Bossiella cal ifornica ssp. schmitti ) and 

 encrusting corallines cover most of the 

 flat substratum beneath these Pterygophora 

 stands. There are occasional spring- 

 summer blooms of benthic diatoms and the 

 fleshy red algae Botryoglossum 

 farlowianum , Plocamium cartilagineum , and 

 Laurencia subopposita , all commonly 

 epiphytic on the articulated corallines. 

 Sessile animals are again most abundant on 

 vertical and sloping substrata, with 

 bryozoans, sponges, solitary corals, and 

 sea anemones being the most common. 

 Factors affecting the algal assemblage are 

 shown in Figure 5. 



As at Point Cabrillo, grazing 

 gastropods of the genus Tegula are 

 extremely abundant, especially on 

 Macrocystis pyrifera . Small (1-2 cm) 

 purple sea urchins ( Strongylocentrotus 

 purpuratus ) are common in the articulated 

 coralline understory. Large urchins and 

 abalone are rare, perhaps because this 

 site lacks suitable cracks and crevices 

 that serve as refuges from sea otter 

 predation. The lined chiton Tonicel la 

 1 ineata is abundant on encrusting 

 corallines. Patiria miniata is very 

 abundant, but the densities of other stars 

 are reduced relative to the sites 

 discussed above. 



Qualitative observations of fish have 

 been made at this site since 1976 by 

 students at Moss Landing Marine 

 Laboratories. The most abundant groups 

 are juvenile rockfish, adult blue and kelp 

 rockfishes, various surf perches, and 

 greenlings. Black-eyed gobies and 

 sculpins are common on the bottom. 



3.3.1.5 Granite Creek . The species 

 composition and distribution of algae and 

 invertebrates at this site south of 

 Monterey (Figure 8) were studied by McLean 

 (1962) between 1959 and 1961. At this 

 time, the most abundant canopy kelp was 

 Nereocystis luetkeana , growing on an 

 irregular granite bottom fully exposed to 

 swells. Both Macrocystis and Nereocystis 

 have occurred at the site since 1961 

 (Foster pers. obs. ). 



In 1959-61, Egregia menziesii , 

 Cystoseira osmundacea , and Macrocystis 

 pyrifera formed a mixed canopy inshore 

 (0-10 m depth) of Nereocystis . The bottom 



in this area was almost completely covered 

 by the articulated ( Cal 1 iarthron 

 chei losporioides ) and encrusting 

 corallines, with occasional patches of 

 Laminaria setchellii (Figure 9). 



Nereocystis grew attached to the 

 irregular substratum between 10 and 20 m. 

 Rock was replaced by sand in deeper water. 

 The understory beneath the bull kelp was 

 dominated by dense stands of large 

 Pterygophora cal ifornica . Other 

 understory species included the kelp, 

 Costaria costata , other brown algae 

 ( Desmarestia 1 igulata var. 1 igulata , 

 Egregia menziesii , Cystoseira osmundacea , 

 and Dictyota binghamiae ) and~the red alga 

 Plocamium cartilagineum . These algae 

 were particularly abundant on the tops of 

 boulders where Pterygophora cover was 

 sparse. 



McLean (1962) lists 32 common 

 invertebrate species on vertical walls in 

 the kelp forest, and 13 on horizontal 

 surfaces under the Pterygophora canopy. 

 Chitons ( Cryptochiton stelleri , Tonicel la 

 1 ineata ) and the turban snail Tegula 

 brunnea were common, as were Patiria 

 miniata and Pycnopodia hel ianthoides . 

 When surveyed, this area had recently been 

 foraged by sea otters, and large red sea 

 urchins were absent. Fishes have not been 

 studied here. 



3.3.2 Southern California 



3.3.2.1 Campus Point, Goleta . This 

 site is located at the northwest end of 

 Goleta Bay approximately 16 km northwest 

 of Santa Barbara (Figure 8). The 

 description below is based on Neushul et 

 al . (1976) and Foster (pers. obs.). 



Like most of the mainland coast near 

 Santa Barbara, Campus Point is protected 

 from swells by Point Conception to the 

 north, and the Channel Islands to the 

 southwest. The bottom is low relief 

 mudstone interspersed with extensive sandy 

 areas and occasional rocky outcrops. 

 Macrocystis pyrifera {M. angustifol ia in 

 Neushul et aT [1976]; see discussion in 

 Chapter 1) occurs between depths of 5 and 

 20 m. At its inner edge, the kelp forest 

 is bounded by patches of the feather boa 

 kelp Egregia menziesi i , and the bottom 

 cover is composed of the red algae 



28 



