Larvae were collected by either plankton pump (normal, event, thermo, and swell cruise types, or by divers towing a plankton net (diver). All samples have been standardized as larval concentration (# larvae/m^3). Larval plankton pump sampling and processing are as described in Hagerty, et al (2018).
Depths/stations sampled depended on cruise type and included:
- Normal cruise: Stations at 4m, 6m, 8m, 10m, 12m, and 14m depths, where the pump filtered water in 2m depth intervals from the surface to the bottom.
- Event cruise: Stations sampled between 8m and 3m depths depending on the location of warm temperature fronts. The pump filtered water at 0.15m, 0.75m, 2m, and 0.20 meters above bottom).
- Swell cruise: Sampling during high wave conditions, at 8m depth, with pump filtering water in 2m depth intervals from the surface to the bottom.
- Thermo cruise: Sampling at a fixed station at 5m depth, with pump filtering water in 1m depth intervals from the surface to the bottom.
Larval plankton net sampling employed paired 120 µm mesh, 20.32cm diameter plankton nets equipped with mechanical flow meters (General Oceanics 2030R).
- Diver cruise: Divers pushed nets through the water at the surface, mid-depth, and near-bottom at stations located in 2m, 4m, and 8m depths.
Cruise area is Southern California nearshore, depths 0-~14 m water depth. The campling location was offshore Calumet Park, La Jolla, Southern California, USA within the box delimited by the following points:
NE 32° 48.677'N, 117° 16.195'W
SE 32° 48.568'N, 117° 16.145'W
SW 32° 48.421'N, 117° 16.738'W
NW 32° 48.619'N, 117° 16.842'W
Overall larval abundances for 2014-2016 normal cruises published in: Pineda, J., et al. (2018). See also 2014-2015 data in: Hagerty, M. L. (2017).