Human Impacts on California Mussels from The
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HUMAN IMPACTS ON CALIFORNIA MUSSELS FROM THE HOLOCENE TO THE ANTHROPOCENE: METHODOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS IN HISTORICAL ECOLOGY _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Anthropology _______________ by Breana Kristin Campbell Spring 2016 iii Copyright © 2016 by Breana Kristin Campbell All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION For my Parents. v In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir vi ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Human Impacts on California Mussels from the Holocene to the Anthropocene: Methodologies and Applications in Historical Ecology by Breana Kristin Campbell Master of Arts in Anthropology San Diego State University, 2016 Studies on the Northern Channel Islands have demonstrated that human harvesting of California mussels (Mytilus californianus) caused a reduction in mussel shell length over thousands of years. These studies however, have relied on measuring whole mussels from archaeological sites, which can be rare in archaeological assemblages, limiting chronological and geographic visibility. Using an allometric approach, three regression formulas were developed to determine total shell length from the commonly found hinge portion of a California mussel. Of these three regression formulas one, umbo-width, proved to be statistically reliable and practical for estimating the total shell length from archaeological mussel hinge fragments. Using this method, 2,262 California mussel hinges were measured to determine if a reduction in shell size through time could be identified. These results were compared to modern datasets for California mussel shell length on the Northern Channel Islands. The findings discussed herein provide useful baseline data for resource managers in the coming decades as rising sea surface temperatures and increased ocean acidification threaten this species. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Mytilus californianus ...............................................................................................2 Overview ..................................................................................................................4 2 BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................6 Natural History of the Santa Barbara Channel ........................................................7 Climate .....................................................................................................................8 Major Environmental Transitions throughout the Holocene ...................................9 Flora and Fauna of the Northern Channel Islands .................................................11 Terrestrial Environment ...................................................................................11 Marine Environment ........................................................................................13 The Cultural History of the Northern Channel Islands ..........................................15 The Chumash and their Ancestors ...................................................................15 Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene .......................................................17 Middle Holocene ..............................................................................................18 Late Holocene, the Protohistoric, and the Mission Periods .............................19 The Spanish and American Periods .................................................................21 3 THEORETICAL APPROACH ....................................................................................23 Historical Ecology .................................................................................................23 Data Collection and Methods of Historical Ecology .......................................25 Historical Ecology in Practice .........................................................................27 viii Case Studies from the Northern Channel Islands ..................................................29 4 MYTILUS CALIFORNIANUS ......................................................................................33 Ecology ..................................................................................................................33 Diet, Reproduction, and Growth ......................................................................34 Competitors and Predators ...............................................................................35 Ecological Succession ......................................................................................36 Ethnographic Evidence for the Harvesting of Mussels ..........................................36 5 ESTIMATING CALIFORNIA MUSSEL (MYTILUS CALIFORNIANUS) SIZE FROM HINGE FRAGMENTS: A METHODOLOGICAL APPLICATION IN HISTORICAL ECOLOGY .........................................................38 Introduction ............................................................................................................38 Background ............................................................................................................41 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................43 Results ....................................................................................................................48 Discussions and Conclusions .................................................................................50 6 FROM METHODS TO APPLICATIONS ..................................................................53 7 TRANS-HOLOCENE HUMAN IMPACTS ON CALIFORNIA MUSSELS (MYTILUS CALIFORNIANUS): HISTORICAL ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS FROM THE NORTHERN CHANNEL ISLANDS .....................................................................................................................55 Introduction ............................................................................................................55 Background ............................................................................................................58 California Mussel Ecology ....................................................................................60 Methods and Materials ...........................................................................................63 Results ....................................................................................................................68 Discussion and Conclusions ..................................................................................74 8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..........................................................................80 Future Directions ...................................................................................................82 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................83 ix LIST OF TABLES PAGE Table 1. General Attributes of the Northern Channel Islands ...................................................7 Table 2. A sample of Vertebrate Terrestrial Animals that have Occupied the Northern Channel Islands ............................................................................................................12 Table 3. Common Predators of California Mussels .................................................................35 Table 4. California Mussel Shell Sizes (TL) Used in our Study from Both Modern and Archaeological Samples, Derived from Whole Shell Measurements and Regression Formula Predictions Based on Umbo Measurements. ..............................49 Table 5. Umbo-Width and Umbo-Thickness Method Analysis ..............................................68 Table 6. Summary Data for Archaeological Samples of California Mussel ............................69 Table 7. Modern California Mussel Shell Length Data ...........................................................69 Table 8. Mean Calculated Shell Length for California Mussels ..............................................70 Table 9. Games and Howell Post Hoc Test for San Miguel Island Data .................................70 Table 10. Games and Howell Post Hoc Test for Santa Rosa Island Data ...............................71 Table 11. Games and Howell Post Hoc Test for Santa Cruz Island Data ................................71 Table 12. Games and Howell Post Hoc Test for Late Holocene California Mussel Data ..............................................................................................................................72 Table 13. Games and Howell Post Hoc Test for Modern California Mussel Data ..................72 x LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1. Map of the southern California Coast and Channel Islands. ......................................6 Figure 2. Major cultural