Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans

PISCO

PISCO

• OSU, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford University

• Funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation

• 1999-2004

Research Focus

Coastal Ecosystems:

•Ecological Interactions

•Nearshore Oceanography

•Conservation

Why do we care about coastal ecosystems?

What do we need to know?How do we address these questions?

Many values of Coastal Ecosystems:

• Ecological• Economic• Heritage• Aesthetic

Humans are changing ecosystems at an unprecedented rate --

Protection and conservation are impeded by

• Poor understanding of coastal ecosystems, and

Protection and conservation are impeded by

• Poor understanding of coastal ecosystems, and

• Ineffective transfer of scientific knowledge

Understanding and conservation

requires research that is

• Interdisciplinary

• Multi-scale

• Long-term

PISCO Goals• Determine the long-term, large-scale processes

underlying the dynamics and structure of intertidal and shallow subtidal reef communities along the US West Coast

• Develop new scientific approaches for conservation, especially distinguishing natural causes from human induced changes (including reserves)

• Initiate interdisciplinary training and research

• Integrate this knowledge into public and policy arenas

1) establish a coordinated monitoring and experimental network to track ecological patterns / processes along 2,000 km coastline

2) examine linkages between coastal oceanographic and ecological patterns and processes in coastal rocky habitats

3) use monitoring studies to direct other process-oriented and experimental studies

4) more closely link research, training and it’s application to conservation problems

Overall Approach

5) develop mechanisms for bridging science-policy

CaliforniaCurrent

Mooring locations

On-shore locations

CODAR sites

The Research Program

How nearshore oceanography influences nearshore marine communities

Larvae

Adults

Field Research - Intertidal

6 Mainland Intertidal Sites

6 Intertidal Sites at SantaCruz Island

Community structure - Intertidal

• Unprecedented in scale -- West Coast of the contiguous U.S.

• Monitors patterns and diversity

Connections among populations – Recruitment

Examples of recruitment collectors

Intertidal Experiments

Predation by sea stars and whelks on mussels in the low and mid zones

• Abundance

• Distribution

• Diversity

Community structure - Subtidal

Nearshore Moorings

• Biological measurements– larval abundance– recruitment

• Physical measurements– nutrients– chlorophyll a– salinity – temperature

• Focus species - Rockfish

• Focus areas - Monterey Bay and Channel Islands/Point Conception

Dispersal among populations

Dispersal - Microchemistry Approach

Look for trace elements in otoliths

Determines connectivity among populations of fish

Conservation Implications

Endangered Species

Marine Reserves

Effects of Climate Change