When an invertebrate releases her young, they begin a journey. The distance and direction they travel on this journey is largely determined by the pattern of ocean currents. Our data suggest that some destinations are essentially inaccessible. The collision of currents that creates the temperature gradient at Pt. Larvae released in the Santa Barbara Channel that travel toward Pt.
Conception have a difficult time rounding the point.
The strong southward flows of the California Current preclude the northward movement of even the most athletic larvae. Some scenarios of future climate change predict that ocean circulation in this region may change. If such changes remove the wall at Pt. Conception, the changes in marine communities along our coast could be catastrophic.