Research Publications

• 2019

• Modeling Sediment Bypassing around Idealized Rocky Headlands

  
  George, D.A.; Largier, J.L.; Pasternack, G.B.; Barnard, P.L.; Storlazzi, C.D.; Erikson, L.H. Modeling Sediment Bypassing around Idealized Rocky Headlands. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7, 40.

  
  
  View OPEN ACCESS article link // View PDF
  
  USCSG-R-01-2019
  
  

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  Alongshore sediment bypassing rocky headlands remains understudied despite the importance of characterizing littoral processes for erosion abatement, beach management, and climate change adaptation. To address this gap, a numerical model sediment transport study was developed to identify controlling factors and mechanisms for sediment headland bypassing potential. Four idealized headlands were designed to investigate sediment flux around the headlands using the process-based hydrodynamic model Delft-3D and spectral wave model SWAN. The 120 simulations explored morphologies, substrate compositions, sediment grain sizes, and physical forcings (i.e., tides, currents, and waves) commonly observed in natural settings. A generalized analytical framework based on flow disruption and sediment volume was used to refine which factors and conditions were more useful to address sediment bypassing. A bypassing parameter was developed for alongshore sediment flux between upstream and downstream cross-shore transects to determine the degree of blockage by a headland. The shape of the headland heavily influenced the fate of the sediment by changing the local angle between the shore and the incident waves, with oblique large waves generating the most flux. All headlands may allow sediment flux, although larger ones blocked sediment more effectively, promoting their ability to be littoral cell boundaries. The controlling factors on sediment bypassing were determined to be wave angle, size, and shape of the headland, and sediment grain size.

• 2018

• Pathways to resilience: adapting to sea level rise in Los Angeles

  
  Aerts, J. C., Barnard, P. L., Botzen, W. , Grifman, P. , Hart, J. F., Moel, H. , Mann, A. N., Ruig, L. T. and Sadrpour, N. (2018), Pathways to resilience: adapting to sea level rise in Los Angeles. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 1427: 1-90. doi:10.1111/nyas.13917
  
  

  Open access: doi:10.1111/nyas.13917
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  USCSG-R-02-2018
  
  

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  Los Angeles (LA) County's coastal areas are highly valued for their natural benefits and their economic contributions to the region. While LA County already has a high level of exposure to flooding (e.g. people, ports, and harbors), climate change and sea level rise will increase flood risk; anticipating this risk requires adaptation planning to mitigate social, economic, and physical damage. This study provides an overview of the potential effects of sea level rise on coastal LA County and describes adaptation pathways and estimates associated costs in order to cope with sea level rise. An adaptation pathway in this study is defined as the collection of measures (e.g., beach nourishment, dune restoration, flood‐proofing buildings, and levees) required to lower flood risk. The aim of using different adaptation pathways is to enable a transition from one methodology to another over time. These pathways address uncertainty in future projections, allowing for flexibility among policies and potentially spreading the costs over time. Maintaining beaches, dunes, and their natural dynamics is the foundation of each of the three adaptation pathways, which address the importance of beaches for recreation, environmental value, and flood protection. In some scenarios, owing to high projections of sea level rise, additional technical engineering options such as levees and sluices may be needed to reduce flood risk. The research suggests three adaptation pathways, anticipating a +1 ft (0.3 m) to +7 ft (+2 m) sea level rise by year 2100. Total adaptation costs vary between $4.3 and $6.4 bn, depending on measures included in the adaptation pathway.

• Growing Effort, Growing Challenge: Findings from the 2016 California Coastal Adaptation Needs Assessment

  
  Moser, Susanne C. (Susanne Moser Research & Consulting), Finzi Hart, Juliette A. (USGS), Newton Mann, Alyssa G. (formerly University of Southern California Sea Grant, currently The Nature Conservancy), Sadrpour, Nick, and Grifman, Phyllis M. (University of Southern California Sea Grant) 2018. Growing Effort, Growing Challenge: Findings from the 2016 CA Coastal Adaptation Needs Assessment Survey. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, California Natural Resources Agency. 

  
  
  USCSG-TR-02-2018
  
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  The third coastal adaptation needs assessment, administered in 2016, provides a snapshot of the current state of coastal adaptation in California, and constitutes a longitudinal assessment of the changing needs of coastal professionals since 2006. The only comprehensive, longitudinal assessment of adaptation in the country, the study aimed to (1) understand the state and context of coastal adaptation and understand how to move it forward; (2) identify information, training, technical assistance, financial and other support needs; and in so doing, (3) assess what difference past technical and financial assistance have made in advancing coastal adaptation. An extensive survey instrument was administered in the summer and fall of 2016. The target populations were local, regional, state, federal, private sector, and NGO professionals involved in coastal management and adaptation (total survey population was more than 2,700). The response rate and survey population are very similar to the previous survey population engaged in 2011, enabling a statewide comparison. Results are summarized in four parts: (1) current coastal management challenges; (2) attitudes toward climate change and adaptation motivations, actions, barriers, expenditures and needs; (3) information, technical support and training needs to further advance adaptation; and (4) demographics of the survey participants. Moreover, in most instances they analyzed by different respondent groups and by region. The overarching finding is that sea-level rise has become the leading present-day coastal management concern and coastal adaptation is further advanced now compared to 2011 across California, but coastal professionals continue to face significant hurdles in moving from understanding coastal risks to planning and implementing actions. Learn more about this project and view report highlights HERE.

   

• Interactive effects of temperature, CO2 and nitrogen source on a coastal California diatom assemblage

   

  
  Avery O. Tatters, et al. 2018. Interactive effects of temperature, CO2 and nitrogen source on a coastal California diatom assemblage. Journal of Plankton Research (2018) 00(00): 1– 14. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbx074

  
  
  USCSG-R-01-2018 

  
  
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  Diatoms are often considered to be a single functional group, yet there is a great deal of morphological, genetic and ecological diversity within the class. How these differences will translate into species-specific responses to rapid changes in the ocean environment resulting from climate change and eutrophication is currently poorly understood. We investigated the response of a natural diatom-dominated assemblage in coastal California waters to interactions between the variables nitrogen source (nitrate and urea), temperature (19 and 23°C) and CO2 (380 and 800 ppm) in a factorial experimental matrix using continuous culture (ecostat) methods. The community included diatoms of the cosmopolitan genera Pseudo-nitzschia and Chaetoceros, as well as Leptocylindrus and Cylindrotheca. Our results demonstrate strong interactive effects of these variables on community composition; notably, nitrogen source alone and nitrogen and CO2 together had a much greater influence on diatom community structure at 23°C compared with 19°C. In addition, warming and acidification interactions significantly increased cellular quotas of the neurotoxin domoic acid produced by Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries. In general, the effects observed for the factors tested differed significantly between the various diatom genera in this assemblage, suggesting potentially divergent responses of some of these ecologically and biogeochemically important phytoplankton taxa to interactions between globalscale and local-scale anthropogenic stressors in a changing ocean.

• Sato-umi in the Anthropocene  

  
  Sato-umi in the Anthropocene. 2018. Edited by Jerry R. Schubel (Aquarium of the Pacific), Michael K. Orbach (Duke University), and James A. Fawcett (USC Sea Grant). Online publication by Aquarium of the Pacific.
  
  USCSG-TR-01-2018
  
  View/Download Report

   
  
  

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  On November 13-14, 2017, the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Honda Marine Science Foundation convened and facilitated a forum on “Sato-umi in the Anthropocene.” The Forum was designed to explore a number of approaches to “integrated” coastal management, in particular those that cross the land-sea boundary, some of which have been practiced for thousands of years, to see if lessons could be extracted to elevate awareness and stimulate action to reduce vulnerability in the “new normal” of rising sea level. Sato-umi is one of these approaches. 

  
  
  This report presents brief case studies of coastal systems where Sato-umi, Ahupua’a and Integrated Coastal Management have been applied successfully and search for the conditions and strategies that were essential to their success. We also identify examples of coastal systems ripe for application of the whole watershed management embodied by these three principles, as well as examples where these principles could have been implemented, but were not, resulting in environmental damage to coastal resources. We present a variety of tools developed by NOAA and others for use in Integrated Coastal Management, explore what has limited their application, and offer recommendations. Learn more about the forum, here.

• 2017

• Detecting, sourcing, and age-dating dredged sediments on the open shelf, Southern California, using dead mollusk shells

  
  Matthew T. Bizjack, Susan M. Kidwell, Ronald G. Velarde, Jill Leonard-Pingel, Adam Tomašových. Marine Pollution Bulletin 114 (2017) 448–465

   

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.010 0025-326X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
  
  USCSG-R-04-2017
  
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  Molluscan shell debris is an under-exploitedmeans of detecting, sourcing, and age-dating dredged sediments in open-shelf settings. Backscatter features on the Southern California shelf are suggestive of dredged sediment hauled from San Diego Bay but deposited significantly inshore of the EPA-designated ocean disposal site. We find that 36% of all identifiable bivalve shells N2 mm (44% of shells N4 mm) in sediment samples from this 'short dump' area are from species known to live exclusively in the Bay; such shells are absent at reference sites of comparable water depth, indicating that their presence in the short-dump area signals non-compliant disposal rather than natural offshore transport or sea level rise. These sediments lack the shells of species that invaded California bays in the 1970s, suggesting that disposal preceded federal regulations. This inexpensive, low tech method, with its protocol for rejecting alternative hypotheses, will be easy to adapt in other settings.

• Multiple Stressors at the Land-Sea Interface: Cyanotoxins at the Land-Sea Interface in the Southern California Bight

  
  Avery O. Tatters, Meredith D.A. Howard, Carey Nagoda, Lilian Busse, Alyssa G. Gellene and David A. Caron. Toxins 2017; doi:10.3390/toxins9030095

  
  
  USCSG-R-03-2017
  
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  Blooms of toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystems have received considerable attention in recent years, but their occurrence and potential importance at the land-sea interface has not been widely recognized. Here we present the results of a survey of discrete samples conducted in more than fifty brackish water sites along the coastline of southern California. Our objectives were to characterize cyanobacterial community composition and determine if specific groups of cyanotoxins (anatoxins, cylindrospermopsins, microcystins, nodularins, and saxitoxins) were present. We report the identification of numerous potentially harmful taxa and the co-occurrence of multiple toxins, previously undocumented, at several locations. Our findings reveal a potential health concern based on the range of organisms present and the widespread prevalence of recognized toxic compounds. Our results raise concerns for recreation, harvesting of finfish and shellfish, and wildlife and desalination operations, highlighting the need for assessments and implementation of monitoring programs. Such programs appear to be particularly necessary in regions susceptible to urban influence.

• Benthic biogeochemical processes related to water column oxygen deficiency in the Santa Monica Basin, North East Pacific Ocean

  
  LeMieux, Sydnie Lynn
  Dissertation Thesis for Master of Science in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA (2017)

  
  USCSG-R-02-2017
  
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  Mid-water oceanic depths in coastal upwelling regions often contain oxygen deficient waters, called oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). These hypoxic (< 60 μM O2) conditions can have adverse effects on ecosystems, as many organisms cannot survive in low O2 conditions. This study investigated the OMZ in the topographically isolated Santa Monica Basin (SMB), California, a recipient of high nutrient input. The last survey of this area ~35 years ago, reported a pervious 350 year expansion of the SMB OMZ. In order to assess the OMZ since the last evaluation, sediment cores from 12 stations were retrieved by a multicorer from O2-ventilated (>60 μM O2) to near-anoxia (~4 μM O2) regions along two depth-transects ranging from water depths between 71 and 907 m. The sediment porewater and supernatant water of the cores were analyzed for sulfate (SO4 2-), nitrate (NO3 -), phosphate (PO4 3-), ammonium (NH4 +), total sulfide, dissolved iron (Fe (II)), total alkalinity (TA) and bacterial sulfate reduction. The two deepest stations iii (907 and 893 meters, ~5 μM O2) exhibited down-core accumulation of NH4 + and TA, while also displaying enhanced rates of sulfate reduction close to the sediment surface; these patterns are all evidence of low oxygen conditions in the overlying water column. Shallower stations upslope (starting at 777 m water depth) featured increasing signs of bioturbation and bioirrigation effects in the geochemical profiles of NH4 +, TA, PO4 3- and Fe (II). Low sulfate reduction rates (areal rates range from 0.13–0.86 mmol m-2 d-1) were detected at all stations. These results were compared with data separate from this thesis, including: 210Pb lamination analyses, the presence and activity of macrofauna at the seafloor, and iron speciation analyses. According to the stations sampled, we could not identify a definite spreading or reduction of the OMZ at the seafloor since the last survey of the SMB was done ~35 years ago.

• Biofilter Catalog and Database for the Los Angeles Region

  
  Lisa A. Levin, Jennifer T. Le, Jennifer P. Gonzalezand Richard F. Ambrose. 2017. 
  
  USCSG-TR-02-2017
  
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  In recent decades, biofilter systems have been constructed within southern California by individual developers, non-profit organizations, universities, municipalities, transportation authorities, and water districts, but there has been no list or database available that compiles all known biofilter site locations, along with the quantification of their ecological attributes or the ecosystem services provided by these systems. Here we consolidate known/publically available information for existing biofilter sites of Los Angeles County into an easily accessible database.

   

• The Stakes are Rising: Lessons on Engaging Coastal Communities on Climate Adaptation in Southern California

  
  Newton Mann, A.G., P. Grifman, J.F. Hart. (2017) The Stakes are Rising: Lessons on Engaging Coastal Communities on Climate Adaptation in Southern California. Cities and the Environment Journal (CATE), Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School.

  
  USCSG-R-01-2017
  
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  Preparing for climate change is rising as a priority for many public policy agendas, driving a demand for information that allows communities to identify both current and projected vulnerabilities to climate change at local and regional levels. In response, a developing climate change adaptation service sector is bringing science and technical training to policy-makers. Approaching adaptation planning through a regional lens is critical, due to the large number of stakeholders and the intensely interconnected nature of geographies, communities, and economies. Decisions made in one jurisdiction will undoubtedly affect its neighbors.

  
  
  In this emerging field, boundary organizations play a unique role in building capacity across jurisdictions and bridging the gaps among various community, science and government stakeholders. The University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program, located in Los Angeles, has developed a robust stakeholder engagement process to help communities plan for the impacts of climate change along the urbanized coastline. In 2016, USC Sea Grant analyzed its climate change adaptation outreach program to gain insights about its effectiveness. Drawing from this analysis, this paper explores: 1) stakeholder processes; 2) communications methods, particularly the challenges of communicating scientific information; 3) barriers to planning and implementation; 4) how to identify community needs; and, 5) what kinds of investments have been made to meet those needs.

  
  
  Four primary lessons are identified: 1) place-based boundary organizations can be an effective broker in establishing trust among stakeholders; 2) the ever-evolving and complex nature of climate science can overwhelm stakeholders and stall progress, so it is important to emphasize key messages provided by the scientific information, rather than dive deep into technical details and methods; 3) adaptive management is a promising approach to help communities move forward; and, 4) lack of significant and sustained funding for adaptation will continue to limit progress, however, even modest investments made at the right time can be impactful. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges USC Sea Grant faced in the first six years of its climate adaptation outreach program, and provides thoughts on how to help communities continue to advance their adaptation planning goals in the years to come.

• Regional AdaptLA Executive Summary and Technical Report: Results from the Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Grant Program

  
  
  P. M. Grifman, A. G. Newton Mann, N. Sadrpour. January 5, 2017. University of Southern California Sea Grant Program.

  
  USCSG-TR-01-2017
  
  View/download PDF:

  • Executive Summary
  • Full Report

   

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  Regional AdaptLA: Coastal Impacts Planning in the Los Angeles Region is a multi-year project to provide information on the potential impacts of sea level rise to local coastal jurisdictions. In the process, a community of practice on coastal planning is developing in the Los Angeles (L.A.) coastal region. Two science-based projects, developed by the TerraCosta Consulting Group (TCG) and Environmental Science Associates (ESA), modeled shoreline change, coastal erosion and coastal retreat under projected future climate scenarios for the Los Angeles County coast. The University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program has developed this synthesis of the two Regional AdaptLA modeling projects for the benefit of the Regional AdaptLA coalition and stakeholder community. This Executive Summary provides background on the overall project, overviews of the methodologies used to conduct the scientific studies, a summary of major findings, and recommendations for how information provided in these studies can help inform local coastal adaptation planning efforts. This document provides a “bridge” between the technical work by ESA and TCG and the AdaptLA coalition. USC Sea Grant provides capacity building and technical assistance for local jurisdictions as well as coordination among stakeholders and critical government agencies.

   

  For more information, including shapefiles and a webtool to view model results, visit USC Sea Grant’s Regional AdaptLA webpage: https://dornsife.usc.edu/uscseagrant/adaptla/.

   

• 2016

• Beyond Academia: Professional Society Resources and Programs for Ocean Sciences Graduate Students

  
  
  Duguay, L.E., and S.B. Cook. 2016. Beyond academia: Professional society resources and programs for ocean sciences graduate students. Oceanography  29(1):70–79, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.17.
  
  USCSG-R-06-2016
  
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  Resources and programs offered by six professional societies for graduate students and early career professionals in the ocean sciences are cataloged and profiled. The organizations range from very large and international (American Geophysical Union), to two mid-size organizations (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography and Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science), to three smaller ones (Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, The Oceanography Society, and Marine Technology Society). All of these societies support focused programs for undergraduate and graduate students as well as early career professionals including postdoctoral fellows. Three of the societies co-sponsor the large biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting in even years that have, in the last decade, offered a wide variety of programs for student and early career groups.

• Inferring skeletal production from time-averaged assemblages: skeletal loss pulls the timing of production pulses towards the modern period
  
  

  Adam Tomašových, Susan M. Kidwell, and Rina Foygel Barber. Paleobiology, 42(1), 2016, pp. 54–76

  DOI: 10.1017/pab.2015.30
  
  USCSG-R-05-2016
  
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  Age-frequency distributions of dead skeletal material on the landscape or seabed—information on the time that has elapsed since the death of individuals—provide decadal- to millennial-scale perspectives both on the history of production and on the processes that lead to skeletal disintegration and burial. So far, however, models quantifying the dynamics of skeletal loss have assumed that skeletal production is constant during time-averaged accumulation. Here, to improve inferences in conservation paleobiology and historical ecology, we evaluate the joint effects of temporally variable production and skeletal loss on postmortem age-frequency distributions (AFDs) to determine how to detect fluctuations in production over the recent past from AFDs. We show that, relative to the true timing of past production pulses, the modes of AFDs will be shifted to younger age cohorts, causing the true age of past pulses to be underestimated. This shift in the apparent timing of a past pulse in production will be stronger where loss rates are high and/or the rate of decline in production is slow; also, a single pulse coupled with a declining loss rate can, under some circumstances, generate a bimodal distribution.We apply these models to death assemblages of the bivalve Nuculana taphria from the Southern California continental shelf, finding that: (1) an onshore-offshore gradient in time averaging is dominated by a gradient in the timing of production, reflecting the tracking of shallow-water habitats under a sea-level rise, rather than by a gradient in disintegration and sequestration rates, which remain constant with water depth; and (2) loss-corrected model based estimates of the timing of past production are in good agreement with likely past changes in local production based on an independent sea-level curve.

• The biogeography and community structure of kelp forest macroinvertebrates

  
  Laurel A. Zahn, Jeremy T. Claisse* , Jonathan P. Williams, Chelsea M. Williams, Daniel J. Pondella II. 2015. Marine Ecology, ISSN 0173-9565 doi: 10.1111/maec.12346

  
  
  USCSG-R-04-2016
  
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  Understanding species distributions and their community structure is increasingly important when taking an ecosystem-based approach to conservation and management. However, knowledge of the distribution and community structure of species in mid-range trophic levels (e.g. macroinvertebrates) is lacking in most marine ecosystems. Our study aimed to examine the spatial distribution and community-level biogeographic patterns of common kelp forest–rocky reef macroinvertebrates in Southern California and to evaluate the effects of environmental gradients on these communities. Quantitative SCUBA surveys were used to estimate macroinvertebrate densities at 92 sites from 2008–2012. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to evaluate spatial patterns of macroinvertebrate communities among Regions. We found that kelp forest–rocky reef macroinvertebrate communities are distinct among different island and mainland regions, and their community patterns exhibited a strong relationship with an environmental gradient (i.e. sea surface temperature) even after controlling for geographic distance between sites. High abundances of urchin species (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) were strong drivers of regional differences. Macroinvertebrate community patterns were driven by characteristic species that were typically more prevalent at warmer or colder sites. Our results provide the first quantitative analysis of macroinvertebrate community structure within the California kelp forest ecosystem. We also describe the distribution and abundance of 92 conspicuous kelp forest-rocky reef macroinvertebrates among nine pre-defined Regions. This study provides important preliminary information on these macroinvertebrate species that will be directly useful to inform management of invertebrate fisheries and spatial protection of marine resources.

• Economic Performance and Corporate Financial Management of Shipping Firms
  

  
  Hyo-Won Kang, University of Southern California Sea Grant, Los Angeles, CA; Grace W.Y. Wang,  Department of Maritime Administration, Texas A&M University at Galveston; Hee-Seok Bang, Department of International Logistics, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; and Su-Han Woo, Department of International Logistics, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  
  

  
  Journal: Maritime Economics & Logistics (2016) 18, 317–330. doi:10.1057/mel.2015.8; published online 21 May 2015

  http://link.springer.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/article/10.1057%2Fmel.2015.8 
  
  
  USCSG-R-03-2016
  

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  In an increasingly competitive environment, the importance of the economic performance of the maritime sector has been emphasized in the research of the past two decades. Recently, shipping firms have increasingly entered stock markets as an alternative source of finance, avoiding thus excessive debt exposure. It is here considered necessary to use performance measures which combine shareholders’ values with aspects of organizational management. Economic Value Added and Tobin’s Q are used to evaluate the economics performance of shipping firms. Main elements of financial management are used to investigate the determinants of economic performance of shipping companies. 64 international shipping companies listed in Bloomberg Shipping Indices are included in our sample. A panel regression is used to examine the impact of financial strategies on performance, across three market segments. This analysis provides shipping companies with managerial and strategic insights on how financial options influence economic performance. We identify unique common performance-determining characteristics such as operational ones; profitability; and leverage ratio; among tanker, dry bulk and container shipping markets.

• Circulation and Sediment Transport at Headlands with Implications for Littoral Cell Boundaries 

  
  George, Douglas
  Dissertation Thesis for Ph.D. in Hydrologic Sciences, U.C. Davis (2016)

   

  
  USCSG-R-02-2016
  
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  Coastal communities face the highest base sea level elevations in human history as the uncontrolled experiment of anthropogenic-driven climate change continues. Coastal engineering is expected to greatly expand as protection of infrastructure, property, and habitats becomes increasingly necessary. One of the most basic approaches in the protection toolbox is beach nourishment – the practice of placing large volumes of sand on existing beaches to shore up dunes and create a wider buffer from the ocean. The underlying assumption to beach nourishment projects is that they are temporary and will be repeated as the sand washes away over time. The clash between the natural coastal processes of littoral drift and the human efforts to build beaches leads to the framing question of this dissertation – where should sand be or not be placed to maximize the efficacy of a climate change adaptation strategy? The most exemplary coastal engineering projects dovetail with natural features to positively exploit fluid dynamic processes that are self-perpetuating and universal. For example, using a rocky headland as a protective anchor against erosion is prudent to optimize the longevity of a sand placement – yet most research has been conducted on beaches that are somewhat removed from the effects of headlands. Further, not all headlands are equal, though, and some may not provide any benefits to a nourishment project. 

  
  
  This dissertation focuses on the knowledge gap about how sediment moves around headlands. Historically, studies on the hydrodynamics of headlands have emphasized tide-dominated systems through observations and numerical modeling. This yielded an opportunity to explore circulation and sediment transport around headlands located on wave-dominated coasts. Three studies were undertaken to conduct a deeper investigation on the geomorphic, oceanographic, and sedimentologic influences on sediment flux. The first used a GIS-based classification of headlands to identify morphological features common among 78 California headlands that may or may not perform as littoral cell boundaries. The second executed a field observation study at a large headland in southern California with the goal of understanding sediment pathways and patterns under different forcing conditions. The last study was a numerical modeling effort using Delft-3D and SWAN to identify how variable oceanographic and sedimentologic conditions affect sediment transport around four idealized headlands that were designed based on the first study. Through these three studies, headland size and shape coupled with incident wave angle emerged as the dominant factors influencing sediment pathways and sediment grain size determined the volume of sediment flux. The findings in each study were interpreted in the context of littoral cell boundaries, in particular to assess the “openness” of a headland-defined boundary. Assigning gradations of boundaries instead of the more commonly used “boundary” or “no boundary” monikers became apparent from the results that revealed sediment pathways varied by sediment grain size. The overarching conclusion from this dissertation is that a new set of parameters should be utilized to define littoral cell boundaries at headlands that take into account size, shape, and sediment. The headlands most  likely to be candidates for absolute boundaries are large, pointed ones for most common beach-sized sand while large, broad-faced ones are barriers for coarser sand but not finer sand; smaller headlands are less likely to be absolute boundaries in general but can be barriers for coarser sand under certain conditions. The discoveries presented herein expand knowledge of headland dynamics as it relates to particle transport and delineation of dynamic littoral cell boundaries, both of which lead to the prospect of improved coastal management decisions in an era of profound coastal change. 

• A Study of the Stakeholder Experience in Developing Marine Protected Areas in Southern California

  
  Grifman, P., USC Sea Grant; McCreary, S., CONCUR Inc.; and Cowart, M., CONCUR Inc.
  
  

  University of Southern California Sea Grant Program (January 21, 2016) 
  USCSG-TR-01-2016

  
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  As Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) processes take hold worldwide, it is important to design stakeholder engagement processes that result in a stable outcome. An outcome is considered stable when all stakeholders agree they “can live with” the outcome.  This paper uses the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative’s (Initiative) stakeholder process to design a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the South Coast region of California as a case study for consideration by other CMSP policy makers. We evaluate shortcomings in the stakeholder process and make recommendations to improve future multi-stakeholder marine policy processes, particularly those occurring in highly complex, urban ocean environments.
  
  In our view, the South Coast process was a good process with a good outcome - but it was not a great process with a great outcome. In our analysis, we would find the outcome to be “great” if three conditions had been met: if unanimous or nearly-unanimous agreement had been reached on one MPA network proposal; if this proposal had been fully consistent with the objective criteria set forth in the Science Advisory Team (SAT) guidelines; and if the process had been broadly regarded as fair by participants and regional stakeholders. The level of stakeholder satisfaction with a process is a key measure of its effectiveness and the outcome’s ongoing support and stability.
  
  

  Our analysis is based on a robust set of four diverse and complementary sources, including a 40-question retrospective survey conducted jointly by the USC Sea Grant Program and CONCUR. This publication is a companion to McCreary, S., Grifman, P. & Cowart, M. (2016). Creating Stable Agreements in Marine Policy: Learning from the California South Coast Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. Negotiation Journal, 32: 23–48. doi: 10.1111/nejo.12145.  Link.

   

• Creating Stable Agreements in Marine Policy: Learning from the California South Coast Marine Life Protection Act Initiative

  
  McCreary, S., CONCUR Inc.; Grifman, P., USC Sea Grant; and Cowart, M., CONCUR Inc.
  
  

  Journal: Negotiation Journal, (2016) 32: 23–48. doi: 10.1111/nejo.12145
  USCSG-R-01-2016
  
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  The article is accessible for free at this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nejo.12145/full

  
   

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  In this article, we examine the California South Coast Marine Life Protection Act Initiative stakeholder process, evaluate its shortcomings, and consider what could have been done differently. Our objective is to make recommendations to improve future multi-stakeholder marine policy processes. In our view, while the South Coast stakeholder process had many positive outcomes, it failed to reach what we call here a “stable agreement.” Our analysis is based on two of the authors’ involvement (one as a facilitator and the other as a stakeholder representative) in the process and a post-hoc survey of participants. We find that several ill-advised process design and management choices significantly destabilized the negotiations, leading to an ultimately unstable agreement.
  
  

  We highlight four major problematic process design and management decisions, including the following: representation on the multi-stakeholder group was imbalanced, the pre-meeting caucuses were not paired with training in interest-based negotiation, adequate incentives to negotiate toward a consensus agreement were not provided, and the use of straw voting at one point in the process was unclear and inconsistent. As a result of these and other process design and management flaws, many stakeholders believed that the process was biased and that their ends would be better achieved by anchoring negotiations and engaging in positional bargaining. Ultimately, this meant that near-consensus on a single cross-interest marine protected area proposal was not reached, the scientific guidelines put forth were not fully met, the process was not and is not viewed as fair by the stakeholders directly or indirectly involved, and the marine protected area regulations lack broad-scale support.
  
  

  These pitfalls of the South Coast stakeholder process could have been avoided had the management and facilitation team consistently followed best practices in dispute resolution. We recommend that future marine planning processes learn from this example, particularly those occurring in highly complex, urban ocean environments.

   

• 2015

• From Rain Tanks to Catchments: Use of Low-Impact Development To Address Hydrologic Symptoms of the Urban Stream Syndrome
  
  

  Asal Askarizadeh, Megan A. Rippy, Tim D. Fletcher, David L. Feldman, Jian Peng, Peter Bowler, Andrew S. Mehring, Brandon K. Winfrey, Jasper A. Vrugt, Amir AghaKouchak, Sunny C. Jiang, Brett F. Sanders, Lisa A. Levin, Scott Taylor, and Stanley B. Grant. Environmental Science and Technology. American Chemical Society. 2015.  DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b01635
  
  USCSG-R-04-2015
  
  View/download paper

  ---

  Catchment urbanization perturbs the water and sediment budgets of streams, degrades stream health and function, and causes a constellation of flow, water quality, and ecological symptoms collectively known as the urban stream syndrome. Low-impact development (LID) technologies address the hydrologic symptoms of the urban stream syndrome by mimicking natural flow paths and restoring a natural water balance. Over annual time scales, the volumes of stormwater that should be infiltrated and harvested can be estimated from a catchment-scale water-balance given local climate conditions and preurban land cover. For all but the wettest regions of the world, a much larger volume of stormwater runoff should be harvested than infiltrated to maintain stream hydrology in a preurban state. Efforts to prevent or reverse hydrologic symptoms associated with the urban stream syndrome will therefore require: (1) selecting the right mix of LID technologies that provide regionally tailored ratios of stormwater harvesting and infiltration; (2) integrating these LID technologies into next-generation drainage systems; (3) maximizing potential cobenefits including water supply augmentation, flood protection, improved water quality, and urban amenities; and (4) long term hydrologic monitoring to evaluate the efficacy of LID interventions.

• Evaluating ecological states of rocky intertidal communities: A Best Professional Judgement exercise

  
  Steven N. Murray, et al. Department of Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, CA

  
  Journal: Ecological Indicators  (2016), pp. 802-814
  http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Re01,XRNLMSBS  (free link to article, active until October 21, 2015)

  USCSG-R-03-2015
   

  ---

  A Best Professional Judgment (BPJ) exercise was performed to determine the level of agreement among experts in evaluating the ecological states of western North American rocky intertidal communities. Species-abundance and environmental data from 12 central and 11 southern California sites were provided to 14 experts who independently ranked communities from best to worst and assigned each to one of five categories based on the degree of deviation from an expected natural biological state. Experts achieved Spearman correlations of 0.49 (central California) and 0.30 (southern California) in their rankings and averaged 75.4% and 70.0% Euclidean Similarity (ES) in their community evaluations. These ES values compare favorably with agreement levels found for similar exercises with soft bottom macroinvertebrate assemblages. The experts emphasized macrophytes with functional characteristics related to morphology and sessile macroinvertebrates in their assessments. Several challenges were noted in interpreting rocky intertidal data sets, the most prominent of which are high spatial and temporal variation and site-to-site differences in natural disturbance regimes, features that lead to multiple, expected community states. Experts required detailed, physical habitat descriptions to develop community composition expectations that differed for different shore types, and expressed concern about evaluating rocky intertidal communities based on only a single sampling event. Distinguishing natural from anthropogenic disturbance without information on the sources and magnitudes of anthropogenic perturbation was also found to be challenging because the biological responses to these stressors are often similar. This study underscores the need for long-term data sets that describe the dynamics of populations and communities and rigorous testing of expert judgments to firmly establish broadly applicable and consistent links between community states and anthropogenic stressors on rocky shores.
  
  
  

• Testing a non-lethal way to determine the sex of California halibut, Paralichthys californicus, in non-spawning condition
  
  

  Lia Protopapadakis, The Bay Foundation; K. Penttila, California Department of Fish and Wildlife; W. W. Dowd, Loyola Marymount University
  
  

  Journal: Fisheries Management and Ecology
  USCSG-R-02-2015
  (PDF)
  
  

  ---

  The California halibut, Paralichthys californicus (Ayres),is the target of an avid recreational fishery and a nearlyUS $2 million commercial fishery. It is one of the State of California’s highest priorities for developing a fishery management plan (California Department of Fish andGame 2001). (...) The method most widely used by CDFW to determine sex in P. californicus involves dissection and physical inspection of the gonad due to the lack of external, sexually dimorphic characteristics. However, dissection can-not be used to gather sex-specific landings data from the live commercial fishery or in tag–recapture studies. Other non-lethal techniques for determining sex that have been proven effective in similar species include observing the natural or forced discharge of gametes(St-Pierre 1984); cannulation (Nielsen et al. 2014);sonography (Loher & Stephens 2011); and genetic analysis (Galindo et al. 2011). The first two methods are limited to mature individuals during spawning activity,and the last method requires careful specimen collection and laboratory expenses. In contrast, sonography can be performed quickly on live fish, year-round, regardless of the fish’s sexual development or spawning condition(Shields et al. 1993; Loher & Stephens 2011). Here, the possibility of using veterinary ultrasound (i.e. sonography) to determine sex in P. californicus was tested following Loher and Stephens (2011). To limit the impact of the study on the wild P. californicus population, whole-fish samples were obtained from existing samples, recreational fishers and aquaculture facilities.The CDFW donated 34 frozen P. californicus that had been obtained as by-catch from purse seine vessels targeting sardines. 
  
  
  

• 40 Years of Progress in the Urban Ocean

  
  University of Southern California Sea Grant Program (June 8, 2015)
  USCSG-TR-03-2015
  (PDF)

  
   

   

   

  ---

  The Sea Grant Program at USC is one of the oldest in the country, established in 1972 out of the necessity of managing aquatic natural resources in one of the most intensely populated and developed coastlines in the country. Tracking USC Sea Grant’s work through the decades, you realize how closely our program’s research, outreach and education are tied to the needs of this urban ocean environment and its residents. We are dedicated to our role as a neutral broker of science that serves the people, ecosystems and wildlife of such a diverse region; and to our role building capacity and connections across people, resources and knowledge to solve our most pressing problems. We place a high value on our extension, outreach and education efforts, ensuring that research funded by USC Sea Grant makes its way into the public realm so that managers and policy makers have the benefit of sound science when making decisions, and educators, students and public have access to cutting-edge science. In this 40th+ anniversary retrospective, we tell a few stories to show how USC Sea Grant’s long-term work supports achievements in several key areas of importance to Southern California. It is extremely rewarding to be able to say that some things are better than they were 20 or 40 years ago. It is not possible to say that about everything, but we can see improvements here along our coastline, and we are proud to have been part of the collaborations of research scientists, educators, government leaders and community stakeholders that worked on these issues.

  
  
  
  

• The long arm of climate change: societal teleconnections and the future of climate change impacts studies

  
  Susanne Moser, Susanne Moser Research and Consulting; Juliette Hart, USC Sea Grant
  Journal: Climatic Change
  USCSG-R-03-2015

  
  (PDF)
  
  

  ---

  Abstract: “Societal teleconnections” – analogous to physical teleconnections such as El Niño – are human-created linkages that link activities, trends, and disruptions across large distances, such that locations spatially separated from the locus of an event can experience a variety of impacts from it nevertheless. In the climate change context, such societal teleconnections add a layer of risk that is currently neither fully appreciated in most impacts or vulnerability assessments nor in on-the-ground adaptation planning. Conceptually, societal teleconnections arise from the interactions among actors, and the institutions that guide their actions, affecting the movement of varioussubstances through different structures and processes. Empirically, they arise out of societal interactions, including globalization, to create, amplify, and sometimes attenuate climate change vulnerabilities and impacts in regions far from those where a climatic extreme or change occurs. This paper introduces a simple but systematic way to conceptualize societal teleconnections and then highlights and explores eight unique but interrelated types of societal teleconnections with selected examples: (1) trade and economic exchange, (2) insurance and reinsurance, (3) energy systems, (4) food systems; (5) human health, (6) population migration, (7) communication, and (8) strategic alliances and military interactions. The paper encourages further research to better understand the causal chains behind socially teleconnected impacts, and to identify ways to routinely integrate their consideration in impacts/vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning to limit the risk of costly impacts. 
  
  
  

• 2014

• Bioaccumulation Of Organochlorine Contaminants And Ethoxyresorufin-O-Deethylase Activity In Southern California Round Stingrays (Urobatis Hal40 yearleri) Exposed To Planar Aromatic Compounds

  Kady Lyons, Ramon Lavado, Daniel Schlenk, and Christopher G. Lowe
  USCSG-R-09-2014
  Copies Available: doi: 10.1002/etc.2564 (PDF)

  ---

  Abstract: While contaminant concentrations have been reported for elasmobranchs around the world, no studies have examined bioaccumulation patterns across male and female age classes. The round stingray (Urobatis halleri) is a local benthic species that forages near areas of high organochlorine contamination and represents a good elasmobranch model. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, and chlordanes were measured in juvenile and adult male and female stingrays from areas in southern California, USA (n1/4208), and a nearby offshore island, Santa Catalina (n1/434). Both mainland juvenile male and female stingrays showed a significant dilution effect. After maturity, summed contaminant concentrations significantly increased with size for adult males (median 11.1mg/g lipid wt) and females (5.2 mg/g lipid wt). However, the rate of bioaccumulation was substantially greater in male stingrays than in females, likely a result of the females' ability to offload contaminants to offspring during pregnancy. In addition, males and females showed significant differences in their contaminant profiles, suggesting differential habitat use. Male and female stingrays collected from Santa Catalina Island had significantly lower concentrations (0.51 mg/g and 0.66mg/g lipid wt, respectively), approximately 5 times less than those of mainland animals. Potential toxicity effects mediated through activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor were explored through ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity assays. Mainland male stingrays exhibited significantly greater EROD activities than Catalina males (481 pmol/min/mg protein and 55 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively); however, activity levels in female stingrays from both locations were comparable (297 pmol/min/mg protein and 234 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively) and lower than those in mainland males. The results suggest that PCBs and/or other structurally related contaminants may be inducing a biological response in mainland males but not females, possibly the result of a dampening effect of estradiol; however, the exact physiological repercussions of exposure remain to be determined. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:1380–1390. # 2014 SETAC

• Microbial biogeochemistry of coastal upwelling regimes in a changing ocean

  Douglas G. Capone and David A. Hutchins
  USCSG-R-10-2014 (PDF)

  ---

  Coastal upwelling regimes associated with eastern boundary currents are the most biologically productive ecosystems in the ocean. As a result, they play a disproportionately important role in the microbially mediated cycling of marine nutrients. These systems are characterized by strong natural variations in carbon dioxide concentrations, pH, nutrient levels and sea surface temperatures on both seasonal and interannual timescales. Despite this natural variability, changes resulting from human activities are starting to emerge. Carbon dioxide derived from fossil fuel combustion is adding to the acidity of upwelled low-pH waters. Low-oxygen waters associated with coastal upwelling systems are growing in their extent and intensity as a result of a rise in upper ocean temperatures and productivity. And nutrient inputs to the coastal ocean continue to grow. Coastal upwelling systems may prove more resilient to changes resulting from human activities than other ocean ecosystems because of their ability to function under extremely variable conditions. Nevertheless, shifts in primary production, fish yields, nitrogen gain and loss, and the flux of climate-relevant gases could result from the perturbation of these highly productive and dynamic ecosystems.

• Global change and the future of harmful algal blooms in the ocean

  Fei Xue Fu, Avery O. Tatters, David A. Hutchins
  USCSG-R-06-2014 (PDF)

  ---

  The frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and phytoplankton community shifts toward toxic species have increased worldwide. Although most research has focused on eutrophication as the cause of this trend, many other global- and regional-scale anthropogenic influences may also play a role. Ocean acidification (high pCO₂/low pH), greenhouse warming, shifts in nutrient availability, ratios, and speciation, changing exposure to solar irradiance, and altered salinity all have the potential to profoundly affect the growth and toxicity of these phytoplankton. Except for ocean acidification, the effects of these individual factors on harmful algae have been studied extensively. In this review, we summarize our understanding of the influence of each of these single factors on the physiological properties of important marine HAB groups. We then examine the much more limited literature on how rising CO₂ together with these other concurrent environmental changes may affect these organisms, including what is possibly the most critical property of many species: toxin production. New work with several diatom and dinoflagellate species suggests that ocean acidification combined with nutrient limitation or temperature changes may dramatically increase the toxicity of some harmful groups. This observation underscores the need for more in-depth consideration of poorly understood interactions between multiple global change variables on HAB physiology and ecology. A key limitation of global change experiments is that they typically span only a few algal generations, making it difficult to predict whether they reflect likely future decadal- or century-scale trends. We conclude by calling for thoughtfully designed experiments and observations that include adequate consideration of complex multivariate interactive effects on the long-term responses of HABs to a rapidly changing future marine environment.

• Short- Versus Long-Term Responses To Changing CO₂ In A Coastal Dinoflagellate Bloom: Implications For Interspecific Competitive Interactions And Community Structure

  Avery O. Tatters, Astrid Schnetzer, Feixue Fu, Alle Y.A. Lie, David A. Caron, and David A. Hutchins
  USCSG-R-07-2014 (PDF)

  ---

  Increasing pCO₂ (partial pressure of CO₂) in an "acidified" ocean will affect phytoplankton community structure, but manipulation experiments with assemblages briefly acclimated to simulated future conditions may not accurately predict the long-term evolutionary shifts that could affect inter-specific competitive success. We assessed community structure changes in a natural mixed dinoflagellate bloom incubated at three pCO₂ levels (230, 433, and 765 ppm) in a short-term experiment (2 weeks). The four dominant species were then isolated from each treatment into clonal cultures, and maintained at all three pCO2 levels for approximately 1 year. Periodically (4, 8, and 12 months), these pCO₂-conditioned clones were recombined into artificial communities, and allowed to compete at their conditioning pCO₂ level or at higher and lower levels. The dominant species in these artificial communities of CO₂-conditioned clones differed from those in the original short-term experiment, but individual species relative abundance trends across pCO₂ treatments were often similar. Specific growth rates showed no strong evidence for fitness increases attributable to conditioning pCO₂ level. Although pCO₂ significantly structured our experimental communities, conditioning time and biotic interactions like mixotrophy also had major roles in determining competitive outcomes. New methods of carrying out extended mixed species experiments are needed to accurately predict future long-term phytoplankton community responses to changing pCO2.

• High CO₂ promotes the production of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins by Alexandrium catenella from Southern California waters

  Avery O. Tatters, Leanne J. Flewelling, Feixue Fu, April A. Granholm, David A. Hutchins
  2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  USCSG-R-08-2014 ~ (PDF)

  ---

  In many dinoflagellates, cellular toxin levels have been demonstrated to increase when growth is limited by essential nutrients such as phosphorus. Despite the recognized importance of nutrient limitation to dinoflagellate toxicity, interactions with current and future global environmental change variables have been relatively unexplored. This is a critical question, as dissolution of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions into seawater is leading to progressively lower pH values, or ocean acidification. Sea surface temperatures are concurrently increasing, a trend that is also projected to continue in the future. We conditioned a clonal culture of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin producing Alexandrium catenella (A-11c) isolated from coastal Southern California to factorial combinations of two temperatures, two pCO₂ levels, and two phosphate concentrations for a period of eight months. Interactions between these variables influenced growth and carbon fixation rates and although these treatments only elicited minor differences in toxin profile, total cellular toxicity was dramatically affected. Cells conditioned to high pCO₂ (levels projected for year 2075) and low phosphate at low temperature (15 8C) were the most toxic, while lower pCO₂, higher phosphate levels, and warmer temperature (19 8C) alleviated this toxicity to varying degrees. Overall increased pCO₂ generally led to enhanced potency. Our results suggest that future increased ocean acidification may exacerbate the toxic threat posed by this toxic dinoflagellate, especially when combined with nutrient limitation, but that future warmer temperatures could also offset some of this enhanced toxicity.

• Short- and long-term conditioning of a temperate marine diatom community to acidification and warming

  Avery O. Tatters, Michael Y. Roleda, Astrid Schnetzer, Feixue Fu, Catriona L. Hurd, Philip W. Boyd, David A. Caron, Alle A. Y. Lie, Linn J. Hoffmann and David A. Hutchins
  USCSG-R-11-2014  (PDF)

  ---

  In the present-day ocean, anthropogenic CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere are driving environmental change processes that are probably unprecedented in their rapidity and scope. These impacts include increased sea surface temperatures due to 'greenhouse' warming, and a decrease in pH due to the direct effects of CO₂ uptake on seawater chemistry [1]. It is likely that a selective advantage will be provided for those species that are best able to cope with and respond to these multiple environmental changes [2]. At present, however, the long-term responses of most marine organisms to these global change variables over years or decades are virtually unknown [2].

• 2013

• Kelp forest habitat restoration has the potential to increase sea urchin gonad biomass
  
  

  Claisse, J. T., J. P. Williams, T. Ford, D. J. Pondella II, B. Meux, and L. Protopapadakis. 2013. Kelp forest habitat restoration has the potential to increase sea urchin gonad biomass. Ecosphere 4(3):38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ ES12-00408.1
  
  USCSG-R-10-2013
  
  View/download paper

  ---

  When taking an ecosystem-based approach to marine resource management, managers may be able to implement a combination of management tools in order to mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of implementing any one in isolation, while providing greater overall ecological benefits. The harvest of Strongylocentrotus franciscanus (red sea urchin) for their gonads is one of the most important commercial fisheries in California. However, in some locations, high densities of the unfished Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (purple sea urchin) can clear expanses of kelp forest resulting in ‘‘urchin barrens.’’ The lack of macroalgal food resources can result in reduced gonad production, making S. franciscanus within barrens less valuable to a fishery. We investigated the potential of kelp forest habitat restoration, which may be achievable primarily by removing S. purpuratus from barrens, to positively impact the local S. franciscanus fishery and offset the losses in fishing grounds within recently established MPAs in our study area. Generalized linear modeling of the relationship between gonad weight and length (test diameter) demonstrated clear size-specific differences in gonad production between urchins collected in barrens and kelp forests. These relationships varied over time, with the maximum observed mean gonad biomass at length being 484% greater in kelp forest than barren habitat for S. franciscanus just above the legal size limit. The variability in S. franciscanus density (5.2 times greater in urchin barrens), size structure (mean test diameters were approximately 50% greater in kelp forest) and gonad production were then incorporated using Monte Carlo simulations. Results indicated that restoration could potentially result in an 864% increase in S. franciscanus gonad biomass available to the fishery, and a 132% increase in reproductive potential per unit area of urchin barren restored to kelp forest. If all 36 ha of urchin barren habitat mapped outside of the new MPAs in the study area were restored, the increase in gonad biomass available to the fishery could potentially offset 52% of which is now protected within the 109 ha of rocky reef in the new MPAs. Kelp restoration has the potential to play a valuable role as one of many integrated tools in an ecosystem-based management approach.

• Effects of an Acute Hypoxic Event on Microplankton Community Structure in a Coastal Harbor of Southern California

  Beth A. Stauffer, Astrid Schnetzer, Alyssa G. Gellene, Carl Oberg, Gaurav S. Sukhatme and David A. Caron

  
  Estuaries and Coasts, 36:135-148, 2013
  NSGL Document #: SCU-R-13-011

  
  NSGL Publication #: USCSG-R-13-2014

  
  Link to PDF

   

  ---

  Abstract: Fish mortality and hypoxic events occur in many coastal and inland systems and may result from natural or anthropogenically mediated processes. The effects of consequent changes in water biogeochemistry have been investigated for communities of benthic invertebrates and pelagic metazoans. The responses of micro‐plankton assemblages, however, have remained largely unstudied. The northern basin of King Harbor, a small embayment within Santa Monica Bay, CA, USA, suffered a massive fish kill in March 2011 as a consequence of acute hypoxia. Dissolved oxygen concentrations < 0.1 mll−1 were measured in the northern basin of the harbor for several days following the mortality event, and a strong spatial gradient of oxygen was observed from the northern basin to waters outside the harbor. The microplankton community within King Harbor differed significantly from a diatom‐dominated community present in neighboring Santa Monica Bay. The latter region appeared unaffected by physicochemical changes, induced by the fish kill, that were observed within the harbor. A trophic shift was observed throughout King Harbor from a photoautotrophic‐dominated assemblage to one of heterotrophic forms, with relative abundances of bacterivorous ciliates increasing by more than 80 % in the most impacted part of the harbor. Significant changes in community structure were observed together with dramatically reduced photosynthetic yield of the remaining phytoplankton, indicating severe physiological stress during the extreme hypoxia.

  
   

• Evidence of Maternal Offloading of Organic Contaminants in White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

  Christopher G. Mull mail, Kady Lyons, Mary E. Blasius, Chuck Winkler, John B. O’Sullivan, Christopher G. Lowe
  Published: April 30, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062886 ~ (ACCESS PUBLICATION)
  

  ---

  Organic contaminants were measured in young of the year (YOY) white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) incidentally caught in southern California between 2005 and 2012 (n = 20) and were found to be unexpectedly high considering the young age and dietary preferences of young white sharks, suggesting these levels may be due to exposure in utero. To assess the potential contributions of dietary exposure to the observed levels, a five-parameter bioaccumulation model was used to estimate the total loads a newborn shark would potentially accumulate in one year from consuming contaminated prey from southern California. Maximum simulated dietary accumulation of DDTs and PCBs were 25.1 and 4.73 µg/g wet weight (ww) liver, respectively. Observed ΣDDT and ΣPCB concentrations (95±91 µg/g and 16±10 µg/g ww, respectively) in a majority of YOY sharks were substantially higher than the model predictions suggesting an additional source of contaminant exposure beyond foraging. Maternal offloading of organic contaminants during reproduction has been noted in other apex predators, but this is the first evidence of transfer in a matrotrophic shark. While there are signs of white shark population recovery in the eastern Pacific, the long-term physiological and population level consequences of biomagnification and maternal offloading of environmental contaminants in white sharks is unclear.

• Integrated coastal effects study: Synthesis of findings

  Steven M. Bay, Doris E. Vidal-Dorsch, Daniel Schlenk, Kevin M. Kelley, Keith A. Maruya and Joseph R. Gully
  USCSG-TR-03-2013

  ---

  Concern over the environmental impacts of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) has increased in recent years as a result of studies showing their occurrence in waste discharges and receiving waters, and instances of fish endocrine disruption associated with some CECs. Limited information is available regarding the types, concentrations, and fate of CECs discharged to the Southern California Bight (SCB) from treated wastewater discharges and their potential for ecological impacts. This study investigated the impacts of CECs from ocean wastewater discharges on SCB fish. Samples of effluent from the four major municipal wastewater treatment plants were collected. In addition, seawater, sediment, and hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) from the effluent discharge areas and a reference station were also sampled and analyzed for multiple chemical and biological indicators. Low concentrations of many pharmaceutical, personal care products and industrial and commercial compounds were frequently measured in the effluent samples. Some CECs were detected in sediment and seawater collected near the outfall sites, indicating the potential for fish exposure. Seawater CECs were detected at concentrations lower than one part per trillion. Fish livers contained certain types of CECs confirming exposure. Fish plasma hormone analyses suggested the presence of physiological effects including reduced cortisol levels, relatively high levels of male estradiol, and reduced thyroxine. Male fish plasma also contained low levels of vitellogenin. Most fish responses were found at all sites, and could not be directly associated with effluent discharges. However, concentrations of thyroxine were lower at all discharge sites relative to the reference, and estradiol concentrations were lower at three of the four outfall sites. The physiological responses found in this study did not appear to be associated with adverse impacts on fish reproduction or populations. Overall, fish from discharge and reference sites had similar reproductive cycles. Analysis of long-term monitoring data showed that hornyhead turbot populations were stable (or increasing) and that the fish community composition near the outfall discharges was typical of that expected in reference areas.

• Effects of Pollutants on Bay Fish

  Meg Sedlak, Kevin M. Kelley, and Dan Schlenk
  USCSG-TR-02-2013

  ---

  Many fish populations are declining in the North Bay and Delta; contaminants may play a role Fish have life histories that make them vulnerable to pollutants PAHs from vehicle exhaust, oil spills, and other sources can reach concentrations that can affect growth, reproduction, and survival of Bay fish Pyrethroid pesticides and other pollutants are suspected to have a role in the "Pelagic Organism Decline" in the northern Estuary and Delta Studies suggest that endocrine disruption may be occurring in the Bay-Delta, but the causes are not entirely clear.

• Sources and Effects of Endocrine Disruptors and Other Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Southern California Bight Coastal Ecosystem

  Steven M. Bay, Doris E. Vidal-Dorsch, Daniel Schlenk, Kevin M. Kelley, Michael E. Baker, Keith A. Maruya and Joseph R. Gully
  USCSG-TR-01-2013

  ---

  Thousands of chemicals are in daily use for which little is known about their fate and effects on aquatic life. These compounds include pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), current use pesticides (CUPs), natural and synthetic hormones, and industrial and commercial compounds (ICCs). Collectively known as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), many of these compounds are discharged into coastal waters from point and nonpoint sources and have the potential to cause adverse biological effects. There is little information to assess the ecological impacts of CECs, partly because environmental monitoring programs usually focus on priority pollutants such as trace metals, chlorinated pesticides, PCBs, and petroleum hydrocarbons that historically contaminated coastal waters. Concern over the environmental impacts of CECs has increased in recent years as a result of studies showing their common occurrence in waste discharges and receiving waters, and instances of biological effects such as endocrine disruption on fish and wildlife associated with some CECs. Over a billion gallons of treated municipal wastewater are discharged into southern California coastal waters every day. These discharges represent a potentially significant source of CEC exposure for marine life. However, only limited information is available regarding the types, concentrations, and fate of CECs discharged to the Southern California Bight (SCB) from treated wastewater discharges and their potential for ecological impacts.

• Evidence of Maternal Offloading of Organic Contaminants in White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

  Christopher G. Mull, Kady Lyons, Mary E. Blasius, Chuck Winkler, John B. O'Sullivan, Christopher G. Lowe
  USCSG-R-07-2013

  ---

  Organic contaminants were measured in young of the year (YOY) white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) incidentally caught in southern California between 2005 and 2012 (n = 20) and were found to be unexpectedly high considering the young age and dietary preferences of young white sharks, suggesting these levels may be due to exposure in utero. To assess the potential contributions of dietary exposure to the observed levels, a five-parameter bioaccumulation model was used to estimate the total loads a newborn shark would potentially accumulate in one year from consuming contaminated prey from southern California. Maximum simulated dietary accumulation of DDTs and PCBs were 25.1 and 4.73 µg/g wet weight (ww) liver, respectively. Observed ΣDDT and ΣPCB concentrations (95±91 µg/g and 16±10 µg/g ww, respectively) in a majority of YOY sharks were substantially higher than the model predictions suggesting an additional source of contaminant exposure beyond foraging. Maternal offloading of organic contaminants during reproduction has been noted in other apex predators, but this is the first evidence of transfer in a matrotrophic shark. While there are signs of white shark population recovery in the eastern Pacific, the long-term physiological and population level consequences of biomagnification and maternal offloading of environmental contaminants in white sharks is unclear.

• Combating Sea-Level Rise In Southern California:
  How Local Governments Can Seize Adaptation Opportunities While Minimizing Legal Risk

  Megan M. Herzog and Sean B. Hecht pdf

  ---

  Sea-level rise is a consequence of a warming planet. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from sources like power plants, motor vehicles, and manufacturing processes accumulate in the earth's atmosphere and trap heat, contributing to a rise in the mean global temperature. The increased temperature causes ocean water to expand thermally and land ice to melt into the ocean, resulting in the phenomenon of sea-level rise. In its 2007 Synthesis Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected the pace of sea-level rise to increase over the coming decades, and cautioned that even if anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are stabilized, thermal expansion of the ocean would cause sea levels to continue to rise for centuries into the future. Thus, a changing coast is unavoidable. Global sea-level rise will increase the risk of coastal flooding, tidal inundation, storm damage, shoreline erosion, saltwater intrusion, and wetland loss, among other impacts.

• 2012

• An Oceanographic, Meteorological, and Biological 'Perfect Storm' Yields a Massive Fish Kill

  
  Beth A. Stauffer, et al. 
  
  

  Journal: Marine Ecology Progess Series, 468:231-243, November 14, 2012

  
  Copies Available: doi: 10.3354/meps09927

  
  
  

  ---

  Mass mortality events are ephemeral phenomena in marine ecosystems resulting from anthropogenically enhanced and natural processes. A fish kill in King Harbor, Redondo Beach, California, USA, in March 2011 killed ~1.54 × 105 kg of fish and garnered international attention as a marine system out of balance. Here, we present data collected prior to, during, and following the event that describe the oceanographic conditions preceding the event, spatial extent of hypoxia (dissolved oxygen < 1.4 ml l−1), and subsequent recovery of the harbor. In situ sensors within the harbor revealed rapid decreases in dissolved oxygen in surface waters from 7 to 9 March 2011, coincident with the mortality event on 8 March. Continuous observations provided evidence that respiration of a large population of fish within the harbor, potentially exacerbated by an incursion of upwelled low‐oxygen water, resulted in significant oxygen reduction in the harbor and ultimately caused mortality of the fish population. The hydrodynamically constrained northern basin transitioned to nearly anoxic conditions, while spatially variable hypoxia was observed throughout the harbor and adjacent bay for >10 d following the event. Initial recovery of dissolved oxygen in the harbor was facilitated by stormmediated mixing. No connection was apparent between increased algal biomass or phycotoxins within the harbor and the mortality event, although the fish showed evidence of prior exposure to the algal neurotoxin domoic acid. Our findings underscore the essential role of ocean observing and rapid response in the study of these events and the role that oceanographic processes play in hypoxia‐driven fish mortalities. Alterations in upwelling regimes as a consequence of climate change are likely to further increase the frequency and magnitude of upwelling‐driven hypoxia and mortality events.

   

• Urban Mariner, Volume 4, Number 1

  USC Sea Grant 40th Anniversary Special Edition Retrospective in honor of Dr. Burt Jones

  Editors: P. Grifman, J. Hart, C. Stevenson PDF
  Author: C. Stevenson
  USCSG-TR-02-2012

• Status of Metal Contamination in Surface Waters of the Coastal Ocean off Los Angeles, California since the Implementation of the Clean Water Act

  Author(s): Emily A. Smail, Eric A. Webb, Robert P. Franks, Kenneth W. Bruland and Sergio A. Sañudo-Wilhelmy

• Canopy-Forming Kelps as California's Coastal Dosimeter: 131I from Damaged Japanese Reactor Measured in Macrocystis pyrifera

  Steven L Manley and Christopher G. Lowe
  USCSG-R-02-2012
  doi/10.1021/es203598r

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  The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, damaged by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 released large amounts of 131I into the atmosphere, which was assimilated into canopy blades of Macrocystis pyrifera sampled from coastal California. The specific activity calculated to the estimated date of deposition/assimilation ranged from 0.6 to 2.5 Bq gdwt–1, levels greater than those measured from kelps from Japan and Canada prior to the release. These 131I levels represent a significant input into the kelp forest ecosystem. Canopy-forming kelps are a natural coastal dosimeter that can measure the exposure of the coastal environment to 131I and perhaps other radioisotopes released from nuclear accidents. An organizational mechanism should be in place to ensure that they are sampled immediately and continuously after such releases.

• An elasmobranch maternity ward: female round stingrays Urobatis halleri use warm, restored estuarine habitat during gestation

  K. E. Jirik and C. G. Lowe
  USCSG-R-01-2012
  doi/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03208.x

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  The habitat use and movements of the round stingray Urobatis halleri were compared between shallow restored and natural habitats of the Anaheim Bay Estuary (CA, U.S.A.) in relation to water temperature. Restored habitat remained significantly warmer than natural habitat from spring through to autumn. Strong sexual segregation occurred in the restored habitat with mature female U. halleri forming large unisex aggregations in summer, during months of peak seasonal water temperatures, and males only present during spring. Most mature females collected from restored habitat during months of high abundance were determined to be pregnant using non-invasive field ultrasonography. Tagged females typically spent <14 days in the restored habitat, using the habitat less as seasonal water temperatures decreased. Females tended to emigrate from the estuary by mid-August, coinciding with the time of year for parturition. The elevated water temperatures of the restored habitat may confer an energetic cost to male U. halleri, but females (particularly pregnant females) may derive a thermal reproductive benefit by using warm, shallow habitats for short periods of time during months of peak water temperatures. These findings have management implications for the design of coastal habitat restoration projects and marine protected areas that incorporate thermal environments preferred by aggregating female elasmobranchs.