This study addresses the impact of spatial scale on explaining variance in benthic communities. In particular, the analysis estimated the fraction of community variation that occurred at a spatial ...scale smaller than the sampling interval (i.e., the geographic distance between samples). This estimate is important because it sets a limit on the amount of community variation that can be explained based on the spatial configuration of a study area and sampling design. Six benthic data sets were examined that consisted of faunal abundances, common environmental variables (water depth, grain size, and surficial percent cover), and sonar backscatter treated as a habitat proxy (categorical acoustic provinces). Redundancy analysis was coupled with spatial variograms generated by multiscale ordination to quantify the explained and residual variance at different spatial scales and within and between acoustic provinces. The amount of community variation below the sampling interval of the surveys (< 100 m) was estimated to be 36-59% of the total. Once adjusted for this small-scale variation, > 71% of the remaining variance was explained by the environmental and province variables. Furthermore, these variables effectively explained the spatial structure present in the infaunal community. Overall, no scale problems remained to compromise inferences, and unexplained infaunal community variation had no apparent spatial structure within the observational scale of the surveys (> 100 m), although small-scale gradients (< 100 m) below the observational scale may be present.
The lack of diversity in the ocean sciences is not a particularly big secret or a recent issue. In his inaugural column in 2000 for The Oceanography Classroom, Dean McManus wrote: “A particular ...challenge for higher education is to include more members of underrepresented groups in the study of the ocean. Fifteen years from now, 40% of the traditional undergraduate-age population will consist of these underrepresented groups, but today the ocean sciences have the lowest participation by underrepresented groups of any science.” Despite this prescient statement from McManus, little progress has been made in diversifying the ranks of the ocean sciences. In a recent National Science Foundation survey of current graduate students in the ocean sciences, approximately 8.8% of those surveyed identify as coming from a group that is considered part of a minority community in the United States (Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Alaskan, Native American, Pacific Islander). As might be expected, these numbers are even worse for the professional ranks of agencies, nonprofits, and university programs that focus on the ocean sciences. The lack of these communities’ representation in ocean science careers is underscored by the past year’s news reports, brimming as they have been with the brutality and injustices that those in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities face daily. The STEM community, including the ocean sciences, is now, more than ever, being forced to confront the ways in which its institutions and culture contribute to the inequities facing BIPOC communities. Here, I draw upon my dual identity as a member of the ocean science and Latinx communities to discuss how the ocean sciences can enact meaningful changes around improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Recent warnings from scientists suggest there is limited time to enact policies to avert wide‐ranging ecological and social damage from climate change. In the United States, discussions about ...comprehensive national policies to avert climate change have begun, with “Green New Deal” proposals and climate plans put forth by members of Congress and presidential candidates. Oceans are largely absent or separate from these nascent policy proposals. Here, we highlight a policy framework to develop terrestrial and ocean‐integrated policies that can complement and enhance terrestrial‐focused initiatives focused on four specific sectors: 1) energy; 2) transportation; 3) food security; and 4) habitat restoration. Given political friction and constrained budgets, an integrated policy framework offers greater potential to achieve a portfolio of mitigation and adaptation goals in a cost‐effective manner, beyond what could be realized with marine or terrestrial policy solutions alone.
Accurate efficient estimation of actual and potential species distribution is a critical requirement for effective ecosystem-based management and marine protected area design. In this study we tested ...the applicability of a terrestrial landscape modeling technique in a marine environment for predicting the distribution of ecologically and economically important groundfish, using 3 species of rockfish at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS) as a model system. Auto-classification of multibeam bathymetry along with georeferenced submersible video transect data of the seafloor and demersal fishes were used to model the abundance and distribution of rockfish. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were created using habitat classification analyses of high-resolution (3 m) digital elevation models combined with fish presence/absence observations. Model accuracy was assessed using a reserved subset of the observation data. The resulting probability of occurrence models generated at 3 m resolution for the entire 120 km² study area proved reliable in predicting the distribution of all the species. The accuracies of the models forSebastes rosaceus,S. flavidusandS. elongatuswere 96, 92 and 92%, respectively. The probability of occurrence ofS. flavidusandS. rosaceuswas highest in the high relief rocky areas and lowest in the low relief, soft sediment areas. The model forS. elongatushad an opposite pattern, with the highest predicted probability of occurrence taking place in the low relief, soft sediment areas and a lower probability of occurrence in the rocky areas. These results indicate that site-specific and species-specific algorithmic habitat classification applied to high-resolution bathymetry data can be used to accurately extrapolate the results fromin situvideo surveys of demersal fishes across broad areas of habitat.
Committees touch nearly every facet in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research enterprise. However, the role of gatekeeping through committee work has received little attention ...in Earth and space sciences. We propose a novel concept called, “regenerative gatekeeping” to challenge institutional inertia, cultivate belonging, accessibility, justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in committee work. Three examples, a hiring committee process, a seminar series innovation, and an awards committee, highlight the need to self‐assess policies and practices, ask critical questions and engage in generative conflict. Rethinking committee work can activate distributed mechanisms needed to promote change.
Plain Language Summary
The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM research enterprise is shaped by the myriad committees that support it, and the committee members making decisions about policies, funding, and personnel effectively serve as gatekeepers. Centering belonging, access, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in day‐to‐day committee work can empower many more STEM community members to act as agents of change. We describe a new approach to committee service we refer to as “regenerative gatekeeping” with the aim of broadening participation and improving the climate of geosciences.
Key Points
Committee work influences the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research enterprise
Committee members play roles as gatekeepers that maintain the status quo and foster institutional inertia or can become agents of change
“Regenerative gatekeeping” provides a framework for promoting belonging, access, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
Kelp forests are complex underwater habitats that form the foundation of many nearshore marine environments and provide valuable services for coastal communities. Despite their ecological and ...economic importance, increasingly severe stressors have resulted in declines in kelp abundance in many regions over the past few decades, including the North Coast of California, USA. Given the significant and sustained loss of kelp in this region, management intervention is likely a necessary tool to reset the ecosystem and geospatial data on kelp dynamics are needed to strategically implement restoration projects. Because canopy‐forming kelp forests are distinguishable in aerial imagery, remote sensing is an important tool for documenting changes in canopy area and abundance to meet these data needs. We used small unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to survey emergent kelp canopy in priority sites along the North Coast in 2019 and 2020 to fill a key data gap for kelp restoration practitioners working at local scales. With over 4,300 hectares surveyed between 2019 and 2020, these surveys represent the two largest marine resource‐focused UAV surveys conducted in California to our knowledge. We present remote sensing methods using UAVs and a repeatable workflow for conducting consistent surveys, creating orthomosaics, georeferencing data, classifying emergent kelp and creating kelp canopy maps that can be used to assess trends in kelp canopy dynamics over space and time. We illustrate the impacts of spatial resolution on emergent kelp canopy classification between different sensors to help practitioners decide which data stream to select when asking restoration and management questions at varying spatial scales. Our results suggest that high spatial resolution data of emergent kelp canopy from UAVs have the potential to advance strategic kelp restoration and adaptive management.
Despite their ecological and economic importance, kelp forest abundance has declined in many regions around the world including the North Coast of California. Given the significant loss of kelp in this region, management intervention is likely necessary and remotely sensed data on kelp dynamics can help inform strategic restoration projects. We used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to survey emergent kelp canopy along the North Coast in 2019 and 2020 and present remote‐sensing based kelp survey methods using UAVs. Our results suggest that high spatial resolution data on local‐scale spatiotemporal patterns of emergent kelp canopy from UAVs have the potential to advance strategic kelp restoration and adaptive management.
The California squid fishery is concentrated largely on nearshore squid spawning aggregations. Because of this practice a central concern for sustainable squid fisheries in California is to determine ...whether reproductive activities and subsequent egg laying occur at rates that are sufficient to support harvestable populations of this sub-annual species. Using high-resolution data collected via acoustic mapping methodology, we estimated a 99% decrease in egg mops abundance from 2005 to 2007. Sidescan sonar images from detailed benthic mapping suggest that although squids prefer a sandy substrate as their primary egg mop habitat, the depths across which egg mops were distributed differed significantly between surveys and spatial distribution of egg mops varied across years on this large spawning ground. Our results suggest that sidescan sonar surveys could serve as an important tool used to aid sustainable management of the California market squid fishery through the monitoring, designation and adaptive management of seasonally variable no-take spawning zones and can help in developing stock assessments of this commercially important species.
► We map the distribution of squid egg mops using sidescan sonar and multibeam bathymetry. ► We use the mapped distribution of egg mops to describe the interannual and intraannual variation in egg mops. ► We determine which scale and habitat features are important to the distribution of egg mops. ► We make recommendations for no take areas based on the results in this study.
The physical factors that constrain the vertical foraging excursions of the keystone predator, the sea star Pisaster ochraceus, hold considerable interest because they indirectly shape the vivid ...patterns of zonation of rocky shore communities by impeding or enhancing the ability of P. ochraceus to traverse the intertidal zone. In this paper, we describe a study conducted in the Pacific Northwest of North America in which we examined, in the field and laboratory, the abiotic factors that can affect vertical excursions by P. ochraceus. Our field observations revealed that the extreme upward reach and average shore level height reached by P. ochraceus were significantly lower for daylight high tides than nocturnal high tides. Based on diver observations following a severe storm, it would also appear that these diurnal movements can be impeded by freshwater incursions into the intertidal zone; a regularly occurring event in the Pacific Northwest. As part of an experimental investigation into this phenomenon, we observed that sea stars maintained in tall cylindrical aquaria, without tidal flux, remained near the bottom during daylight and moved to the top of the column at night, suggesting that photoperiod alone can influence the cycle of vertical movement. Adding a freshwater layer to the aquaria restricted these vertical excursions. Our results suggest that on rocky coastlines susceptible to fresh water incursions, the suppression of foraging may be an important factor in the spatial and temporal variation in the intensity of predation. Furthermore, given the relative increase in frequency and intensity of freshwater incursions in the Pacific Northwest and the intolerance of P. ochraceus to lowered salinity, there is the long-term potential to significantly alter patterns of species zonation in this essential marine habitat.
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