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Description:
Title:
Long-term monitoring of surfgrass meadows in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary : recovery followed by stability after the termination of a domestic sewage discharge
Author(s):
Pearse, John S., 1936-
Doyle, William T. (William Thomas), 1929-
Pearse, Vicki, 1942-
Gowing, Marcia M.
Pennington, J. Timothy
Danner, Eric
Wasser, Ann
United States, National Ocean Service., Office of National Marine Sanctuaries,
United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.)
National Marine Protected Areas Center (U.S.)
Corporate Name:
United States, National Ocean Service., Office of National Marine Sanctuaries,
United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.)
National Marine Protected Areas Center (U.S.)
Dates of Publication:
2015
Abstract:
Surfgrass meadows are major habitats along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, providing complex biotic communities and nurseries for fishes and crustaceans. They have been little studied in most areas, including central California. We present here the results of monitoring two 450m² plots over a period of 42 years within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by citizen scientists (trained students and naturalists). One, the Soquel Point plot, was near a small (~3 million gallons per day) domestic sewage outfall that was discontinued in 1976, and the other, the Opal Cliffs plot, was in a comparison site ~1 km away. Monitoring was done nearly annually between 1973 and 2003, then in 2006, 2012, 2014, and 2015. The abundance of common seaweeds and invertebrates was recorded each year from counts of individuals, or their presence in 25 10x10 cm squares, in randomly placed 50x50 cm quadrats (mean number of counts, 24.3; range 10-41)...This long-term monitoring program demonstrates that citizen science programs using trained students and naturalists can provide robust information about the condition of intertidal communities within National Marine Sanctuaries. It found that surfgrass communities are remarkably resilient, even after chronic disturbance (in this case by domestic sewage) removes the foundation species (surfgrasses). Although recovery of the surfgrasses took decades, most taxa in the community returned to abundances similar to those recorded in the comparison plot within a few years, and the overall community structure displayed persistent stability. Similar resilience can be expected with other disturbances such as major storms, chemical spills, or ship groundings that could damage surfgrass meadows. The consequences of disruption from global warming are uncertain, and these data provide a baseline for future evaluation.
Keywords:
Effect of water pollution on
Marine parks and reserves
Monitoring
Phyllospadix
Place Keywords:
California
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Calif.)
Local Corporate Name:
NOS (National Ocean Service)
ONMS (Office of National Marine Sanctuaries)
CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)
MPA (Marine Protected Areas)
Type of Resource:
Miscellaneous
Genre:
Marine sanctuaries conservation series ; ONMS-15-10
Note:
Surfgrass meadows are major habitats along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, providing complex biotic communities and nurseries for fishes and crustaceans. They have been little studied in most areas, including central California. We present here the results of monitoring two 450m² plots over a period of 42 years within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by citizen scientists (trained students and naturalists). One, the Soquel Point plot, was near a small (~3 million gallons per day) domestic sewage outfall that was discontinued in 1976, and the other, the Opal Cliffs plot, was in a comparison site ~1 km away. Monitoring was done nearly annually between 1973 and 2003, then in 2006, 2012, 2014, and 2015. The abundance of common seaweeds and invertebrates was recorded each year from counts of individuals, or their presence in 25 10x10 cm squares, in randomly placed 50x50 cm quadrats (mean number of counts, 24.3; range 10-41)...This long-term monitoring program demonstrates that citizen science programs using trained students and naturalists can provide robust information about the condition of intertidal communities within National Marine Sanctuaries. It found that surfgrass communities are remarkably resilient, even after chronic disturbance (in this case by domestic sewage) removes the foundation species (surfgrasses). Although recovery of the surfgrasses took decades, most taxa in the community returned to abundances similar to those recorded in the comparison plot within a few years, and the overall community structure displayed persistent stability. Similar resilience can be expected with other disturbances such as major storms, chemical spills, or ship groundings that could damage surfgrass meadows. The consequences of disruption from global warming are uncertain, and these data provide a baseline for future evaluation.
2015
NOS (National Ocean Service)
ONMS (Office of National Marine Sanctuaries)
CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)
MPA (Marine Protected Areas)
Library
Public Domain
1936
URL:
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