al. 1980). The whelk, Kelletia kelletii , 

 is a carnivorous scavenger with a diet 

 similar to Pisaster giganteus . Rosenthal 

 (1971) found, from observations made off 

 San Diego, that these two species often 

 converge on the same food source and feed 

 together, even though P_, giganteus 

 occasionally eats J<. kelletii . The miter 

 Mitrae idae can be common in kelp forests 

 and feeds on sipunculans (Fukuyama and 

 Nybakken 1983). Little is known about the 

 wrinkled dove snail Amphissa columbiana , 

 which is particularly common in holdfasts 

 of Macrocystis (Andrews 1945). 



4.4.4.3 Crustaceans (Arthropoda, 

 Crustacea) . The spiny lobster Panulirus 

 interruptus (Figure 21) has been found as 

 far north as Monterey Bay, but is common 

 only south of Point Conception. It was 

 once more abundant than it is today (see 

 Chapter 6), but continual removal of this 

 food species by commercial fishermen and 

 recreational divers has reduced its 

 numbers. Panulirus feeds on a wide 

 variety of invertebrates, and Tegner and 

 Dayton (1981) and Tegner and Levin (1983) 

 suggested that it may be an important 

 predator of sea urchins. 



The last group of predatory 

 invertebrates which we will mention is the 

 true crabs, whose members are abundant in 

 kelp forests. Several of the species 

 listed in Table 8 are common in or around 

 Macrocystis holdfasts. Species of Cancer 

 (Figure 2~T) and Loxorhynchus are larger 

 crabs which feed on various invertebrates. 

 The dwarf crab Pelia tumida and the 

 xanthid crab Lophopanopeus be! lus bel lus 

 are commonly found in kelp holdfasts 

 (Andrews 1945), but little is known about 

 their feeding habits. 



4.5 FISH 



4.5.1 Introduction 



As is true of most other organisms 

 discussed in this chapter, almost all 

 species of fish found in kelp forests can 

 also be found on subtidal reefs devoid of 

 surface canopy kelps, and fishes common in 

 kelp forests are among the first to 

 colonize newly placed artificial reefs 

 with almost no macroalgae (Turner et al. 

 1969, Grant et al. 1982, LOSL 1983). The 

 heterogeneous kelp forest environment 



does, however, provide an important source 

 of food and shelter for many fishes. As 

 many as 125 species have been reported to 

 inhabit rocky reefs and kelp forests off 

 southern California (Feder et al. 1974). 

 Quast (1971a) listed 57 species associated 

 with kelp forests in southern California; 

 Burge and Schultz (1973) reported 77 

 species from the Diablo Cove area near San 

 Luis Obispo, and Miller and Geibel (1973) 

 identified 67 species between San Simeon 

 and Monterey. Detailed descriptions of 

 these species can be found in the above 

 references or in popular books such as 

 Fitch (1971, 1975), Gotshall (1981), and 

 Eschmeyer et al. (1983). Choat (1982) 

 provides an excellent review of the 

 ecological consequences of fish feeding in 

 temperate waters. The more common fishes 

 frequently found in kelp forests are 

 discussed below and many are illustrated 

 in Figure 22. 



There are a number of differences in 

 kelp forest fish assemblages between 

 central and southern California, and these 

 have been largely attributed to differ- 

 ences in water characteristics. In 

 particular, southern California waters are 

 generally less turbid, less turbulent, and 

 warmer. Tropically-derived species or 

 families are much more prevalent there, 

 and include the Clinidae (clinids), 

 Gobiidae (gobies), Pomacentridae (damsel- 

 fishes), the Labridae (wrasses), the 

 Serranidae (basses), and the Kyphosidae 

 (sea chubs) (Ebeling et al. 1980a, b). 

 Temperate families include the Embio- 

 tocidae (surfperches) , the Scorpaenidae 

 (rockfishes) , the Hexagrammidae (green- 

 lings), and the Cottidae (sculpins) 

 (Ebeling et al. 1980a, b). Waters of 

 central California have fewer tropically 

 derived species and fewer families, but 

 generally more species per family, 

 particularly of rockfishes. 



Even though both temperate kelp 

 forests and tropical reefs occur at 

 similar depths and have diverse fish 

 assemblages, the behaviors of the fishes 

 in the two habitats are different. The 

 tropics are characterized by a daily shift 

 in activity between diurnal and nocturnal 

 species that may be a result of changes in 

 the presence of predators (Hobson 1973). 

 In temperate kelp forests near Santa 

 Barbara, the replacement of species in the 



69 



