CIRP Research Papers and Seminars
Since 1984 a population of stomatopods (Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis) on Catalina Island has been studied. For many years the population was monitored quarterly, but now it is visited on an annual basis. Also known as giant mantis shrimp, this crustacean digs burrows in stable muddy-sand habitats. Behavior, growth rates, recruitment, and reproduction are some of the aspects of this animal's biology being investigated.
For further information:
Basch, LV and JM Engle.
1993. "Biogeography of Hemisquilla ensigera
californiensis
(Crustacea: Stomatopoda) with emphasis on Southern
California Bight
populations" IN: Third California Islands Symposium:
Recent Advances in
Research on the California Islands, Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, pp.
211-220
Since 1981 a sea urchin barrens on Anacapa Island has been monitored
annually. Quantitative data from permanent transects at different depths
is collected including density, size-frequency, and gut/gonad weights for red (Stongylocentrotus
franciscanus), purple (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), and white (Lytechinus
amamesus) urchins. Densities of urchins reach as high as 80 individuals in
a quarter meter quadrat. Also monitored are densities of macroscopic algae
and associated benthic invertebrates. One invertebrate whose recruitment
may be enhanced by removal of macroalgae by urchins is the orange cup coral Balanophyllia
elegans. Field experiments using artificial algae were done to compare
growth and survival of this coral in the presence and absence of
macroalgae.
For further information:
Ambrose, RF, JM Engle, JA Coyer, and BV Nelson. 1993. "Changes in urchin
and kelp densities at Anacapa Island, California" IN Third California
Islands Symposium: Recent Advances in Research on the California Islands,
Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History, pp. 199-209.
Engle, Jack. 2005. "Kelp Forest and Invertebrate Trends". Alolkoy. 17(2):centerfold.
Coyer, JA, RF Ambrose, JM Engle, and JC Carroll. 1993.
"Interactions Eel grass (Zostera spp.) forms extensive beds that are recognized as
valuable shallow-water soft-bottom For further information: Eelgrass
Restoration At Frenchy's Cove, Anacapa
Engle, J. M. and K.A. Miller. 2005. "Distribution and morphology of eelgrass (Zostera marinaL.) at the California Channel Islands". IN: D.K. Garcelon and C.A. Schwemm, (eds.) Proceedings of the Sixth California Islands Symposium. National Park Service Technical Publication CHIS-05-01, Institute for Wildlife Studies, Arcata, California, pp. 405-414.
For further information: Kathy Ann Miller
& Harold W. Dorr. 1994. "Natural history of mainland and Miller, K.A. et. al. 2000. "Genetic Divergence correlates
with morphological and ecological For further information: Engle, Jack.
1997. "Near shore El Nino effects: disturbance and renewal." The 1983-1984 and the 1997-1998 El Nino events were two of the strongest on
record with some of the highest temperature anomalies ever recorded. The
warm waters brought along a host of new and unusual tropical and subtropical
fishes and invertebrates that were documented by CIRP divers. Species new
to California include species such as the pink cardinal fish (Apogon
padificus), the ornate fireworm (Chloeia viridis), the panamic arrow
crab (Stenorhynchus debilis), and the galactic sea slug (Chromodoris
galexorum). Species previously found in California but new to the
Channel Islands include the Pacific wing-oyster (Pteria sterna), and the
stinging sea anemone (Bunodeopsis sp.). In other cases, species
once limited to the southern islands Catalina and San Clemente were found on one
or more of the northern islands. Examples of these northern range
extensions include the orangethroat pikeblenny (Chaenopsis alepidota) and
the scythe butterflyfish (Chaetodon falcifer). For further information: Richards, Daniel V. and John M. Engle. 2001. "New and Unusual Reef Fish
Discovered at the California Channel Islands during the 1997-1998 El Nino." Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 100(3):175-195. Engle, John M. and Daniel V. Richards. 2001. "New and Unusual Marine
Invertibrates Discovered at the California Channel Islands during the 1997-1998
El Nino." Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 100(3):
185-198.
Introduced species are a rising concern in the marine environment as shipping and recreational boating increase the likelihood of transporting species to new areas, possibly resulting in major ecological changes. One such species is the Japanese kelp Undaria pinnatifida. This brown algae is native to the waters around Japan, China, and Korea. It is a commercially valuable seaweed also known as wakame. It's mild flavor makes it a popular ingredient in traditional Japanese cooking such as in miso soup. Undaria became an invasive species on the California coast when it was found growing in Los Angeles Harbor (2000) and Monterey Harbor (2001). It was first reported off Catalina Island in Buttonshell Cove, just east of Long Point in 2001. Initially it was found primarily on the deep sandy bottom at depths of 60 to 90 feet, intermixed with Laminaria and Pelagophycus. Subsequently Undaria has been found on the rocky west side of the cove in water as shallow as 9 feet inside the Macrocystis kelpbed. The CIRP program removed 132 plants in the summer of 2001 from the deep sand in Buttonshell Cove. 92% of the plants were adults bearing sporophylls. The CIRP program has gone back at least once a year since then to survey and remove plants. In the spring of 2005 CIRP found no Undaria plants in the deep sand, but removed 234 plants from the kelpbed. Only 8 were adult plants. Despite this removal effort, we predicted this annual Japanese kelp is likely to return each spring, growing from spores released during summer.
For further information:
Miller, Kathy Ann. 2002. "California Faces Another Foreign Invader: Wakame Hits Our Coast" "Outdoor California"
63(1):4-8. [NOTE: The underwater photos identified at Undaria are incorrect. The topside photos are OK.]
Miller, Kathy Ann. 2004. "California's Non-Native Seaweeds" "Fremontia" 32(1):10-15.
between corals and algae on a temperature zone rocky reef:
mediation
by sea urchins". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and
Ecology.
167(1):21-37.
EEL GRASS STUDY
habitats worldwide. These flowering plants are important in stabilizing
sediments, cycling nutrients, and providing food and cover for a host
of marine organisms. But because the beds are located in shallow
water, they could be significantly impacted should there be an oil spill.
Surveys have been made on most of the Channel Islands to identify the
location and size of beds. At select sites, permanent transects
were established to track the size of the bed, density of plants, and
the quantity of associated invertebrates and fishes. Since the project
started in 1991, the disappearance of beds on Anacapa Island has
been documented. In one case it is likely that a bed was destroyed
by large numbers of white urchin, Lytechinus pictus. A new
bed was found in Big Fisherman's Cove on Catalina Island that was
clearly not present 20 years ago when the area was heavily used by divers
from the marine lab located in the cove. A pilot transplantation
project is underway to test the feasibility of re-establishing eel grass
beds at sites that historically have had them. The project is a
cooperative effort with Santa Barbara
ChannelKeeper and the NOAA
Fisheries' Community-Based Restoration Program.
ELK KELP PROJECT
Another CIRP project in cooperation with Jim Coyer, Kathy Ann Miller, and others
involves investigation of the systematics, distribution, and ecology of the
unusual deepwater elk kelp, Pelagophycus porra. Elk kelp is found
in northern Baja and southern California, including the Channel Islands, where
it grows from depths of 60 to at least 150 feet. Plants can be over 100
feet tall, held up by a single large float from which sprout antlers, each
bearing a wide blade stretching out 20-60 feet. Two variants exist that
once were considered separate species. Tall plants with small
holdfasts attached to rock and blades held high up in the water column by a
highly buoyant float are characteristic of mainland elk kelp. Relatively
short plants with wider holdfasts attached to worm tubes on sand bottoms and
blades drooped to substrate (because the float is not buoyant enough to hold the
plant erect) are characteristic of the island elk kelp. But mainland forms
have now been found on several of the Channel Islands. It is unclear
whether these two forms are sheltered versus exposed condition morphs of the
same species or are truly distinct species. To add confusion,
strange-looking hybrids between elk kelp and giant kelp at Catalina and San
Clemente Islands have been found.
island populations of deep water elk kelp Pelagophycus (Laminariales,
Phaeophyta)
: how many species?" IN: Fourth California Island
Symposium: Update on
the Status of Resources, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, pp.
59-70.
subdivision in the deep-water elk kelp, Pelagophycus porra (Phaeophyceae)".
Journal of Phycology.
36(5):862-870.
ECHINODERM WASTING DISEASE
Alolkoy 10(4):6.
IMPACT OF EL NINO ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
