Papers
More filters
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This is a comprehensive identification guide encompassing all shallow marine fishes within California waters, and many of the family keys have been revised to incorporate recent taxonomic changes and to clarify previously ambiguous terminology.
Abstract: This is a comprehensive identification guide encompassing all shallow marine fishes within California waters. Geographic range limits, maximum size, depth range, a brief color description, and some meristic counts including, if available: fin ray counts, lateral line pores, lateral line scales, gill rakers, and vertebrae are given. Body proportions and shapes are used in the keys and a statement concerning the rarity or commonness in California is given for each species. In all, 554 species are described. Three of these have not been recorded or confirmed as occurring in California waters but are included since they are apt to appear. The remainder have been recorded as occurring in an area between the Mexican and Oregon borders and offshore to at least 50 miles. Five of California species as yet have not been named or described, and ichthyologists studying these new forms have given information on identification to enable inclusion here. A dichotomous key to 144 families includes an outline figure of a representative for all but two families. Keys are presented for all larger families, and diagnostic features are pointed out on most of the figures. Illustrations are presented for all but eight species. of the 554 species, 439 are found primarily in depths less than 400 ft., 48 are meso- or bathypelagic species, and 67 are deepwater bottom dwelling forms rarely taken in less than 400 ft. depth. The deepwater forms included are those taken in commercial trawling gear or that occasionally occur near the surface. An illustrated glossary is included to facilitate use of the identification keys and species descriptions. A comments section presents in detail reasons for certain taxonomic choices and to acknowledge personal communications. Original data presented include a ventral sensory pore pattern key for the skates, 170 geographic range limit extensions, and several depth range and maximum size records. Many of the family keys have been revised to incorporate recent taxonomic changes and to clarify previously ambiguous terminology.
667 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: It is concluded that the nearshore rockfishes are a valuable marine resource to the State of California and should be managed with the realization that, as with many of the world's fishery resources, they are vulnerable to human impacts and over exploitation.
Abstract: Rockfishes of the genus Sebastes comprise one of the most important and heavily utilized groups of commercial and recreational fishes occurring off California. In this study, carried out primarily in the 1980s, we examined various aspects of life history for the nearshore rockfishes and for cabezon, kelp greenling, and lingcod off central California. The following species of rockfishes were those primarily considered within this study: black, black-and-yellow, blue, canary, China, copper, gopher, grass, green spotted, kelp, olive, rosy, starry, vermilion, yelloweye, and yellow-tail. During the study, 21 species of rockfish and 8 additional species of fish, including cabezon, kelp greenling, and lingcod, were tagged and released to study patterns of movement. Of 7332 tagged fish, 197 (3%) representing 15 species, were recaptured. Of these, only three species (canary and yellowtail rockfishes and lingcod) manifested substantial movement. Most nearshore rockfishes appear to be highly residential. Age and growth parameters were determined for 15 species of rockfish. Whole otoliths were the primary structure utilized for ageing. Most nearshore rockfishes examined appear to have lifespans of moderate longevity, with maximum ages between 20 and 30 years. Weight-length relationships were calculated for 16 species of rockfish and for cabezon, kelp greenling, and lingcod. Reproductive patterns were determined for 18 species of rockfish and size at sexual maturation for 17 of these species. The majority of nearshore rockfishes appear to release larvae during the winter-spring period. However, timing of larval extrusion is species specific and must be examined on a case-by-case basis. General food habits were described for 11 species of rockfish. An Appendix, summarizing life-history characteristics for the 17 most commonly encountered species in this study, is included. We conclude that the nearshore rockfishes are a valuable marine resource to the State of California and should be managed with the realization that, as with many of the world's fishery resources, they are vulnerable to human impacts and over exploitation.
59 citations
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: In this paper, Miller and Collier reported on 47 unprovoked shark attacks which had taken place off California and Oregon from July 1926 to November 1979, including six surfers, three skin divers, one paddle boarder, one scuba diver, and one swimmer.
Abstract: In 1981 Miller and Collier reported on 47 unprovoked shark attacks which had taken place off California and Oregon from July 1926 to November 1979.
Since that date, 12 shark attacks involving humans have
taken place: two in 1980, one in 1981, four in 1982,
one in 1983, and four in 1984. Encompassed in these 12
attacks were: six surfers, three skin divers, one paddle
boarder, one scuba diver, and one swimmer. In ten of
the twelve attacks the white shark was the species of
implication. by geographic area: one attack occurred
off southern California, four off central California,
four off northern California, and three off Oregon. (Document has 22 pages)
15 citations
1 citations
TL;DR: A. atricaudus is a synonym of Apogon guadalupensis based on morphological and molecular data, and a new northern occurrence for A. atradorsatus is reported as discussed by the authors .
Abstract: For more than 100 years, biologists, ecologists, and biogeographers recognized six species of Apogon in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Re-examining this taxonomy, we find that Apogon guadalupensis is a synonym of A. atricaudus based on morphological and molecular data. A redescription of A. atricaudus is provided, and a new northern occurrence for A. atradorsatus is reported.
1 citations
Cited by
More filters
TL;DR: This study reports the results of a 2.5 km eDNA transect surveying the vertebrate fauna present along a gradation of diverse marine habitats associated with a kelp forest ecosystem, and presents an explicit accounting of false negatives and positives in metabarcoding data.
Abstract: Preserving biodiversity is a global challenge requiring data on species' distribution and abundance over large geographic and temporal scales. However, traditional methods to survey mobile species' distribution and abundance in marine environments are often inefficient, environmentally destructive, or resource-intensive. Metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a new means to assess biodiversity and on much larger scales, but adoption of this approach for surveying whole animal communities in large, dynamic aquatic systems has been slowed by significant unknowns surrounding error rates of detection and relevant spatial resolution of eDNA surveys. Here, we report the results of a 2.5 km eDNA transect surveying the vertebrate fauna present along a gradation of diverse marine habitats associated with a kelp forest ecosystem. Using PCR primers that target the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene of marine fishes and mammals, we generated eDNA sequence data and compared it to simultaneous visual dive surveys. We find spatial concordance between individual species' eDNA and visual survey trends, and that eDNA is able to distinguish vertebrate community assemblages from habitats separated by as little as ~60 m. eDNA reliably detected vertebrates with low false-negative error rates (1/12 taxa) when compared to the surveys, and revealed cryptic species known to occupy the habitats but overlooked by visual methods. This study also presents an explicit accounting of false negatives and positives in metabarcoding data, which illustrate the influence of gene marker selection, replication, contamination, biases impacting eDNA count data and ecology of target species on eDNA detection rates in an open ecosystem.
324 citations
TL;DR: The analysis of scorpaenids indicates that longevity increases exponentially with maximum depth of occurrence, and radiometric age validation results are presented for four species of Scorpaenid fishes.
263 citations
TL;DR: Predation by spiny lobsters appears to be sufficient to explain the bimodal size-frequency distribution typical of S. franciscanus populations in areas where these predators are common.
252 citations
TL;DR: The cymochoid isopods of the eastern Pacific are presented, with descriptions, figures, ranges and comments on their host relationships, and a phylogeny for the family Cymodioidae is proposed.
248 citations
TL;DR: Substantial changes have occurred in assemblages of nearshore reef fishes in the Southern California Bight during the past two decades at two sites off Los Angeles, California, species richness of reef fishes fell 15-25%, and composition shifted from dom- inance by northern to southern species as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Substantial changes have occurred in assemblages of nearshore reef fishes in the Southern California Bight during the past two decades At two sites off Los Angeles, California, species richness of reef fishes fell 15-25%, and composition shifted from dom- inance by northern to southern species Additionally, by 1993, 95% of the fish species had declined in abundance by an average of 69% Concurrent declines of similar magnitude were observed for several trophic levels of the benthic ecosystem farther north at Santa Cruz Island where populations of surfperches (Pisces: Embiotocidae), the standing stock of their crustacean prey, and the biomass of understory macroalgae all declined by -80% Abundances of fishes fell because declining recruitment of age-0 fish was insufficient to compensate for losses of older age classes Annual levels of recruitment of age-0 fishes at all reefs examined fell more than one order of magnitude over two decades and was correlated among years with a broad indicator of Bight-wide productivity, the biomass of macrozooplankton in the California Current Lower productivity of the coastal marine ecosystem, associated with a climate regime shift in 1976-1977, likely caused large, but unforeseen, impacts on population abundances and trophic structure in nearshore benthic communities
219 citations