Geomorphology Drives Species Distribution: A Case Study on the Sandy Plains of the Continental Shelf

Navarro Michael O, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

In many areas, geomorphology drives species distribution and abundance. On the continental shelf, the sandy plains habitat comprises one of the largest habitats of the north-eastern Pacific yet largely remains unexplored in terms of ecology. This research will investigate how geological and biological structural changes of the seafloor impact biological habitat for the community of the lower shelf (30-200 m). This area of the coastal shelf is of great importance to the U.S. economy, and the results of this research will have value to the scientific community and to coastal managers and policy-makers. The PI will offer internships for undergraduates who will be trained for remotely operated vehicles (ROV) video analyses and surveys conducted in the coastal waters of CA. In addition, a workshop focused on ROV technology will be held at the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) in order to provide background information needed for NWIC to start using their ROV. The host institution for this 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship is California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). The PI will conduct research in Monterey Bay, using the CSUMB Seafloor Lab's small vessels, ROV's, multibeam and side-scan sonar. GIS analyses, modeling, and boundary image analysis will take place at the CSUMB Marine Landscape Ecology Lab. This study will determine the geomorphology dynamics of the heterogenous sandy plains ecosystem and how these changes drive changes in the megafaunal community. This research will test for megafauna density changes over time and for how these changes occur with changes of the structure of the sandy plains both in terms of structures caused by physical forcing and by layering from biological structures. It will also investigate how diversity changes with increased structure.