Eventually, higher trophic levels are affected, with the result that fish usually found in a given area go elsewhere in search of food. Klimley and his associates are conducting visual censuses of adult fish, tagging fish with coded acoustic beacons, and detecting their presence with electronic listening devices. The instruments are moored on seamounts and islands in the Gulf of California and off the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula. Unusually large Pacific Ocean waves have damaged more than posh retirement homes along California's coast, say scientists like Jim Estes of the University of California at Santa Cruz. He cites major changes in the structure of the extensive giant kelp plant and animal community as a result of large ocean waves and increased water temperatures.
Giant kelp provides one of the most important habitats along the Pacific coast.