Kelp Forests: CINMS

In 2018 scientists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE) completed surveys of warty sea cucumber (WSC) abundance and distribution at two sites off Anacapa Island (15-60 m deep). The purpose of this study was to characterize previously observed seasonal changes in abundance at depths that are poorly studied for this species.

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) off the coast of Southern California was designated in 1980. In 2005, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and CINMS were considering six alternatives for adjusting the sanctuary's boundaries. Identifying how the six options overlaid with the distribution of marine resources was a critical consideration. To address this need, we conducted a biogeographic assessment.

The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project was started in July 2005 by the SeaDoc Society (UC Davis Wildlife Health Center). Since its inception, the Project has recovered more than 100 tons of lost fishing gear and other marine debris. The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project proposes to continue to help reduce the potential impact of lost fishing gear on living marine resources and underwater habitat by retrieving lost fishing gear from Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) and anywhere on the coast where it is a high priority for removal because of demonstrated or potential impacts to marine wildlife and people. 1-888-491-GEAR to report lost, abandoned, and discarded gear. 

The Kelp Forest Monitoring (KFM) Program was established by Channel Islands National Park in 1982 to collect baseline information about the kelp forest ecosystem in the park. Each year the program collects size and abundance data for 72 categories (taxa) of algae, invertebrates, and fish that are indicators of ecosystem health.

Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteers are trained by CINMS and CINP to educate the public on board local marine excursion vessels conducting whale watch tours, natural history tours, and island trips. Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteers are trained to conduct citizen science on marine mammal field identification and general research. Research objectives of the program include the development of a comprehensive database of incidental marine mammal sightings and reports collected in the Santa Barbara Channel, CINMS and CINP.

Managing the global threat of ocean acidification on a local scale is becoming a concern for policy makers and managers. With few long-term and baseline ocean pH records in place, it is difficult to understand natural and anthropogenic influences on pH variability. With development of pH sensors, monitoring networks are growing along the west coast of the United States.

Partners: UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Long Beach

Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) are large, soniferous apex predators of the kelp forest ecosystem. This project around Santa Barbara Island (SBI) utilizes a comprehensive array of acoustic telemetry receivers and external tagging of S. gigas to understand their movements around the islands. This work is in conjunction with the installation of soundtraps in order to gain a better understanding of the soundscape around SBI and the impact of sound on Giant Sea Bass in the region.

Dr. White’s research lab at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), in collaboration with Dr. Zacherl's lab at California State University - Fullerton and Dr. Beas' lab at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, is testing whether El Niño oceanographic conditions, which are expected to increase in frequency and severity with climate change, drive poleward range expansion of coastal marine species. The research is focused on Kellet’s whelk (Kelletia kelletii), a predatory marine snail that is the target of an escalating fishery, and that is expanding its range up the western North American coast. Kellet’s whelk is one of numerous species (e.g., spiny lobster, kelp bass, sheepshead) implicated in the hypothesis that warm, northward-flowing ocean currents generated by El Niño transport fish and invertebrate larva up the U.S. west coast and make northern reefs dependent on southern populations for new supplies of recruits. For this project, Drs. White, Zacherl and Beas' student-centered research team is conducting SCUBA-based population surveys in kelp forests across Kellet’s whelk’s range and over multiple years of varying oceanographic conditions and then using the data to test for enhanced larval recruitment at the poleward margin of the species’ range in association with oceanographic conditions characteristic of El Niño events.

PISCO’s kelp forest monitoring programs are designed to reveal geographic patterns of the structure and functions of this important ecosystem through quantification of the abundance of the macroalgae, invertebrates and fishes that constitute kelp forest communities. Our approach allows us to quantify large- and small-scale spatial patterns of structure of the kelp forest communities as well as characterize changes over time. This information provides insight into the causes and consequences of changes in species abundance resulting from natural and anthropogenic factors and as such forms the basis of ecosystem-based management of kelp forest communities. 

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)'s Fish Survey Project enlists the help of recreational SCUBA divers to identify and count nearshore fishes.

The Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (SBC MBON) is designed to provide a complete picture of marine biodiversity in the region. SBC MBON is developing a widely applicable research model that integrates new information with existing data to improve current research and monitoring programs and provide greater insight into marine biodiversity.

The Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research project (SBC LTER ) is an interdisciplinary research and education program housed at the University of California Santa Barbara. SBC LTER was established in April 2000 with the goal of advancing a predictive understanding of how oceanic and terrestrial processes alter material flows to influence the ecology of coastal ecosystems in a changing climate.

This project is a follow-up to restoration work that was initiated in 2001 under CINMS permit 2001-002, and to channel-wide surveys conducted (aboard the Shearwater and other vessels) in 2008 and 2009. We will be assessing the extent and condition of an Anacapa Island eelgrass (Zostera pacifica) bed 10+ years after active restoration work ceased. We will also assess the surrounding soft-bottom community associated with the restored eelgrass bed, and at other large beds at Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. This project meets a research need as soft-bottom communities are seldom studied outside of our work. In addition, the project builds upon 12+ years of outreach and education related to the importance of protecting seagrass habitats. There may be a need for future work for protection of seagrass resources around the Channel Islands. This current study is an important precursor to a larger-scale seagrass resource protection needs assessment. In addition, changing ocean conditions (El Niño, ocean acidification, sea level rise) may greatly affect ecology and function of, and services provided by, eelgrass beds.

This is an ongoing study of potential MPA roles on larval recruitment, larval transport, animal movements and ocean circulation

White abalone are one of seven species of abalone found off southern California, and unfortunately, their population once in the millions, plummeted by 99 percent to about 1,600 to 2,500 individuals due to overfishing and disease.  In 2001, white abalone became the first marine invertebrate to receive Federal protection as an endangered species.  Results from this survey effort will help identify potential priority locations within the historic range of white abalone to enhance wild populations with juvenile white abalone raised in a captive breeding program.