Aerial canopy mapping paired with eDNA metabarcoding reveals quantitative links between kelp dynamics and fish community structure in Palos Verdes, California
Year: 2026
Type: dataset
Abstract: Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a foundational species whose canopy structure supports high fish diversity and community complexity in temperate rocky reef ecosystems. The Palos Verdes Peninsula has a historically significant but degraded kelp forest ecosystem embedded in the urbanized Southern California Bight that has been the focus of recent restoration efforts. Here we utilized a combined approach of aerial drone mapping with eDNA metabarcoding to compare teleost fish diversity to kelp canopy coverage, spanning a winter-to-spring seasonal transition. eDNA detected 106 fish taxa representing 57 families. Fish species richness and Shannon diversity significantly increased with percent kelp canopy coverage, with samples from sites exceeding 30% canopy cover exhibiting markedly higher fish diversity than areas with lower kelp canopy coverage. Simpson diversity also differed significantly across canopy groups overall, but no pairwise contrast survived Bonferroni correction, suggesting that the differences in richness and Shannon diversity were driven primarily by the addition of less abundant taxa under high kelp cover rather than by shifts in evenness among dominant species. These results demonstrate the utility of eDNA metabarcoding and drone mapping as an efficient and effective tool for non-invasive kelp forest biomonitoring and restoration assessment.
Source: DRYAD
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7207844417