Santa Cruz Island Reserve

27 Jan, 01 AM - 31 Jan, 04 AM

Point Conception is a major boundary between marine biogeographic provinces. This boundary is distinguished by the confluence of the cold California Current and the warmer Southern California Gyre. The goal of our research is to examine the extent of this biogeographic boundary around Point Conception. We are exploring the importance of physical factors (e.g. temperature, wave action, water column nutrients) and dispersal as causes of the distribution of several marine intertidal species. To address spatial and temporal variation in recruitment, we have been continually monitoring the recruitment of several species of marine invertebrates at eight sites north and south of Pt. Conception, and six rocky, intertidal sites on Santa Cruz Island. We visit each of these sites every 1-3 months and will continue to do so for the next year so that we can identify seasonal patterns. In addition to monitoring recruitment, we are also monitoring temperature, nutrient levels and water motion at all these sites. We have tagged mussels to examine the importance of local, physical factors on growth and survival. We are also photographing selected plots each month to determine follow community development. Combining our mainland data with those from Santa Cruz Island will help to provide us with a large-scale picture of how physical and oceanographic features may influence recruitment and growth of marine species. Our intertidal sites at SCI are located at Prisoners, Valley, Willows, Fraser, Forner and Trailer.

Visit #870 @Santa Cruz Island Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 772 | Research

Settlement, Growth and Survival of Organisms across a Biogeographic Gradient

research_scientist - University of California, Santa Barbara

Reservation Members(s)

Group of 2 Research Assistant (non-student/faculty/postdoc) Jan 27 - 31, 2003 (5 days)
Carol Blanchette Jan 27 - 31, 2003 (5 days)
Carol Blanchette Jan 27 - 31, 2003 (5 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Dorm 4 Jan 27 - 31, 2003
Pickup Truck 4 Jan 27 - 31, 2003