branch density, which then decreases after 

 the breeding season (Foster 1972). Female 

 garibaldi lay eggs on this turf from May 

 to October, and young disperse in the 

 plankton and settle in shallow water 

 (Clarke 1970). Newly settled garibaldi 

 feed on copepods, isopods, cladocerans, 

 and amphipods. Adults feed on sponges, 

 cnidarians, bryozoans and sometimes, 

 polychaetes, nudibranchs, and crabs. This 

 species is active by day, retreating to 

 shelter holes at night. 



Surfperches in the Family 

 Embiotocidae are extremely common in 

 temperate fish assemblages. Members of 

 this family are viviparous, giving birth 

 to live young which already resemble the 

 adults. The surfperches feed primarily on 

 small crustaceans, brittle stars, clams, 

 mussels, limpets, polychaetes, and snails 

 which inhabit the "turf" on the rocky 

 substrate (Feder et al. 1974, Ellison et 

 al. 1979, Haldorson and Moser 1979, Laur 

 and Ebeling 1983). The most common 

 surfperches observed in southern 

 California kelp forests are the black 

 surfperch ( Embiotoca jac ksoni, Figure 22), 

 white surfperch ( Phanerodon furcatus ) , and 

 the pile perch ( Damal ichthys vacca ). 

 Rainbow perch ( Hypsurus caryi ) , and 

 rubberlip surfperch ( Rhacochilus toxotes ) 

 are also commonly observed near the 

 bottom, feeding in turf. The striped 

 surfperch (_E. lateralis ) occurs off Santa 

 Barbara but is much more abundant off 

 California (Haldorson and Moser 

 Many surfperches are able to 

 the turf material , select and 

 the preferred food items, and 



central 



1979). 



ingest 



swallow 



reject the undesired material 



The sheephead ( Semicossyphus pulcher , 

 Figure 22), a member of the wrasse family, 

 is a common reef inhabitant in southern 

 California. This species is a protogynous 

 hemaphrodite (females change into males), 

 with the female coloration being uniformly 

 red or purple with a white chin, and the 

 males having a black body with a pink band 

 behind the head and a white chin. 

 Sheephead are solitary wanderers, feeding 

 (by crushing food in the throat before 

 swallowing) on urchins, mussels, crabs, 

 snails, squid, and bryozoans (Feder et al. 

 1974). Tegner and Dayton (1981) suggested 

 that sheephead may have a significant 

 effect on sea urchin abundance, and Nelson 



and Vance (1979) suggest that the behavior 

 of the sea urchin Centrostephanus 

 coronatus is related to sheephead 

 predation. Cowen (1983), working on a 

 reef at San Nicolas Island, found that 

 Strongyl ocentrotus franciscanus densities 

 increased, and distribution changed when 

 sheephead were removed. Sheephead do not 

 appear to be important predators on sea 

 urchins in the mainland kelp forest at San 

 Onofre (Dean et al . 1984). Sheephead 

 retreat to shelter holes at night, and 

 some produce a mucous envelope that 

 surrounds the body (Wiley 1973). 



Like the midwater canopy-dwelling 

 half moon, the opal eye Girella nigricans 

 (Family Girellidae, Figure 22) browses on 

 both invertebrates and algae (Quast 1971d, 

 Feder et al . 1974), and can cause 

 extensive damage to isolated giant kelp 

 plants (see discussion under halfmoon 

 above). Opaleye are extremely common in 

 southern California kelp forests, but 

 relatively rare north of Point Conception. 



The rockfishes (Scorpaenidae) are an 

 important constituent of the bottom- 

 dwelling fauna of kelp forests in central 

 California (Hallacher 1977). The common 

 demersal species are the grass rockfish 

 ( Sebastes rastrell iger ) , black- and-yellow 

 rockfish (S. chrysomelas ) , gopher rockfish 

 [S. carnatus ) , copper rockfish (S. 

 caurinus ) , aTTd treefish (S. serricepsj . 

 The grass rockfish is generally restricted 

 to rocky bottoms < 30 m deep where it eats 

 crabs and small fishes (Feder et al. 

 1974). Copper rockfish, although not 

 abundant, inhabit rocky reef areas with or 

 without kelp. This species feeds 

 primarily on crabs, shrimp, cephalopods, 

 and fishes (Feder et al. 1974, Prince 

 1975). The black-and-yel low and gopher 

 rockfishes are territorial and are 

 segregated by depth (Larson 1980a, b, c). 

 These two species feed on similar prey 

 such as crabs, shrimp and octopus. 

 Treefish are common in southern 

 California, but rare in central California 

 (Miller and Lea 1972). Treefish are 

 territorial, inhabiting rocky crevices 

 (Feder et al . 1974). They feed on shrimp, 

 crabs, and fishes at nocturnal or 

 crepuscular hours (Hobson et al. 1981). 



Fishes belonging to the greenling 

 family (Hexagrammidae) are also commonly 



74 



