Benthic Kelp and Invertebrate Counts, California Sheephead Abundance, Substrate Rugosity Data, and Benthic Temperatures from Long-term Kelp Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Sites at San Nicolas Island, California
Dates
Publication Date
2022-02-04
Start Date
1980
End Date
2018
Citation
Kenner, M.C., and Randell, Z.H., 2022, Benthic kelp and invertebrate counts, California sheephead abundance, substrate rugosity data, and benthic temperatures from long-term kelp forest ecosystem monitoring sites at San Nicolas Island, California: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9Q6B625.
Summary
Four data sets are included here to aid in assessing the influence of substrate complexity on kelp forest ecosystem stability. One data set consists of counts of a suite of kelps and benthic invertebrates on permanent band transects (swaths) at six long-term monitoring sites from 1980-2018. A second data set consists of total counts of adult California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher), an important sea urchin predator, on these sites from 1981-2018. The third data set gives an index of the relative substrate rugosity in the form of replicate distances along the bottom profile of each permanent swath. Finally, bottom temperatures recorded from 2015-2019 show the relatively homogenous water mass that encompasses all the sites. These [...]
Summary
Four data sets are included here to aid in assessing the influence of substrate complexity on kelp forest ecosystem stability. One data set consists of counts of a suite of kelps and benthic invertebrates on permanent band transects (swaths) at six long-term monitoring sites from 1980-2018. A second data set consists of total counts of adult California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher), an important sea urchin predator, on these sites from 1981-2018. The third data set gives an index of the relative substrate rugosity in the form of replicate distances along the bottom profile of each permanent swath. Finally, bottom temperatures recorded from 2015-2019 show the relatively homogenous water mass that encompasses all the sites.
These data support the following publication:
Randell, Z.H., Kenner, M.C., Tomoleoni, J.T., Yee, J.L., and Novak, M., 2022. Kelp-forest dynamics controlled by substrate complexity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(8), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2103483119.
The authors of these data require that data users contact them regarding intended use and to assist with understanding limitations and interpretation. Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Purpose
These data were collected as part of a long-term monitoring project of rocky reef kelp forest communities at San Nicolas Island, California in which several fixed sites were repeatedly surveyed.
