The Science Program
The primary PISCO goal is to understand the interaction of the nearshore oceanographic environment with coastal marine communities over 1200km of the West Coast of North America. This includes quantifying patterns of distribution, abundance and diversity of the biota in nearshore ecosystems, and determining how ecological, evolutionary and oceanographic processes influence these patterns. We believe that this understanding of both local and biogeographic patterns and processes must span small-to-large spatial scales and short-to-long temporal scales.
Strong evidence suggests that variation among nearshore benthic communities can depend on recruitment and such bottom-up oceanic influences as phytoplankton productivity and nutrient concentration, all of which vary significantly with currents, upwelling, and other physical oceanographic processes. We are attacking this question with intensive biological sampling of larvae, recruits, and post-settlement individuals in both subtidal and intertidal communities, combined with simultaneous monitoring of nearshore waters using a mooring array, benthically mounted Acoustic-Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP's), coastal radar units, and remote sensing. We will also directly measure key ecological processes in each intensive study area with a series of experiments and measurements monitoring predation intensity, growth rates, and condition for selected species.
While the monitoring program and coordinated field manipulative experiments will reveal the spatial and temporal patterns of community structure, we also intend to specify the degree to which local coastal populations are interconnected. We will attempt to identify the sources of recruits and dispersal patterns for pelagic larvae of coastal organisms using elemental fingerprinting and molecular genetics. Analysis of hard parts of larval organisms can indicate past residence in different water masses or coastal environments. We are initiating a program of large-scale mapping of otolith/statolith environmental signatures, coupled with identification of successive larval environments from source to settlement. To complement this empirical approach, we will use the intensive PISCO sampling scheme to reveal small- and large-scale geographic genetic structure of a series of key nearshore species, with the aim of estimating long-term average dispersal distances.
At UCSB we are focusing our portion of the PISCO studies on the region centered about Pt. Conception, California (from Cambria in the north to Ventura in the south) as well as the Channel Islands. We have a coordinated monitoring program in place in which we regularly sample recruitment of fishes and invertebrates from both nearshore moorings and intertidal sites along this range. Additionally we are carrying out several smaller-scale, process-oriented studies at a subset of our monitoring sites to evaluate the strength of ecological interactions (competition, predation, grazing) and their overall importance in structuring communities.
Database Development
Aside from providing administrative services such as a centralized directory, public and private web areas, and listservs, UCSB information managers are developing a metadata catalog for all PISCO datasets. These metadata will provide a basis for cross-disciplinary, cross-campus data discovery and sharing. We are currently working with the Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI) project at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in the development of an ecological metadata management scheme. The data management scheme, modeled after the KDI project, is characterized by a centralized metadata catalog that holds information about raw data physically stored at multiple locations.
UCSB information managers also work with data stewards at each of the PISCO campuses to develop metadata content and means of storing raw datasets.
The Policy Program
Another important focus of the PISCO program at UCSB has been the establishment of productive, two-way interactions among active researchers, policy makers, and the public. PISCO scientists have established connections and frequently share information among a broad spectrum of users and intermediary groups.
Building bridges among academics: PISCO scientists have lead and participated in several working groups through the National Center for Ecological Analysis.
- Developing a Theory of Marine Reserves
- Long-Term Marine Ecological Records
- Open vs. Closed Marine Populations: Synthesis and Analysis of the Evidence
Communicating with policy makers / advisors
- Presentation to Pacific Fishery Management Council on marine reserves (Robert Warner)
- Presentation to California Coastal Commission about the effects of climate change on California's marine resources (Steve Gaines)
Communicating with agencies
- Scientific Advisory Panel for the Marine Reserves Working Group, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
- Nearshore Fisheries Management Workshop: aimed at making recommendations to California Department of Fish and Game to help them create fisheries management plans for Marine Life Management Act
- Scientific advisory committee for Southern California Marine Monitoring
- Scientific advisory panel for Channel Islands National Park
- Nature Conservancy, Channel Islands National Park, University of California Natural Reserve joint conservation committee.
Who We Are
Principal Investigators
Dr. Steven Gaines and Dr. Robert Warner lead the scientific and intellectual development of PISCO research and policy programs.
Science and Policy Coordinators
Dr. Carol Blanchette and Dr. Jenn Caselle oversee research and outreach activities.
Research Fellow
Dr. Libe Washburn collaborates with PISCO on nearshore physical oceanography
Information Managers
Christopher Jones and Dr. Will McClintock are working together to develop the PISCO metadata catalog, and manage all PISCO information.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Cynthia Cudaback, Brian Gaylord, Michael Hickford, Will McClintock, Dov Sax.
Graduate Students design and execute their own research projects. Each of these diverse projects contributes knowledge to PISCO's interdisciplinary research program: Edwin Bechenbach, Bernardo Broitman, Ben Halpern, Scott Hamilton, Julie Kellner, Brian Kinlan, Sarah Lester, Cristine McConnell, Roldan Munoz, Nicole Phillips, Ben Ruttenberg, Rafe Sagarin, Kim Selkoe, Michael Sheehy, Julie Standish, Steve Swearer, Carol Thornber, Danielle Zacherl.
Research Technicians carry out field and laboratory studies including monitoring, sample processing, and data management: Brian Emery, Chris Gotschalk, John Kovach, Josh Lindsay, Catrina Mangiardi, Luke Miller, David Salazar, Michael Sheehy, Clara Svedlund, Alex Wyndham.
