Santa Barbara Channel Marine BON: Nearshore kelp forest integrated benthic cover, 1980-ongoing

The Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
(SBCMBON) tracks long-term patterns in species abundance and
diversity. This dataset contains cover of kelp forest sessile
invertebrates, understory macroalgae, and substrate types by
integrating data from four contributing projects working in the kelp
forests of the Santa Barbara Channel, USA. Divers collect data on
using either uniform point contact (UPC) or random point contact (RPC)
methods. The four contributing projects are two research projects: The Santa
Barbara Coastal LTER (SBC LTER) and the Partnership for
Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), the kelp forest
monitoring program of the Santa Barbara Channel National Park, and the
San Nicolas Island monitoring program supported by USGS. Together,
these projects have recorded data for more than 200 species at
approximately 100 sites on both the mainland coast and on the Santa
Barbara Channel Islands. Sampling began in 1982 and is ongoing. Data
were collected by human observation (divers using SCUBA) during
regular surveys. Percent cover is recorded for taxa where individuals cannot be
counted. Cover can be calculated from the data here as the fraction of
total points at which the taxon was present x 100. With UPC and RPC
methods, multiple species can be recorded at any given point. The
total percent cover of all species combined using this method can
exceed 100%; however, the percent cover of any single species cannot
exceed 100%. See Methods for information on integration and data
processing. MBON is funded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For users who are interested in using all or part of this integrated
datasets, please contact data owners to discuss your research
interests, data-related issues or any other questions. A recommended
citation for the data package is available from the download page. In
addition, any manuscript generated using this dataset is expected to
be sent to the data owners before publication so we can be sure the
data is used in the proper context and methods are reported
accurately: Santa Barbara Coastal LTER (LTER): Dan Reed [e-mail] Robert Miller [e-mail] Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO): Kelp forest monitoring (KFM): David Kushner [e-mail] Joshua Sprague [e-mail] San Nicolas Island monitoring (SNI): Kevin Lafferty [e-mail] Mike Kenner [e-mail]