A multi‐decade time series of kelp forest community structure at the California Channel Islands

Abstract

AbstractStudies of temperate rocky reef communities have added much to our understanding of ecology. However, data on these reef communities can be difficult to obtain; wind, waves, and poor underwater visibility often prevent research diving, and even under the best conditions only a few hours a day can be spent underwater collecting data. Here, we present data on temperate subtidal reef communities at 33 sites, almost half of which the National Park Service has sampled annually since 1982. We present core data sets describing the population dynamics of 16 fish, 37 invertebrate, and 15 algal taxa. We include supplementary data sets documenting the size structure of key species, the relative abundance of all fish, the recruitment of selected invertebrates, and the subtidal water temperature at each site through time. Taken together, these data provide one of the most comprehensive descriptions of nearshore reef community dynamics ever assembled.