Dr. Jenn Caselle, a Research Biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute, manages a large-scale kelp monitoring program in coastal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), zones where commercial fishing and extraction are not allowed. The oldest MPAs in the country lie along the Central Coast in Southern California, but the results of her work are most striking when compared with data from across California. “We want to know if there are more and bigger organisms in the MPAs than in their control areas immediately outside,” said Caselle. “Those MPA effects are stronger in the south and get weaker as you go north. And that is almost certainly because the amount of fishing going on in the south is generally way more.” This means that along the Central Coast, areas not designated as MPAs experience the highest levels of fishing. Consequently, it is most important to preserve fish populations in these same areas.

Caselle lab scientists are deeply involved in preparing California for a decadal evaluation of the state's unprecedented network of Marine Protected Areas.  Using historical and recent data to evaluate the ecological performance of MPAs, we co-produced (with legions of collaborators) four technical reports and are continuing work with the state and other partners to synthesize this vast amount of information.  We work in kelp forests, rocky intertidal, mid-depth and deep water rocky reefs and use a variety of tools including SCUBA diving, baited remote underwater video (BRUVs) and citizen science hook and line fishing.   You can learn more and download the technical reports here:

https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/news/completed-marine-protected-area-monitoring-projects-will-contribute-to-upcoming-review

Caselle Lab undergraduate published a new study in Ecology that demonstrates the importance of maintaining functional redundancy in kelp forests in order to protect against climate related changes.

Jenn gave a talk at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (SNARL) to the mountain communities of Mammoth Lakes, Bishop and environs.  Bringing a decade of experience traveling the worlds ocean, she highlights her work the National Geographic Pristine Seas program.

Hello California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) participants!

2017 was CCFRP's first year at many institutions, with groups from Humboldt State University, UC Davis, and UC San Diego getting out on the water for the first time. We are all excited to join Moss Landing Marine Labs and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in what is now a statewide monitoring program! Check out the CCFRP website (https://www.mlml.calstate.edu/ccfrp/) for information from other institutions regarding their field seasons.

As we move into our second sampling season, we would like to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication, especially the Captain and Crew of the Stardust. Without your help, we would be unable to provide critical information for fisheries management and unable to contribute to the state's most extensive database on nearshore fisheries with respect to MPAs. We are extremely grateful for your support, and we hope you will continue to support us in the years to come.

Finally, please take a moment to "Like" both the Caselle Lab (https://www.facebook.com/CaselleLab/) and CCFRP (https://www.facebook.com/CaCollaborativeFisheriesResearchProgram.CCFRP/) on Facebook, as well as follow us on Instagram. We will continue to post new content and keep everyone updated via email as we prepare for our upcoming field season! We look forward to fishing with you again in 2018!

A new study finds that humans can interact with sharks without long-term behavioral impacts for the ocean’s top predators.

Jenn Caselle and Katie Davis are just back from an expedition to the World's Most Remote island.  Tristan da Cunha is a group of islands in the South Atlantic, and also the name of the main island in that group. The archipelago lies over 2,700 km from South Africa and 3,700 km from the nearest shores of South America. This makes the Tristan archipelago one of the most geographically isolated island groups in the world. The northern group (37°04' S, 12° 18' W) is composed of Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible and Nightingale islands. Inaccessible and Nightingale lie approximately 30 km to the southwest and south of Tristan da Cunha respectively.  The southernmost and most isolated island, Gough (40°19' S, 9° 57' W), lies 380km to the south southeast. The Tristan group and Gough are volcanic islands formed from the outer slopes of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and range in age from 200,000 years (Tristan) to around 18 million years (Nightingale).  The Tristan archipelago is a hotspot of endemic biodiversity primarily in terrestrial systems and to a lesser extent in marine systems.  The Tristan Rock Lobster (Jasus tristani) is the most valuable commercial species, and is the target of an MSC-certified sustainable lobster fishery that provides over 80% of the island’s GDP, employs over a quarter of the population at peak times, and provides an essential source of human and cargo transportation via fishing boats travelling to and from South Africa.  The neashore kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera, Laminaria pallida) that provide critical habitat for the lobster and other species are of particular interest, especially as the Northern group of islands lies near the limits of temperature tolerance for many kelp species.    Offshore waters are also home to a number of pinnipeds, sharks and cetaceans.  Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) are commonly observed in offshore waters while Broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) inhabit the nearshore kelp forests. Large and increasing numbers of sub-Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus tropicalis breed at the islands and a very small southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) population exists at their only known breeding location at Gough Island. Offshore waters also support populations of dusky dolphins Lagenorhynchus obscurus and the rare Shepherd’s beaked whale Tasmacetus shepherdi, and they are also known to be a nursery area for Southern right whales Eubalaena australis.    Both Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been given UNESCO World Heritage Site status for their near-pristine environments and vast wildlife populations.  While all of the Tristan islands ecosystems appear relatively intact and healthy, there are numerous threats, some urgent and some emerging.  On both land and in the water, non-native and invasive species are of primary concern for these isolated islands.  Over the next several years we will be assisting the Tristan islanders formulate regimes of protection for their special islands.

Climate chaos: How El Nino changes the weather

From a monster El Nino to climate change, TechKnow investigates the cause and effect of the current climate chaos.  Jenn Caselle in interviewed for Al Jazeera on the effects of El Nino on local organisms.

Darcy Bradley filed her dissertation and is now DOCTOR Bradley. Congratulations.  Darcy's work in Palmyra Atoll showed that populations of reef sharks may not be as large as previously thought, as common methods such as visual surveys tend to overestimate these large mobile predators.  Using the largest tag and recapture program to date, Darcy showed spatial patterns of hotspots and coldspots for these reef sharks.   For a complete look at Darcy's work, check out this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGEaFVuixqs

It was with huge excitement that I learned that I would be traveling to Clipperton Island for a National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition, because this would be my second trip to this remote coral reef. My first visit here was almost two decades ago, in 1998. I was a graduate student on my first real remote expedition.

Now, as a more seasoned marine biologist, with many remote expeditions under my belt, I jumped at the chance to revisit this remote, isolated atoll and assess firsthand any changes that had occurred.

Jenn gets interviewed by TechKnow on Al Jazeera America

El Niño, “the little boy” in Spanish, packs a big punch for weather patterns all over the world. This natural occurrence begins in the Pacific Ocean at the equator as sea surface temperatures rise and trade winds halt. On this week’s TechKnow, the team speaks with scientific experts that run the gamut from the boundaries of outer space to the bottom of the ocean floor looking to see how science is preparing for more impending storms.

More than a decade ago, California established marine protected areas (MPAs) in state waters around the northern Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. Several years later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) extended these MPAs into the federal waters of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

To evaluate whether the MPAs are meeting their ecological goals, marine scientists from the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) have been monitoring these rocky reef and kelp forest communities. Three UC Santa Barbara PISCO scientists have now published an analysis of 10 years of monitoring data for the MPAs in the Channel Islands network. The results appear in the journal Scientific Reports.

Off the coast of California, a radical experiment has closed hundreds of miles of ocean to fishing. Will it lead to better catches for years to come?

Read about our work in California's network of MPAs in the California Sunday Magazine.

In the middle of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, situated nearly 1,000 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, Palmyra Atoll is an ocean wilderness teeming with rare animal and plant life.  Thanks to President Obama, half of the monument’s boundaries have been extended from 50 miles to 200 miles from shore. Last month, the president used his Antiquities Act authority to expand the monument to a total of nearly 500,000 square miles, making it the largest marine preserve in the world. It also presents unparalleled research opportunities for UC Santa Barbara marine scientists.

“The monument is a large, relatively pristine part of the Pacific Ocean,” said Jenn Caselle, a research biologist with UCSB’s Marine Science Institute who conducts research on Palmyra Atoll. “When we protect our near-shore coral reefs, we tend to forget that there are linkages through the movement of mobile animals, energy and water that go well past these arbitrary human boundaries of 50 miles out.”

Caselle is also director of the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium (PARC), a group of cooperating institutions that undertakes collaborative research to understand the terrestrial, marine and climate systems of Palmyra Atoll and the central Pacific. The group’s research advances the conservation of island and coastal systems worldwide. “You’ll see a theme in most of the work we do down there,” Caselle said. “It all takes advantage of the pristine nature of Palmyra. We do work that you can’t do anywhere else, and we’ve produced a lot of lucky graduates since 2004 thanks to PARC.”

Marine reserves are known to be effective conservation tools when they are placed and designed properly. This week, a special issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is dedicated to the latest science on marine reserves, with a focus on where and how reserves can most effectively help to meet both conservation and fisheries goals. - See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2010/012776/marine-reserves-hit-spotlight-pnas-special-issue-aaas-press-briefing#sthash.fdBaVBzG.dpuf