LOVE ET AL.: DISTRIBUTIONAL PATTERNS OF FISHES 



Table 3. — Fourteen species demon- 

 strating significant catch per unit effort 

 trends (Koimogorov-Smirnov goodness of 

 fit test) along the northern Channel Islands 

 in 0-36 m. 



Ophiodon elongatus 

 Paralabrax clathratus 

 Sarda chlliensis 

 Scomber japonicus 

 Scorpaena guttata 

 Sebastes caurinus 

 Sebastes miniatus 

 Sebastes mystlnus 

 Sebastes nebulosus 

 Sebastes paucispin/s 

 Sebastes serranoides 

 Seriola lalandei 

 Sphyraena argentea 

 Trachurus symmetricus 



proximity to Point Conception and to the California 

 Current (Reid et al. 1958; Neushul et al. 1967; 

 Kolpack 1971; Seapy and Littler 1980). At Point 

 Conception, as the land extends eastward, the cold 

 California Current continues flowing southward. As 

 it flows offshore, the eastern edge surrounds San 

 Miguel Island and some water spills into the Santa 

 Barbara Channel, flowing along the northern sides of 

 Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands (slowly warming 

 as it travels). Much of the California Current con- 

 tinues to flow southeastward and is later entrained in 

 a slow-moving and warm counterclockwise eddy 

 (Southern California Eddy) within the Southern 

 California Bight. Areas influenced by this eddy, such 

 as Anacapa Island, the southern sides of Santa Rosa 

 and Santa Cruz Islands, and, to a certain extent, the 



Table 4.— Comparison of catch per unit effort x 100 of six species between two depth intervals (0-36 m and 37-72 m). 



Block numbers are arranged approximately west to east. 



Blocks 



Depth 



690 



688 



712 



711 



710 



687 686 



685 



708 



684 



707 



1.1 



0.80 0.41 0.23 



100.02 



2.84 — 



7.63 29.68 



33.28 



2.92 



1.30 0.31 



1.19 



1.26 



— 12.41 — 



9.70 — 



17.01 8.85 16.05 



17.08 



2.08 - 



2.07 0.36 



0.86 



— 18.21 — 



21.31 



42.72 16.09 0.69 



4.11 — 



Similarly, the distinctions between mean lengths of 

 S. serranoides in 0-36 m off Santa Rosa versus 

 Anacapa were not evident in 37-75 m. There was no 

 difference in S. mystinus mean lengths between 

 Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa. 



DISCUSSION 



Temperature Regime 



Previous studies indicate that temperature plays a 

 major role in the community structure of inverte- 

 brates and algae along the northern Channel Islands 

 (Littler 1980; Murray et al. 1980; Seapy and Littler 

 1980), and water temperature was correlated with 

 patterns we observed in fish species abundances and 

 size frequencies. Water temperatures surrounding 

 these islands are strongly influenced by their relative 



northern sides of Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, are 

 warmer than areas bathed by the California Current 

 alone. Surface water temperature differences may 

 be as much as 12° C between San Miguel and 

 Anacapa, and 8°C between the west end of Santa 

 Cruz and Anacapa (Hubbs 1967). 



Figure 3 exemplifies this condition. It represents 

 the mean of surface temperatures observed by the 

 NOAA-7 satellite on 8 d throughout 198P. Though 

 1981 was a relatively warm water year within the 

 Southern California Bight, the influence of the 

 California Current is plain around San Miguel, much 

 of Santa Rosa, and the western end of Santa Cruz 

 Islands. Warm water from southern California 

 bathes southern and eastern Santa Cruz and the 



^Data taken from observations on 29 January, 15 February, 22 

 March, 16 May, 4 August, 30 September, 11 October, and 25 

 November 1982. 



247 



