| MMS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM: ONGOING STUDIES | ||||||
| MMS OCS Region: | Pacific | |||||
| Title: | Spatial and temporal variation in recruitment to rocky shores: Relationship to recovery rates of intertidal communities (PC-00-02-16) | |||||
| Actual Costs: | $360,000 | Period of Performance: | FY 2001-2006 | |||
| Conducting Organization: | Coastal Marine Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara | |||||
| MMS Contact: | Mary Elaine Helix | |||||
| Description: | ||||||
| Background | ||||||
| Intertidal communities are considered among the most vulnerable to impacts resulting from oil spills because most species are sessile and because oil is deposited on intertidal surfaces during ebb tides. Recovery of communities will be largely dependent on recruitment of propagules to the affected area. The propagules of many organisms, such as mussels and barnacles, disperse widely (greater than10 kilometers) while others, such as many algal species, tunicates and bryozoans, disperse over relatively short distances from a few meters to hundreds of meters. Therefore, the timing and spatial extent of dispersal will set constraints on when and where recovery will occur. Although there is a general appreciation of the importance of larval stages and recruitment to the population dynamics of marine species an understanding of the level of variation of recruitment in space and time on the coast is important. | ||||||
| Objectives | ||||||
| This study: 1. Assesses spatial
and temporal variability in recovery of intertidal communities across a
biogeographic break to examine recovery dynamics across an oceanographic
feature associated with pronounced changes in temperature, upwelling,
community structure and recruitment dynamics. |
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| Methods | ||||||
| 1. Select 8 to 11 sites to be
monitored in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County. 2. Develop and execute a sampling program for four different taxa - Chthamalus fissus (barnacle), Mytilus californianus (mussel), Pelvetia fastigiata (fucoid algae) and Endocladia muricata, a red alga. For all species, data collection will occur for a period of three years to help detect temporal variation in recruitment, which is often very large. 3. Measure both initial settlement (a measure of recruitment potential) and the degree to which settlement is correlated with rate of recovery using pads and plates attached to the rock at the sites. 4. Control for the effect of natural substrate by following settlement to a cleared section of rock adjacent to each collector. These areas will be sampled then cleared every sampling period. 5. Assess recovery in experimentally cleared plots. For each species, follow replicate sample areas cleared only once, at the beginning of the program. One set of recovery plots will mimic small scale disturbance of the sort caused by natural and minor anthropogenic oiling events. A second set will be larger to mimic larger scale disturbances. Comparison of the two sizes will allow assessment of the role of size of disturbance in recovery dynamics. 6. Photograph the plots in Fall and Spring of each year to document the development of the species assemblage in the recovery plots. These photographs will allow us to estimate survival and growth rates of new recruits. |
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| Importance to MMS | ||||||
| The study will provide information on the variation in recovery rates (spatial variation) that occur along the coast of California and the degree to which variable recruitment affects local recovery. Understanding variation in recruitment will assist MMS and other agencies to more accurately estimate loss of resources following an impact, as in a Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA). Often, the assessment is completed before full recovery. This very much complicates the assessment. Estimates of dynamics from control sites will help assess initial loss, while estimates of recovery potential at the affected site will be largely depend on recruitment to the site. | ||||||
| Current Status: | ||||||
| Data has been analyzed for barnacles with initial publication; other species are being analyzed. | ||||||
| Final Report Due: | 7/30/07 | |||||
| Publications: | ||||||
| Affiliated WWW Sites: | ||||||
| Revised date: | November 29, 2006 | |||||
| ESPIS |
ESPIS - All completed
ESP Studies: |
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