Research Technical Report

Biological Surveys of Benthic Invertebrates Within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: Completion of an Initiated Study

Kim, S. and A. Wagner (January 2002)

Report submitted to the MBNMS

ABSTRACT

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a survey of the geological and physical characteristics in the northern portion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The study area extended from the Marin Headlands, north of the Golden Gate, south to Point Lobos, and from 10 meters water depth to the edge of the continental shelf in 200 meters of water depth. The study was conducted using the EMAP random sampling design. In conjunction with this physical characterization and mapping, matching samples were taken for benthic infaunal community analysis. Three cruises were completed for the existing geological study in the MBNMS. Box core samples were subsampled for biology whenever possible to provide a wide areal coverage of samples of the benthic infaunal communities within much of the MBNMS. The April 1995 cruise was aboard the RV MacArthur, and samples were sieved to 2 mm and so are not very useful for infaunal community description as few animals were retained by this coarse mesh size. September 1995 and August 1997 cruises were aboard the RV Pt. Sur, and samples were sieved to 1 mm; typically infaunal community descriptions utilize 0.5 mm sieved samples, but the 1 mm fraction is useful for a partial characterization though not sufficient for ecological analysis.