1 / 15

Monterey Bay: A Jewel in Our Own Backyard

Monterey Bay: A Jewel in Our Own Backyard. ENGR 100w Spring 2009. Where is Monterey Bay. Why is Monterey Bay Unique. Monterey submarine canyon is one of the largest underwater canyons in the world Deepest part 3,600 m below the surface (> 2 miles)

meryle
Télécharger la présentation

Monterey Bay: A Jewel in Our Own Backyard

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Monterey Bay: A Jewel in Our Own Backyard ENGR 100w Spring 2009

  2. Where is Monterey Bay

  3. Why is Monterey Bay Unique • Monterey submarine canyon is one of the largest underwater canyons in the world • Deepest part 3,600 m below the surface (> 2 miles) • Shelf ~1 mile below surface (about depth of Grand Canyon) • Habitat for many types of marine life

  4. Marine Life • Nation’s largest kelp forest • 33 species of marine mammals • 94 species of birds • 345 species of fish • invertebrates

  5. Monterey Bay Habitats • Kelp forest • Harbor seal, sea otter, rockfish and other fish, octopus, sea stars, snails, cormorants • Sandy beaches • Shrimp, sand crabs, birds, topsmelt • Coastal dunes • Salt grass, geese and other birds • Rocky intertidal • Tide pools: snails, crabs, sea stars, anemones, chitons, limpids, mussels, etc. • Deep ocean • Tuna, whales, shark, sea turtle, elephant seal, jellies, sea cucumber, lobster

  6. Historical Context • Site of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row • Sardines were abundant in the early part of 1900s • Largest fishery in Western hemisphere • 726,000 tons of sardines during the peak season of 1936 • 19 canneries in Monterey • 1940s – sardines disappeared – became like a ghost town • Sardines are returning – seems to be a natural cycle • 50,000 tons of sardines in 2004

  7. Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary • Federally protected marine area • Designated in 1992 • 13,730 square kilometers (5360 square miles) • Larger than Yellowstone or Yosemite National Park

  8. Purpose of Marine Sanctuary • Protect resources • marine life, kelp forest, beaches, etc. • Preserve cultural landmarks • shipwrecks, prehistoric archeological sites, etc. • Research • monitor health of marine species • changes in habitats • seafloor mapping • Education • Public use

  9. Marine Sanctuary Management • No oil drilling • No dumping • Fishing regulated • Wastewater regulated

  10. Current Issues in Monterey Bay • Agricultural runoff • pesticides, sediment, chemicals such as nitrogen & phosphorous, bacteria • Urban runoff (storm water) • oil, grease, pesticides, herbicides, soil, pet droppings, etc. • Kelp harvesting • Desalination • CO2 absorption  low oxygen dead zones • Shipping

  11. Albatross • Eat squid and fish eggs floating on water • Floating plastics look like food • Pick it up and feed to young • 40% of Laysan albatross chicks die from eating plastic bottle caps • Found in a baby chick stomach • “red, blue and orange bottle caps, a black spray nozzle, part of a green comb, a white golf tee and a clump of tiny dark squid beaks ensnared in a tangle of fishing line” (Weiss, 2006) http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/oceanissues/plastics_albatross/makana.aspx Plastics from one albatross stomachhttp://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/oceanissues/plastics_albatross/makana.aspx

  12. Sea Otter Credit: Scott Roland www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/sea_otter.php • Largest member of weasel family (45-65 lbs) • Eat 25 % of weight each day • Sea urchins, abalone, mussels, clams, crabs, snails, & ~40 other marine species • Important to health of kelp forest • Eats sea urchins, which feed on kelp • Fur is most dense of any animal ~1 million hairs/in2 • Population devastated by fur trading in 19th century • 300,000  ~1000-2000 in early 1900s • 2,750 in California in 2006

  13. Sea Otter – Keystone Species randsco.com/index.php/2006/07/06/vancouver_island • Listed as “threatened” under federal Endangered Species Act • “Fully protected” under California state law • Threats • Oil spills, habitat loss and degradation, food limitation, disease, fishing gear entrapment, conflict with shellfish fisheries • Toxoplasma gondii causes protozoal encephalitis • Enters ecosystem through improper disposal of cat litter • Oil spills • Mats fur  fur cannot retain air  die of hypothermia • 1989 Exxon Valdez – 1000 sea otters died • Where sea otters have disappeared, so have the kelp forests (keystone)

  14. Desalination Desalination plantmontereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/desalination.html • Method of obtaining fresh water from salt water • 3 desal plants in Sanctuary • Several additional plants proposed • Impacts • Brine waste effluent (2x salt of sea water), heavy and sinks to bottom becoming concentrated • Construction of offshore pipeline • Thermal pollution • Loss of marine species at intake • Encourage more growth

  15. Want to know more? • Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium • Visit tidepools in Pacific Grove

More Related