Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Supplemental Files
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Project Information
• Funding

Location: Isla Natividad, Baja California, Mexico  (27º53.215 N, 115º11.325 W depth 15-30m)

From July - Aug of 2018, numerous instruments were deployed around Isla Natividad in Baja California Mexico. . These included ADCPs, which were bottom-mounted by lead weights. 

Folders and filenames included in this dataset contain transect and target depth identifiers.
Prefix letters represent a cross-shore transect line and the 2 numerals represent the approximate target depth of a mooring along that line. There were 4 transects (LG,PP, MP, BB) and moorings were targeted at 15, 20, and 25m on each transect.  For example "BB15" indicates transect BB and target mooring depth of 15m.  See the supplemental file "deploy_info.csv" for a list of transect-mooring deployments included in this dataset.

MATlab  2019 b is used for all QA/QC and processing. The following steps are taken for QA/QC

- NaN if vel error > 5* the standard deviation of velocity in ADCP plan
- NaN if vel correlation < 100
- NaN if percent_good (which is outputted from RDI ADCPs) < 90
- NaN if Echo Intensity < 30
- NaN if fish is observed (the difference between two bins is >30)
- NaN 15% below sea level for side lobe
- NaN if pitch or roll > 15
- Cleaned data was then filtered to 10 minutes using a low pass filter
 

NSF Award Abstract:
Oceanographic variability is increasingly recognized as a driver of change in marine ecosystems. Understanding the effects of this oceanographic variability and its extremes on organisms, populations, ecosystems and the critical services they deliver is of great scientific interest and pivotal for resource management and policy. The overarching goal of this project is to determine how small-scale heterogeneity in habitat quality and site-specific vulnerability to extreme oceanographic conditions might help identify safe spaces and protect coastal populations and fisheries from the detrimental effects of increasing frequency, intensity and durations of extreme oceanographic conditions. This project will combine detailed nearshore oceanographic studies with ecological experiments and coupled biophysical modeling to advance understanding of the drivers of local oceanographic variability and consequent effects on coastal marine animals. The research will determine how multiple, potentially stressful, environmental drivers co-vary in the field and how such variation affects the population dynamics of coastal species. Specifically, this project will provide key insights regarding how changes in ocean acidification, dissolved oxygen and temperature will affect green and pink abalone, an ecologically and economically important resource in the southern California Current. Team members will work with partner non-governmental organizations, resource agencies, and fishing cooperative federations to disseminate results and incorporate data and insights into fisheries management and adaptation initiatives in Baja California, Mexico and in California, USA. This project will also support the training and professional development of underrepresented groups at the high school, undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels through direct involvement in research, intensive courses and international workshops.

Despite large-scale drivers and regional perturbations, local variability in ocean conditions may be a major driver of the overall performance and vulnerability of coastal marine species. Research performed as part of this project will test two specific hypotheses: (1) The relative influences of upwelling versus tides, as mediated by coastal geometry and structural complexity associated with rocky reefs and kelp forests act to create high local variability in physical conditions, at scales of 10s-1000s meters; and (2) Local variability in oceanographic conditions results in high local patchiness in the performance of sedentary marine organisms, providing for safe spaces in the face of escalating heat waves, hypoxia, and acidification, that have caused recent mass mortalities in multiple species across the California Current region. Integrated oceanographic-ecological field studies will be conducted along the coast of Baja California, Mexico, using green and pink abalone (Haliotis fulgens, H. corrugata) as model species. Complementary laboratory experiments will evaluate how different exposure regimes (frequency, intensity and duration of high temperature, and/or low dissolved oxygen and acidity events) may affect the demography and persistence of abalone populations under current and future environments. Coupled biophysical and population models will integrate results from the field and laboratory experiments to understand how local variability in ocean conditions affects population dynamics over longer periods. The research will advance the understanding of factors affecting the resilience coastal species by (1) ascertaining how large-scale oceanographic phenomena manifest in ocean conditions (dissolved oxygen, acidity, temperature) at local scales that are most relevant to coastal marine ecosystems and (2) determining the effects of current, and expected future, ocean conditions and variability on important marine species.