DOI: 10.6085/aa/pisco_kelpforest.1.11
title: PISCO Kelp Forest Community Surveys

description: The kelp forest monitoring datasets provided here are collected as
 part of the long-term monitoring program of the Partnership for
 Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). If you (the
 ‘Data User’) are considering use of these data, we strongly
 encourage collaboration with PISCO scientists and co-authorship when
 appropriate, and request that you discuss your analyses with the
 dataset authors to minimize duplicative efforts. The Data User
 should realize that these data are likely being actively used by
 others for ongoing research and that coordination may be necessary
 to prevent duplicate publication. Please use this form as an initial
 method of contact:
 
 
 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSct8vbkyM3l36GjQ0Uq6E50oeCQWlW7682DYecXnTfxpmzlUQ/viewform
).
 
 
 The Data User is urged to contact the authors of these data if any
 questions about methodology or results occur. The Data User has an
 ethical obligation to cite the data source appropriately in any
 publication or product that results from its use and notify the
 dataset authors. Please send copies of any published manuscript
 based on these data to the data contact and data creator. The Data
 User should be aware that data are updated periodically, and it is
 the responsibility of the Data User to check for new versions of the
 data. Extensive efforts are made to ensure that online data are
 accurate and up to date, but the authors and PISCO will not take
 responsibility for any errors that may exist in data provided
 online. Furthermore, the user assumes all responsibility for errors
 in analysis or judgment resulting from use of the data. The data
 authors and the repository where these data were obtained shall not
 be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of
 the data.
 
 
 In 1998, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal
 Oceans (PISCO) designed and initiated a large scale, long-term
 monitoring study of kelp forest ecosystems along portions of the
 southern, central and northern coast of California and southern
 Oregon, USA. The program is administered out of the University of
 California campuses in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara and funded
 primarily by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The purpose of
 the study has been to characterize the regional and temporal
 patterns of kelp forest ecosystem structure and evaluate the
 relative contributions of biological and environmental variables in
 explaining observed spatial and temporal patterns. For this purpose,
 the ecological community and physical structure of kelp forest
 ecosystems have been surveyed using trained SCUBA divers. The
 biological structure includes the more conspicuous fishes,
 invertebrates, and macroalgae. The physical structure includes
 geomorphological attributes (substratum type and vertical relief).
 Among other applications, these surveys have informed the design and
 evaluation of the state-wide network of marine protected areas
 (MPAs) established by California’s Marine Life Protection Act. Over
 time, the role of the monitoring program for evaluating the
 ecological responses to the establishment of the MPAs greatly
 influenced both the spatial and temporal design of the monitoring
 program.