PISCO‐UCSBFishCommunitySurvey

Training

ObjectivesofPISCO

• Along‐term,largescale‐ecologicalstudyofpatternsandprocesses

• Anunprecedentedinterdisciplinaryefforttostudycoastalrockyreefecosystems(e.g.,ecologists,physicaloceanographers,physiologists,geneticists)

• Communication betweenscientists,managers,policy‐makers,andusergroups

• Anovelinterdisciplinarytrainingprogram

Toinitiateandmaintain:

•TotestforhypothesizedeffectsoftheestablishmentofmarineprotectedareasincentralandsouthernCalifornia(MLPA)andtheChannelIslands(CIMR)

‐ Ifineffectiveandwithoutevaluation,providesfalsesenseofsecurity• jeopardizesresource,especiallyifotherexistingregulationsarerelaxed

‐ Criticaltorefiningdesignandadaptivemanagement:• thesoonerbenefits/costsdetermined,themorerapidlyaspectsofdesigncanberefined

Why Evaluate MPAs?(Besideslegalrequirements)

‐ Ifsuccessisdocumented,canmotivateactioninotherplaces

EvaluatingCIMPAs‐ SomeQuestions:

AretherechangesinMPA’srelativetooutsideareas?

‐ Speciescomposition‐ Abundance‐ Sizeoforganisms‐ Reproductivepotential

Arepopulationsaffectedontheoutside(adultspilloverorlarvaeexport)?

HowdoesrecruitmentaffectabundanceinsideandoutsideofMPA’s?

Howdoeshabitataffectanychanges?Ishabitatitselfchanged?

Santa Barbara Channel

Unequal distribution of human use

Strong gradient in SST

Incorporatingspatialvariabilityintoassessment

Regionaleffectsoncommunitystructure

BigCreek

Lopez

Esalen

Bluefish

Weston

Monastery

Stillwater

HopkinsMacabee

HopkinsMarineLifeRefuge

PointLobosEcologicalReserve

BigCreekEcologicalReserve

Divingsurveys1999‐ present

MPA

Reference

Humansasdeterminantsofcommunitystructure

South

Inside

discriminant functions of fish densityMultivariate descriptors of differences in fish assemblages

DF2(Reserve

Status)

Outside

DF1 (Regional) North

ES‐01ES‐02

ES‐03

ES‐04LO‐01

LO‐02

LO‐03

LO‐04

BC‐01

BC‐02BC‐03

BC‐04

BF‐04BF‐03

BF‐02

BF‐01

BF‐00

BF‐99

MO‐99

WS‐01WS‐02

WS‐03

WS‐04

MO‐00

MO‐01MO‐02

MO‐03

MO‐04

ST‐00

ST‐01

ST‐02ST‐03

ST‐04ST‐99

BigCreek

Hopkins

PointLobos

HP‐99

HP‐00

HP‐01

HP‐02

HP‐03HP‐04

MB‐99MB‐00

MB‐01

MB‐02MB‐03

MB‐04

ES‐01ES‐02

ES‐03

ES‐04LO‐01

LO‐02

LO‐03

LO‐04

BC‐01

BC‐02BC‐03

BC‐04

BF‐04BF‐03

BF‐02

BF‐01

BF‐00

BF‐99

MO‐99

WS‐01WS‐02

WS‐03

WS‐04

MO‐00

MO‐01MO‐02

MO‐03

MO‐04

ST‐00

ST‐01

ST‐02ST‐03

ST‐04ST‐99

BigCreek

Hopkins

PointLobos

HP‐99

HP‐00

HP‐01

HP‐02

HP‐03HP‐04

MB‐99MB‐00

MB‐01

MB‐02MB‐03

MB‐04

discriminant functions of fish density

Multivariate descriptors of differences in fish assemblages

DF2(Reserve

Status)

DF1 (Regional)South

Inside

OutsideNorth

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 140.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Site number

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Biom

ass

(t ha

-1)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 180.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Targeted species Non-targeted species

InOut

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

C) ANA D) ANA

E) SCI F) SCI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 140.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0A) SBI B) SBI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 160.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2 G) SRI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 160.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2 H) SRI

Fine Scale Monitoring in the Channel Islands MPAs

Targeted species are more abundant within the MPAs

-but the magnitude of the difference depends on geography

HamiltonandCaselle(2015)Proc.R.Soc.BCaselleetal.(2015)NatureScientificReports

Trophicinteractions

2.Marineprotectedareasand“paired”comparisonsitesa) ExistingMPAs:Hopkins,PtLobos,BigCreekb) AnticipatedMLPAMPAsinCentralandSo.CAc) ChannelIslandsMarineReserves

WhenJune‐October(early=invertebrateandalgae;later=fish)

Where1. Differentoceanographicregimes

a) NorthandsouthofMontereyBayb) CarmelBayc) BigSurcoast‐ Cayucosd) SantaBarbaraChannel

AnnualSurveyDesign

……

Time

Site

Area

Zone(5,10,15,20m)

1999 200n

1 2 253

1 2

I IM O

Transects30x2x2m

……

Sampledesign‐Fish

Annualsurveys

OM

……

Time

Site

Area

Zone(5‐10,15‐20m)

1999 200n

1 2 253

1 2

I O

Transects30x2x2m

……

Sampledesign‐FishChannelIslandsModification

Annualsurveys

3

Coastline

Fishtransectdistribution

5m

10m

15m

20m

12m

5m

20m

Algae/invertebratetransectdistribution

Approach:Within‐siteSamplingDesign

2m

2m

Fishdensitysizes

What

1.Allidentifiablenon‐crypticfishes‐ e.g.,rockfishes,surfperches,greenlings

2.Estimatesizes‐ totallengthtonearestcentimeter

3.Threelevelsinwatercolumn‐ bottom‐midwater‐ surfacecanopy(whenkelpreachessurface)

AnnualSurveys

Visualtransectoverview

FishSurveysPhase1– mid‐water,bottom

Diver2‐ countsmidwaterfish‐ staysjustaheadofbottomdiver

Diver1 ‐ laystape‐ countsbottomfish

FishSurveysPhase2– canopy

Diver2 ‐Laystape‐Countcanopyfish

Entiretransectduration:<20min

Diver1 ‐Safetystop‐buddyforcanopydiver

SurveyMethodsandCountingRules1.Transectlocation:depthanddistancefromshore

supersedesouteredgeofforest (ie.Donotadjustlocationsforedgesofkelpbed)

2.Droptobottom(together)atpre‐determineddepth

3. Identifystartanddirection

4. Securetransecttapetokelpplantorrock

5.Midwaterdiverbegins,staysahead,andmaintainsvisualcontactwithbottomdiver(constrainedbydepth)

6. Exceptforshallowestdepthzone,midwaterdiverstaysatleast3‐5mabovebottom(>1mabovebottomdiver’swindow)

7. Onlycountahead,neverlookbacktocountbehindyou

8.Maintainreasonablespeed(speedcanbiascounts)

9. Sequentialwindowsof2‐3m(usehabitatmarkers)

10. First:countlargemobileexposedfishes‐‐ SNAPSHOT

11. Second:searchandcountunexposedfishes

12. Repeatnextwindow

13. Endoftransect:“pop”andrewindtransecttape,regroup,randomnumberofkickstostartofnexttransect

14.Highrelief‐‐ contourrockandmaintaindepth

15.Sand‐‐ ifheadedoffreef>4m,redirecttransect

SurveyMethodsandCountingRules

Visualtransects‐ Part1Technique

1. Dimension:30x2x2m

2. Movingwindows

3. Movinginbounds

4. TheStop,Scan,Searchapproach

5. Whentowrite?

6. OnwhatdoIwrite,whenIneedtowrite?

MovingWindows

2m

Lookahead,butnottoofarahead

MovingWindows

MovingInBounds

MovingInBounds

MovingInBounds

Uselandmarkstohelpdividethetransect

MovingInBounds

Stop,Scan,Search

Mobile,shoalingspecies

Sedentary,solitary,crypticspecies

Stop,Scan,Search

Stop,Scan,Search

Stop,Scan,Search

Structureyourcounts,developroutine

Stop,Scan,Search

Visualtransects‐ Part2

1. Mytransectline’snotstraight?‐ topography(contouring)‐ systematicnavigationdeviations‐whybotherwithbearingsanyway?(bias)

Whatif…

2. Iseemtobeinthewrongplace?‐ ‘structuralzeroes’e.g.,sand‐ OOZE‐ ‘OutofZoneExperience’or‘HowIlearnedtolovethe30mzone’

3. Thatsheepheadlooksawfullyfamiliar?

4. There’sabigrockinmyway?

Thecanopytransect

1. Counter:2mbelowsurface

2. Fastentape‐ followbearing

3. Lookup,keepslateup

4. Lookthrough,notatthecanopy

5. Maintainbounds

Recap:Visualtransecttechnique

1. Dimension:30x2x2m

2. Movingwindows

3. Movinginbounds

4. TheStop,Scan,Searchapproach

5. Whentowrite?

6. OnwhatdoIwrite,whenIneedtowrite?

Time

Accuracy

0%

100%

Theprogressfunction

Thereishope!

Questions?

WhendoIwriteallthisstuffdown?

1. Afterscanatbeginningofbound,recordmobileexposedspecies

2. Atendofbound,recordunexposedspecies

3. Whenyouhavemorethan3talliestoremember

4. Wheneveryouneedto

Goldenrule:Neverloweryourslate!

OnwhatdoIwriteallthisstuffdown?

DATE: OBSERVER: Detritus? Y / N TIME IN TIME OUTTEMP(F) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

VIS(m) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

ZONE-ONLY USE: IN, INMID, OUTMID, OUT SURGE(L,M,H) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

SITE: BUDDY:

SIDE: N S E W Cen

Heading:

1

B

35

50

60

SMYS

2(8)

14(25)

1(15)

(8)(9)(10)(11)

DATE: OBSERVER: Detritus? Y / N TIME IN TIME OUTTEMP(F) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

VIS(m) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4ZONE-ONLY USE: IN, INMID, OUTMID, OUT SURGE(L,M,H) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

SITE: BUDDY:

SIDE: N S E W Cen

Heading:

SATR

1(12)111 4

2(25)11 4

4(15)4, 5 13

TL in parenthesesCount outside of parenthesesAdd up and circle totals for each size

DATE: OBSERVER: Detritus? Y / N TIME IN TIME OUTTEMP(F) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

VIS(m) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

ZONE-ONLY USE: IN, INMID, OUTMID, OUT SURGE(L,M,H) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

SITE: BUDDY:

SIDE: N S E W Cen

Heading:Point Dume6 Aug 2016 Jenn 1005 1040

1620 22

16

SATR SMYS SMEL OPIC SCAR HDEC ELAT DVAC2(30)2(4)15 (14)

8(26) 13 (2)

30(2)1(14)1(12)2(13),3(20)

9(14)

12(5)1224

1(24) 2(25)

22(4)

17 (5)

1(10)9109(3)

SFLA1(30)1(35)1(38)

BFRE

5(10),8,74(6),5,7

KGB

8(12)4,7 3(12)4(5)

4(15)4(5),59

Keegan110 L M

1

INMID

25

75

1620M

2

INMID

25

75

3

INMID

25

75

SATR SMEL ELAT DVAC

19

20

16

Actualsampledatasheet

DataRecordingProtocols

Sizeoffish shouldbeincentimetersinparentheses

Data should be placed on data sheets in the following manner:

Numberoffish countedshouldbeplacedtotheleftorrightofthesizeofthefishoutsideparentheseswithnumbersseparatedbycommasasfollows:(12)9,15,1OR1(12)IIIII,10,IIII

SizeRangeswillbeacceptablewhenthediverfeelsthathe/sheisunabletoreasonablyestimatetheactualsizeofeachindividualfish(i.e.schoolsofblues,aggregationsofYOY’s).

Rangesshouldbekeptwithina5cmbin(forexample25‐30or30‐35),butifpossible,smallerbinsshouldbemade.

WhendenotingMalevs.FemaleFish (KelpGreenlingandSheephead),makesymbolsclear(♀ and♂).Itisacceptabletouse(FandM)forthesamepurpose.

Allsmall,crypticsculpins/gobieswillNOT berecordedexceptforjuvenileCabezon

OliveandYellowtailRockfish aretobegroupedinanOYTcategory.

Fishthatareunknown shouldbeclassifiedtothebestspecificpossibilities(suchas“smelt”(jackortop),or“whiteperch”or“silverperch”),orintothenearesttaxonomicgroupingpossible(i.e.genusorfamily).Ifneitherthespecificpossibilities,noragenusorfamilycanbediscerned,fishshouldberecordedas“unknown”withadescriptionforimmediatetopsideinvestigation.Nounknownbeyondtheaboveparametersshallbeleftassuchwithoutapproval.(Ifyouencounterafishthatyoudonotrecognize,hitthebooksrightaway!Drawpictures,noteshape,markings,andbehavioranddescribeittotheotherdiversassoonasyougetoutofthewater.)

Zone(I,IM,OM,O):Adivisionofthesideinto4categoriesrepresentingonshore(5m)‐offshore(20m)stratificationortargetedbottomdepths(m)fortransects.

SIDE Adivisionofthesiteintotwoorthreeareas,referredtoassides,dependingontheirrelativepositionalongthecoast.

Level(BMC):Lettercodeforthepositionofthetransectinthewatercolumn(BottomorMidwaterorCanopy)

Visibility:Thediverestimationofhorizontalvisibilityoneachtransect.Measuredbyreelinginthetapeandnotingthedistanceatwhichtheendofthetapecanfirstbeseen.InMETERS

Transect:Anumberrepresentingoneofthethree/fourtransectssampledwithinthesamezone.Withtheheadingandzone,thisdescribesthelocationofeachtransectrelativetoallothers.

Depth:Averageactualdepthofthetransectestimatedbythediveratthebeginningofthetransect.

DATE: OBSERVER: Detritus? Y / N TIME IN TIME OUTTEMP(F) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

VIS(m) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4ZONE-ONLY USE: IN, INMID, OUTMID, OUT SURGE(L,M,H) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

SITE: BUDDY:

SIDE: N S E W Cen

Heading:

DATE: OBSERVER: Detritus? Y / N TIME IN TIME OUTTEMP(F) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

VIS(m) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4ZONE-ONLY USE: IN, INMID, OUTMID, OUT SURGE(L,M,H) TX1 TX2 TX3 TX4

FISH >TRANSECT

ZONE

LEVELB M C

DEPTH

CAN %

SITE: BUDDY:

SIDE: N S E W Cen

Heading:

Heading:Compassdirectionoftransectalongisobath

Temp:Thetemperatureoneachtransectmeasuredbythediverscomputers.

Surge:Diverestimationofmagnitudeofhorizontaldisplacementoneachtransect,recordedatdepth(L)ight‐ nosignificantsurge(M)oderate‐ noticeablelateralmovement,divermustcompensate.(H)igh‐ significantsurge,divermovedoutoftransectboundswhennotholdingon

Canopy%:Anestimateoftheamountofkelpcoverpertransect(kelpwithinthesamplingarea,notatthesurfaceexceptinthecaseofthecanopytransect)

Sizing

SizingFishUnderwater

1. Totallength

2. Aidstosizingfish

3. Factorsthatcontributetoover‐orunder‐estimation

1.Totallength

TotallengthTargetaccuracy± 10%

**Exception:Batraysmeasurewingspan

2.Aidstosizingfish

1. Slatemarks

2. Transecttapemarks

3. Handmeasurements(measureyourhand)

4. Bracketing(withhabitatfeatures)

5. Comparativeapproach(withhabitatfeatures)

6. Recalibrationduringdive(checkyourself)

3.Factorsthatcontributetounderandoverestimationofsize

1. Lowlight

2. Dullbodycolor

3. Poorvisibility

4.Objectsinforeground

5. Deep‐bodiedfish

Underestimation Overestimation

1. Brightlight

2. Brightbodycolor

3. Goodvisibility

4. Objectsinbackground

5. Elongatefish

Fishsizingexercises

1. Sizinginanimateobjects/fishmodels‐checkaccuracybymeasuringobjectaftersizeestimateiswrittendown

2. Sizinglivefish‐Workinpairs‐ Identifyandsizefishencountered(andanythingelsethatgetsinyourway)‐ Practicewithindividualfishaswellasschoolswitharangeofsizes‐ Comparenotes

SafetyConsiderations1. Diveprofiles

‐ approvedbyDSO‐wellwithinno‐decompressionlimits‐maximumdepth20m‐ 3‐5minsafetystopsmandatoryondivesbelow10m

2. Airconsumption‐ safetyoverdatacollection(500psiminimum)

3. Buddysystem‐membersofadiveteamarealwaysinvisualcontact

4. Seaconditions‐ divingwillonlybeconductedinsafeconditions

5. Liveboating‐ fishteamsaresometimeslive‐boated