity surveys are conducted throughout the year at sites ranging from Southeast Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. Selected sites are resampled on a 3 to 5 year cycle. A site is defined as a contiguous rocky bench of at least 30m.