Summary of Research:

Progress during 2002-2003

Our accomplishments during the period in question consisted of hiring a fulltime technician, planning our field work for spring 2003, and organizing our laboratory.  We conducted a search for a technician/diver through UCSB’s Marine Science Institute and the UCSBN Office of Personnel.  Our search was successful as we hired an experienced and skilled tech by the name of Mathew Kay, who began work 1 March.  Mr. Kay was hired at a level of SRA 1.  He has a master’s degree in marine biology from the University of Oregon, and is UCSB certified as a scuba diver and boat captain.  Matt helped us organize our laboratory space in preparation for our field season which began 1 April 2003.

In addition to hiring a technician, we assembled literature pertaining to our study organisms, conducted maintenance on field gear, and set-up a computer that will be used for data entry, storage, and analysis.  Using non-MMS funds, we also purchased a new truck (20 May 2003) that has allowed us to initiate our field work because we can now tow and launch a boat we use for diving activities.

We initiated the fieldwork component of our project by surveying fish communities on our focal platform, Gina, and control sites at Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands.  We collected data on the abundance of our model fishes (black-eyed gobies, surfperches, and cabezon) for one time period at our six control sites (3 on Anacapa Island and 3 on Santa Cruz island).  We are sampling water depths of 20, 30, 40, and 60 feet.  These species were selected after we surveyed platform Gina and found that there were no painted greenling, a species we selected as one of our original model fishes (along with stirped surfperch).  Painted greenlings were reported to be abundant on Gina and other platforms but we have not found one specimen on platform Gina and other nearby platforms in our many preliminary dive surveys.  As a result, we are excluding the painted greenling as a model species and replacing it with the black-eyed gobie (Coryphopterus nicholsii).  C. nicholsii is an excellent model species for our project because it is build nests, lays eggs, and does not have pelagic larvae.  Therefore, we have the ability to measure the parameters necessary for quantifying births, deaths, emigration, immigration, and growth.

Future plans:

Our future plans consist of sampling population demographics of our study organisms at POCS platforms and natural reefs in June, July, August, and September.  However, sampling will continue until the fishes have ceased reproducing and we have finished counting and/or tagging all nests, juveniles, and adults.