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Changes Above, Below and at Waterline in Laguna Beach, CA: Seastars, Birds, and Sea-Level Rise
Abstract:
<p>Laguna Beach in Southern California attracts 6 million visitors a year to its scenic 7-mile coastline, which consists of bluffs, rocky headlands, tide pools, coves and sandy beaches. This massive human impact along with ecological and physical changes at, above, and below the waterline is having a drastic effect on species observations and habitat availability. This study highlights three examples of recent near-shore dynamics at the Treasure Island MarineE (Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network) site: 1) the response of Ochre Seastar populations to the arrival of seastar wasting disease (below the waterline), 2) shorebird observation (above the waterline), and 3) the potential impacts of sea-level rise on habitat availability. Treasure Island is a gently sloping bedrock bench that contains several tide pools and a sandy beach and is undergoing long-term monitoring and biodiversity surveys as part of the MarinE initiative. Seastar wasting disease decimated the local Ochre Seastar population and recovery is questionable. Seventeeen species of birds were observed from 2007 to 2010, 79% of which were gulls; and Treasure Island was the second most popular spot for birds in Laguna Beach. Sea-level rise will likely be devastating to habitat availability at this site which is barely above sea-level now. Inland retreat is hard to imagine at this densely developed urban spot. Treasure Island serves as an excellent example of the multitude of negative ecological and physical dynamics continuing to impact our nearshore environments. </p>
Keywords: seabirds, seastars, sea-level rise, MarinE network, species observations
Authors:
Monika P Calef, Soka University of America; Submitting Author / Primary Presenter
Ed Almanza, Laguna Ocean Foundation; Co-Author (this author will not present)
Isolde Pierce, Soka University of America; Co-Author (this author will not present)
Nicholas Tumbale, Soka University of America; Co-Author (this author will not present)
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Changes Above, Below and at Waterline in Laguna Beach, CA: Seastars, Birds, and Sea-Level Rise
Category
In-Person Paper Abstract