Reef Check California Instruction Manual
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REEF CHECK CALIFORNIA INSTRUCTION MANUAL A Guide to Monitoring California’s Kelp Forests 9th Edition This is the official instruction manual (9th Edition) for the Reef Check California Community Monitoring Program. If you have any questions about training procedures or about the Reef Check California protocol, please contact Reef Check. 9th Edition April 2019 (1st Edition June 2006) Reef Check Foundation 13723 Fiji Way, B-2 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 USA Tel: 310-305-4622 Email: [email protected] Website: reefcheck.org This publication should be cited as: J. Freiwald, S. McMillan, D. Abbott, T. McHugh, K. Kozma. (2019). Reef Check California Instruction Manual: A Guide to Monitoring California’s Kelp Forests, 9th Edition. Reef Check Foundation, Marina del Rey, CA, USA. ISBN 0-9723051-9-X Front cover illustration by Jann Griffiths Back cover illustration by Amadeo Bachar Acknowledgements Reef Check California was launched in 2005 with the gracious assistance of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s California Coastal and Marine Initiative. Reef Check thanks its dedicated volunteers and scientists for their contribution to the development and evaluation of the Reef Check California protocol. We are especially grateful to scientific advisors for their assistance during the development of the Reef Check California Protocol: Dr. Richard Ambrose UCLA - Director Environmental Science and Engineering Program Mike Anghera UCLA Dive Safety Officer Dr. Mary Bergen Consultant to CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Dirk Burcham Aquarium of the Pacific - Catalina Conservancy Divers Dr. Mark Carr UCSC - PISCO Dr. Jennifer Caselle UCSB - PISCO Gary Davis National Park Service - Retired Amanda Jensen UCSC - PISCO Research Diver Dr. Kathy Ann Miller UC Berkeley, University Herbarium David Osorio CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife – Dive Safety Officer Dr. Dan Pondella Occidental College - Director Vantuna Research Group Dr. Pete Raimondi UCSC - PISCO Dr. Donna Schroeder UCSB - Marine Science Institute Dr. John Stephens Vantuna Research Group - Retired John Ugoretz Habitat Conservation Program Manager, Marine Region CDFW 2 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ 3 TABLE OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... 6 TABLE OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ 9 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................10 ABOUT THE REEF CHECK FOUNDATION ...................................................................................................... 11 REEF CHECK CALIFORNIA ....................................................................................................12 THE PROGRAM IN CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................... 12 California Marine Protected Areas ...................................................................................................... 14 HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN REEF CHECK CALIFORNIA ..................................................................................... 15 LIABILITY ................................................................................................................................................... 16 CALIFORNIA’S MARINE ENVIRONMENT ..............................................................................17 MARINE ECOLOGY CRASH COURSE ............................................................................................................ 17 California’s Currents ............................................................................................................................ 17 Upwelling ............................................................................................................................................. 18 California’s Kelp Forests ..................................................................................................................... 19 ECOSYSTEM CHANGES AND LONG-TERM MONITORING ................................................................................ 19 Sea Star Wasting Disease and Urchin Barrens .................................................................................. 20 Invasive Species and Range Expansions ........................................................................................... 22 Invasive Seaweed, Sargassum horneri, Spreading in Southern California ........................................ 22 Crowned Sea Urchin Seen in Monterey Bay ...................................................................................... 23 Rare Species Sightings in California ................................................................................................... 23 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY METHODS ............................................................................................25 THE INTRICACIES OF DATA COLLECTION ..................................................................................................... 25 Variability ............................................................................................................................................. 25 Replication ........................................................................................................................................... 26 Precision vs. Accuracy ........................................................................................................................ 26 GENERAL SAMPLING METHODS .................................................................................................................. 27 Transects ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Size Frequency Surveys ..................................................................................................................... 28 Video Recordings ................................................................................................................................ 28 Sensors ............................................................................................................................................... 29 SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY & ETHICAL CONCERNS ............................................................................................. 29 REEF CHECK CALIFORNIA SURVEY METHODS ..................................................................30 SURVEY OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 30 SITE SELECTION ........................................................................................................................................ 32 INVERTEBRATE TRANSECT ......................................................................................................................... 32 KELP TRANSECT ........................................................................................................................................ 35 UNIFORM POINT CONTACT (UPC) TRANSECT ............................................................................................. 36 FISH TRANSECT......................................................................................................................................... 48 URCHIN SIZE FREQUENCY SURVEY ............................................................................................................ 56 NORTHERN RED ABALONE SIZE FREQUENCY SURVEY ................................................................................. 56 CLIMATE CHANGE MONITORING .................................................................................................................. 56 3 DEPLOYING THE TRANSECTS ...................................................................................................................... 57 REEF CHECK CALIFORNIA KEY SPECIES ...........................................................................59 INVERTEBRATE SPECIES ............................................................................................................................ 60 Mollusks .............................................................................................................................................. 62 Echinoderms ....................................................................................................................................... 68 Crustaceans ........................................................................................................................................ 73 Cnidarians ........................................................................................................................................... 74 KELP SPECIES ........................................................................................................................................... 78 Kelp (Laminariales) ............................................................................................................................. 78 Invasive Species ................................................................................................................................. 80 FISH SPECIES...........................................................................................................................................