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Long-term change in mussel (Mytilus californianus Conrad) populations along the wave-exposed coast of southern California

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Abstract

Mussel (Mytilus californianus) populations were studied throughout California to determine changes over the past few decades, and, in particular, to determine if declines reported for southern California have occurred outside of the region. We compared mussel cover, biomass, and bed thickness reported in historic studies in the mid-1970s to 1980s with measurements made in 2002. Mussel cover and biomass in southern California declined markedly over the past few decades with a mean cover loss of 31.2% (40.2% loss) and biomass loss of 25.1 kg m−2 (51.3% loss). Changes in mussel bed thickness were not as strong as cover and biomass, but also appeared to decline over time. Declines were limited to the southern California region, since mussel cover, biomass, and bed thickness remained unchanged or increased at sites in central and northern California. Causes for mussel declines in southern California are unknown, but may include human visitation, increased sea surface temperatures, and pollution.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Minerals Management Service through the Coastal Marine Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department for assistance in funding this project. We would like to thank the following people for their help in accessing sites sampled in this study: Dan Richards and the Channel Islands National Park Services; Don Canestro and the UC Rancho Marino Reserve; Peter Raimondi and Melissa Miner at UCSC; Bixby Ranch; the Hearst Castle Association; Mary Elaine Dunaway and Mineral Management Services; Virginia Gardner and the Carpinteria State Beach; Lyndal Laughrin and the UC Santa Cruz Reserve; Kathy Ann Miller and the USC Wrigley Marine Lab; Peter Connors and the Bodega Marine Labs; Linda Weinstein and the Sea Ranch Association; Cristina Sandoval and the Coal Oil Point UC Reserve. We are grateful to D. Straughan, R. Kanter, and C. Robles for input into the project. We also thank William Hamner and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments.

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  1. Jayson R. Smith

    Present address: Department of Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, 6850, Fullerton, CA, 92834-6850, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Dr., South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1606, USA

    Jayson R. Smith & Peggy Fong

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 951772, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA

    Richard F. Ambrose

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  1. Jayson R. Smith
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  2. Peggy Fong
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Correspondence to Jayson R. Smith.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Smith, J.R., Fong, P. & Ambrose, R.F. Long-term change in mussel (Mytilus californianus Conrad) populations along the wave-exposed coast of southern California. Mar Biol 149, 537–545 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0223-y

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