Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
• Data Files
• Supplemental Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Funding

LOCATION:
Baja California, Mexico. El Rosario
Baja California Sur, Mexico. Isla Natividad and La Bocana

DEPLOYMENT OF CAGES
Twelve cages per site were deployed between 5-40ft, at the three locations (El Rosario, Isla Natividad and La Bocana) and left for 12 months before surveys.

SURVEY OF CAGES
1. Diver 1 opens cage and holds the blocks 1 at a time while Diver 2 fills in the data sheet
2. Diver 2 fills in the datasheet and sets the blocks in a pile off to the side

Part 1 – count and measure focal species
▪ Stop measuring after 30 measurements
▪ Stop counting after 100 counts
▪ Organisms outside or on the cage should not sampled.

Part 2 – identify and qualitatively measure the dominant cover on each block
▪ For each block identify what the most common cover is (CCA, red algae, other)
▪ Determine whether it covers 25, 50, 75 or 100% of the block
▪ But a tally point in the corresponding cell
▪ Each block should only have 1 tally

Part 3 – note presence/absence of Macrocystis/Eisenia algae or sessile invertebrates for each block

3. Once the cage is empty divers inspect the cage and lines, making any minor repairs that are
possible

4. Diver 1 puts the blocks back into the cage 1 at a time while diver 2 keeps track (comments section) of the number of blocks and broken pieces.

5. Close the cage with line and cable ties, ascend for surface interval

INSTRUMENTS:
SCUBA diving equipment
Calipers (150mm)
Ruler
Mesh bag
Transect tape
Slate
Datasheet
Pencils
Snipes/knife
Cable ties
Extra line
GoPro camera

The data from each cage was checked and transferred into an excel file, to keep all the three sites (i.e., El Rosario, Isla Natividad, La Bocana) together.

* "907383_v1_abalone_recruitment_modules_COJ_18Oct2023.csv" was imported into the BCO-DMO data system with values "NA" as missing data values. 
** Missing data values are displayed differently based on the file format you download.  They are blank in csv files, "NaN" in MatLab files, etc.
* After discussion with the submitter about identifications with name Organism_Identification "megastrea" or "megastrae" or "Megastraea sp." and taxon id Megastraea gibberosum/giberosum or "Megastraea spp", the decision was made to changes these to Organism_Identification: "turban snail", and Taxonomic_name: "Turbininae spp." which is the subfamily since not all the snails identified could be narrowed down to genus Megastrea. And several species in Megastrea had been transitioned to other genera over time.
* Taxonomic names checked with World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) taxa match tool on 2023-09-28. Species list added as a supplemental file which contains taxonomic identifiers for names used in the dataset along with the accepted synonym if a currently unnaccepted synonym was used.
* After discussion with submitter, two duplicate rows were dropped from the data table corresponding to these rows in the originally submitted file:
El Rosario, number:1, Kelletia kelletii individual 1 = row 91 duplicated in row 254
El Rosario, number:1, Kelletia kelletii individual 2 = row 92 duplicated in row 255

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.