Pelagic Environment 



155 



with collections made as long ago as a cen- 

 tury shows some variations which Hubbs 

 (1948) ascribed to fluctuations of water tem- 

 perature. Supporting evidence is provided 

 by the patchy geographical distribution of 

 cold-water fishes in areas of upwelling lo- 

 cated south of coastal points and of warm- 

 water fishes north of the same points. 

 Access could have been provided these iso- 

 lated and widely scattered areas only during 

 past period of generally colder and warmer 

 waters. Temperature control is well illus- 

 trated by the presence in abundance of 

 albacore in the region only during summers 

 of unusually warm water such as that of 

 1958. 



Several kinds of sea mammals occur off" 

 southern California. Some are dependent 

 on shore — the seals, sea lions, sea otters, 

 and sea elephants. Because they form a re- 

 source of the state, many studies and counts 



have been made of them (Bonnot, 1951). 

 Seals (no external ears) live mostly in quiet 

 waters of bays, whereas the others mostly 

 inhabit the rougher waters around islands. 

 Large colonies of sea lions (external ears) 

 live at San Miguel, Santa Barbara, San 

 Clemente, San Nicolas, and Los Coronados 

 Islands. Having a high degree of intelli- 

 gence, some are caught and trained to do 

 tricks as the common circus "seal." During 

 the nineteenth century their numbers were 

 greatly reduced by the hunt for oil and 

 hides as graphically described by Scammon 

 (1874). In the 1920s the remainder were 

 nearly eliminated by slaughter for dog food 

 and for state bounties, but now their popu- 

 lation is again increasing (Bonnot and Ripley, 

 1948; Bartholomew, Colly er, and Dawson, 

 1951). Occasional sea elephants may be 

 observed on the sea lion hauling-out grounds; 

 however, most of them live on Guadalupe 



Figure 135. Fossil fish (Eclipes or codling fish) found on the Hancock ranch near Santa Maria in Late Miocene dia- 

 tomaceous shales. Identified by Dr. Howard R. Hill, Los Angeles State and County Museum (xO.4). 



