Oceanographic instruments are deployed at five core sites along the coast of central California. One additional site is located at Andrew Molera State Park just south of Point Sur. These instruments, moored in 21 meters of water, provide continuous measurements of current and temperature profiles. The current meters tell us whether water is moving onshore or offshore and for how long each of the transport phases lasts. The temperature profiles provide an indicator of upwelling.
Upwelled water is colder than surface water.
Physical processes may govern the onshore transport of larvae and hence rate of replenishment of reef populations, whereas biotic processes such as productivity levels may govern growth rates and survivorship of larvae. Monthly samples of these collectors enable us to directly measure larval supply as it relates to nearshore oceanographic conditions. Shoreline measures of larval recruitment to populations of algae, invertebrates and fishes allow us to link patterns of population replenishment with nearshore larval supply and oceanographic conditions. We monitor mussel and barnacle recruitment and population dynamics at 11 rocky shore sites from Pigeon Point, north of Monterey Bay, to Mill Creek along the Big Sur coast. In combination, these ecological and nearshore oceanographic information sources allow us to understand how coastal currents influence species interactions and the species composition and dynamics of rocky shore and kelp forest communities.