Tales from the Logbook--Kelp Forest Monitoring at Channel Islands National Park

I descend with my buddy and two other divers from the stern of the Channel Islands National Park vessel, Pacific Ranger, to conduct a roving diver fish count. Immediately, I begin to collect species and abundance data on the fish species I encounter.  I note the common name for the species and their relative abundance as S (single -1) F (few-2-10) C (common-11-100) or M (many over 100) on an underwater slate—essentially a mylar sheet duct taped to a plastic board with a pencil attached with surgical tubing to the board.  Over the next 30 minutes, I swim along a 100 meter transect line permanently affixed to the seafloor.  I collect data in five minute segments, which I track using the bezel of my Seiko dive watch.  I note each species I encounter, while actively searching for 17 species of particular interest throughout the water column including under ledges.  I am familiar with all these species; they are fairly common and frequently encountered during my dives over the years.

Following the protocol, once each species is seen and its abundance estimated in a five minute segment, it is ignored in subsequent segments.  Twenty minutes into the dive, the species I have not yet encountered are fewer and fewer.  Time seems to pass quickly and soon we are headed back to the boat.  Once on board, we compile our individual observations on a master data sheet.

The procedure that I followed, along with the procedures listed below are described in the Park’s KELP FOREST MONITORING HANDBOOK, VOLUME 1: SAMPLING PROTOCOL. The handbook describes  several different sampling techniques.  This standardized approach ensures that data collected has a high degree of reliability and validity. 

The following paragraphs, extracted from various National Park Service related publications, provide an overview of the Southern California kelp forest habitats, the Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, and why rigorous protocols are used

Southern California Kelp Forests

“The nearshore waters along the coastline southern California host one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth, giant kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera). Like tropical rainforests, these towering seaweeds provide structure, food, and hiding places for more than 1,000 species of plants and animals, providing necessary habitat for species as diverse as giant black sea bass and tiny bluebanded gobies.

Kelp forests are influenced by both natural events and human activities. Strong storms associated with El Niño years and fluctuating water temperatures can cause dramatic changes in kelp forest communities. Human activities also affect the health and survival of kelp forests through coastal development, sedimentation, pollution, and, in particular, fishing. Removal of predators can alter predator-prey interactions. For example,with the elimination of sea otters and the overharvesting of spiny lobster and California sheephead, herbivore populations like purple sea urchins can decimate kelp beds through overgrazing. These areas quickly transition into "barren" landscapes supporting relatively few species and lower biomass. Loss of kelp beds also eliminates nursery grounds for many species whose young live in the kelp until they are large enough to venture into open waters. Without shelter and food from the kelp forest, these populations may be dramatically reduced.”[i]

Kelp Forest Monitoring Program

“To help better understand and protect the kelp forest community, Channel Islands National Park established a kelp forest monitoring program in 1982 to collect baseline information about kelp forest ecosystems around the five park islands…. Since the program began, widespread and dramatic changes have occurred. The program has documented the loss of kelp beds around several of the islands; confirmed the decline of several marine species; supported management actions, like the closure of abalone fisheries in southern California; and documented declines in the health of kelp forests where predators are absent or drastically reduced. The program has also helped scientists and managers implement new management strategies to protect the marine ecosystem, including establishing marine reserves at the Channel Islands.” [ii]

Kelp Forest Monitoring Protocols

“The aim of KFMP is to provide information that is relatively free of variation among observers and does not significantly affect the species monitored or the habitat that supports them. The sampling methods are designed to deal realistically with the inherent variability characteristic of kelp forest ecosystems while producing the highest quality data for future analysis. Approximately 10 different sampling techniques are conducted at each site. These techniques collect data on population abundance, distribution, age structure, reproduction, recruitment, growth rate, mortality and sex composition of kelp forest species….Collecting quality information underwater presents many unique challenges to a monitoring program. Diver safety is always of utmost importance. Diving operations at Channel Islands are often conducted in limited visibility, fluctuating ocean currents, cold water and rough seas…In addition to being highly experienced divers, most KFMP staff and volunteers have substantial expertise in conducting surveys in kelp forests or similar habitats, helping to ensure both dive safety and data quality. All information is entered into a database based on a ranking system of expertise; this serves as a filter, making certain only the highest quality of information is used. Such strict information management criterion has made KFMP data well respected by managers and scientists worldwide.” [iii]

My KFM Data Collection Cruises

I participated in one of several five-day KFM data collection cruises held each summer in 1998, 2000, and 2001.  Typically, the cruise season starts in May and continues through late September/early October. 

Date	Cruise	Sites Visited
August 24-28, 1998	5 of 7	Santa Rosa Island—Johnson’s Lee North, Johnson’s Lee South Santa Cruz Island—Gull Island, Yellow Banks (alt Yellowbanks) Anacapa Island—Landing Cove
July 17-21, 2000	3 of 7	Santa Rosa Island—Johnson’s Lee North, Johnson’s Lee South Santa Cruz Island—Yellow Banks, Fry Harbor
June 25-29, 2001	2 of 7	Anacapa Island—Cathedral Cove Santa Cruz Island—Fry’s Harbor, Pelican Bay, Yellow Banks

 The locations of the monitoring sites are indicated on the map.

Typically, eight people, including the Pacific Ranger’s skipper, crewed each cruise.  Five of these crewmembers were permanent or seasonal park staff.  The balance of the crew hailed from academic institutions, other state and federal bureaus, or volunteers.  My participation resulted from my status as a scientific diver and regional divemaster with the Camarillo office of the Minerals Management Service—a bureau within the Department of the Interior which meant I got paid for diving.  (Also, I held concurrent certification as a volunteer diver at Channel Islands National Park.) 

While the protocols that I completed varied from year-to-year, and site-to-site, depending on the data that needed to be collected, my log from the 2001 cruise shows that I did 10 dives

Date	Location	Protocol
6-25-2001	Santa Cruz Island-Yellow Banks	Roving Diver Fish Count 5-Meter Quadrats
6-26-2001	Santa Cruz Island-Yellow Banks Pelican Bay	Sea Urchin Size and Frequency Sea Urchin Size and frequency Roving Diver Fish Counts
6-27-2001	Santa Cruz Island-Pelican Bay Fry’s Harbor	Sea Urchin Size and Frequency 5-Meter Quadrat
6-28-2001	Santa Cruz Island-Fry’s Harbor	Artificial Recruitment Modules (2 dives)
6-29-2001	Anacapa Island—Cathedral Cove	Artificial Recruitment Module
6-29-2001	Anacapa Island Landing Cove	Mooring buoy repair, reattaching the shackle and chain.  (This was not part of the Kelp Forest Monitoring, but a dive that I did with another NPS diver to secure the Park’s mooring buoy.

I came to appreciate the rigor with which the divers collected the data for each protocol assigned to them.  Cruise participants quickly formed a cohesive team.  Everyone willingly helped out with all the tasks, including meal preparation and clean up.  I came to respect the professionalism with which the people approached the work.  They accepted me as an equal, curious about me job as social scientist/research diver, while finding the combination a bit quirky.  I was also fortunate in that my MMS supervisor, Dr. Fred Piltz, allowed me to pursue scientific diving opportunities, which some felt were beyond my job description as a social scientist.

My recollection of my time on the KFM cruises will be shared in upcoming posts!

Calendar Year 2001 is probably the most varied and busiest year in my 40 years of diving.  I completed 62 dives that year.  All but four of the dives were done as a National Park Service diver/Minerals Management Service diver.  That year I did dives to train scientific divers, participate in the NPS Landing Cove underwater video program, work on the Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, and do a reconnaissance dive with the California Department of Fish and Game to see if the endangered white abalone was present on offshore energy related infrastructure.  I might have done as many as eight to ten more dives as part of the annual CINP shipwreck survey cruise, but I had to sit out that cruise because I was recovering from knee surgery.  All these activities will be described in future blog essays.  I do recall receiving a phone call from the Minerals Management Service’s Chief Divemaster, Les Dauterive.  He indicated that year I did more science diving than all of the MMS divers combined!

That year also marked my zenith as a scientific diver.  In early 2002, I transferred to the MMS Alaska Region office in Anchorage.  I was the only MMS scientific diver in the Alaska Region. My supervisor, Fred King, encouraged me to pursue my scientific diving authorization,  With his encouragement, there as an attempt to train additional divers and institute an Alaska Department of the Interior diver pool between MMS, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. A jurisdictional dispute over operation of the dive team between the MMS Diving Safety Officer, Regional Director and the Regional Supervisor for Leasing and the Environment and Regional Supervisor for Resource Evaluation doomed the effort to bring additional qualified divers into the MMS program.  The Alaska Region dive program died in infancy in 2005 where it continues to rest-in-peace. 

 

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[i] National Park Service.  Kelp Forest Community Monitoring. https://www.nps.gov/im/medn/kelp-forest-communities.htm accessed July 14, 2024

[ii] Monitoring Kelp Forests in the Park.  Island Views.  The Official Newspaper of Channel Islands National Park.

Volume 5, 2009 — 2010

[iii] Underwater Inventorying at Channel Islands by Kelly Moore.  Ranger—Journal of the National Park Association of Rangers. Vol. 27, No. 2  (Spring 2011).  p. 12