such areas as natural baselines for 

 comparisons with areas more disturbed by 

 man's activities. Reserves also serve as 

 research areas where study sites and 

 experiments are less likely to be dis- 

 turbed by man. 



The Federal Government has recently 

 established the Channel Islands National 

 Park and National Marine Sanctuary that 

 include Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, 

 San Miguel, and Santa Barbara Islands off 

 southern California. The waters (includ- 

 ing kelp forests) in this area have no 

 special fishing, collecting, or develop- 

 ment status as a result of the park, but 

 sanctuary designation gives special pro- 

 tection from possible pollution, including 

 new oil drilling. Similar protection from 

 waste discharge is provided in the 34 

 coastal sites designated by the State 

 Water Resources Control Board as Areas of 

 Special Biological Significance. Many of 

 these include giant or bull kelp forests 

 (e.g., Carmel Bay, portions of Santa 

 Catalina Island, Saunder's Reef near Point 

 Arena) . 



6.4 SCIENTIFIC USE 



Scientists use kelp forests for a 

 variety of studies, including many that 

 provide background information to aid in 

 management decisions. Some areas, such as 

 the Hopkins Marine Life Refuge at Point 

 Cabrillo near Monterey have been estab- 

 lished by the State as scientific research 

 areas. Unfortunately, hook-and-line 

 fishing is often not restricted in such 

 areas, making fish and fish-related 

 studies difficult. Scientists must have 

 collecting permits issued by the State to 

 remove organisms, and must obtain special 

 permission from particular agencies (e.g., 

 park authorities, California Fish and Game 

 Commission, refuge managers) to work in 

 parks, reserves, and refuges. 



6.5 POLLUTION — MAN-CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL 

 CHANGE OTHER THAN FISHING 



6.5.1 Pollution From Commercial, Recrea- 

 tional, and Scientific Use 



The uses of kelp forests discussed 

 above generally do not produce significant 

 waste discharge or direct disturbance of 

 other organisms. The exception is the 



introduction of the brown alga Sargassum 

 muticum (see Chapters 3 and 4). This alga 

 was accidentally introduced into Washing- 

 ton with oysters from Japan. It spread 

 from Washington to southern California, 

 and may displace giant kelp in some sites 

 at Santa Catalina Island (Ambrose and 

 Nelson 1982). 



6.5.2 Coastal and Inland Construction 



Coastal construction usually does not 

 directly impact offshore kelp forests, but 

 it could have indirect effects via changes 

 in water currents, turbidity, and 

 sedimentation. These effects have not 

 been documented as they are often 

 impossible to separate from natural 

 changes associated with varying oceano- 

 graphic conditions, storm intensity, and 

 terrestrial runoff. Dams impede the flow 

 of sediment into the ocean. Their indi- 

 rect effects have been shown on beaches, 

 but potential effects on kelp forests have 

 not been studied. 



6.5.3 Oil 



The effects of large oil spills on 

 kelp forest communities along the western 

 Pacific coast have been studied twice: 

 once during the 1957 Tampico tanker spill 

 in Baja California, Mexico, and again 

 during the 1969 Santa Barbara offshore 

 well blow-out and spill. The Tampico 

 spill occurred when a tanker carrying 

 diesel fuel wrecked at the mouth of a 

 small, shallow cove containing a small 

 stand of Macrocystis pyrifera . The 

 effects were studied by North et al. 

 (1964). Massive mortality occurred among 

 invertebrates (including sea urchins, 

 abalone, lobsters, and sea stars). Damage 

 to plants was less obvious, and by July 



1957, 5 months after the spill, the 

 vegetation in the cove was obviously 

 increasing and juvenile Macrocystis were 

 abundant. Algal species diversity and 

 abundance quickly increased, with Macro - 

 cystis covering much of the cove by July 



1958. North et al. (1964) attributed the 

 increased algal growth to lack of grazing, 

 as most grazing animals were killed by the 

 oil. Most animals had recovered by 1961, 

 but the abundances of sea urchins and 

 abalone had not returned to pre-spill 

 levels by 1963. 



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