This report is the first quarterly report submitted in 

partial fulfillment of Research Contract No. S-1902 between the Department of Fish and Game and the Pacific Gas and 

Electric Company. Through this contract the Department of Fish and Game is to conduct a pre-operational ecological

study to establish a base line inventory of the marine 

biota with special reference to fish and to abalone, including food chains.

Quarterly reports will be followed by annual reports.  The 

first annual report will cover all work from September 1971 through December 1972. Full tables and species lists will be included in each annual report

Gotshall, Daniel W.

Laurent, Laurence L.

Lea, Robert N.

English

Aquatic Commons

STATE OF CALLFOPJIA 
THE liESOURCES AGENCY 
DEPLPTMENT OF FISH &ID G L '  
MAP;.INE RESOUkCES XEGIOM 
MENDOCINC POlJER PLmT SITE 
ECOLOGICAL STUCY 
QUAWEFLY REPOW No. 1 
July 1 - September 30, 1971 
by Daniel 1.7. Gotshall, 
Robert $:. Lea and 
Laurence L . Laurent 
PACIFIC GAS Pxn ELECTRLC COEPPATY 
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AGREmBKT 5-1902 
Prepared at 
Marine Resources Region Laboratory 
2201 Garden Road 
Monterey, California 93940 
February 25, 1972 
Marine Resources Region 
Administrat ive Report 72-1 
This  r e p o r t  is  t h e  f i r s t  q u a r t e r l y  r e p o r t  submit ted i n  p a r t i a l  f u l -  
f i l l m e n t  of Research Can t r ac t  No. S-1902 between t h e  Department of  F i s h  
and Game and t h e  P a c i f i c  Gas and E l e c t r i c  Company. Through t h i s  c o n t r a c t  
t h e  Department of F i sh  and Game i s  t o  conduct a  p re -ope ra t iona l  e c o l o g i c a l  
s tudy  t o  e s t a b l i s h  a  b a s e  l i n e  inventory  of t h e  marine b i o t a  w i t h  s p e c i a l  
r e f e rence  t o  f i s h  and t o  abalone, i nc lud ing  food cha ins .  
Quar te r ly  r e p o r t s  w i l l  be  followed by annual  r e p o r t s ,  The f i r s t  
0 
annual  r e p o r t  w i l l  cover a l l  work from September 1971 through December 
1972. F u l l  t a b l e s  and s p e c i e s  l i s t s  w i l l  b e  inc luded  i n  each annual  
r e p o r t  . 
Submitted to :  
Barton W. Shackelford,  Vice P r e s i d e n t  
Planning and Research 
P a c i f i c  Gas and E l e c t r i c  Company 
77 Beale S t r e e t  
San Franc isco ,  C a l i f o r n i a  
Submitted by: 
Doyle E. Gates 
. C a l i f o r n i a  Departnent of F i sh  and Game 
Marine Resources Region 
350 .Golden Shore 
Long Beach, C a l i f o r n i a  
MENDOCINO POWER PLANT SITE ECOLOGICAL STUDY 
QUAP,TERI;Y REPORT No. 1 
J u l y  1 t o  September 30, 1971 
INTRODUCTION 
The s p e c i f i c  o b j e c t i v e s  of t h e  p r o j e c t  a r e :  
1, To conduct q u a n t i t a t i v e  s tudi .es  t h a t  w i l l  y i e l d  r e l a t i v e  abundance 
i n d i c e s  f o r  t h e  important  s p o r t  and commercial s p e c i e s  p r e s e n t  i n  t h e  
Cen t r a l  Area. These i n d i c e s  w i l l  be  compared wi th  i n d i c e s  de r ived  from 
post  o p e r a t i o n a l  s t u d i e s  t o  determine i f  changes have t aken  p l ace .  
2. To  conduct q u a l i t a t i v e  s t u d i e s  t o  determine t h e  s p e c i e s ,  composi- 
t i o n  of p l a n t s  and animals  i n  t h e  Cen t r a l  Area. 
OPERATIONS 
The p r o j e c t  was i n i t i a t e d  i n  e a r l y  September, and one s u b t i d a l  survey 
was conducted dur ing  t h i s  qua r t e r .  This  survey was performed from 
September 18  t o  22 by d ive r -b io log i s t s .  
Three pre l iminary  s tudy  a reas  were e s t a b l i s h e d  a t  t h e  P t .  Arena si te:  
The Cent ra l  Area, 1-ocated o f f sho re  from t h e  proposed power p l a n t ,  and t h e  
two Control  Areas,  which a r e  approximately one mile n o r t h  and sou th  of t h e  
Cen t r a l  Area ( F i g u r e ' l ) .  Within each s tudy  a r e a  t h e r e  are a minimum of 
15  s u b t i d a l  and 3 i n t e r t i d a l  s t a t i o n s .  These s t a t i o n s  were randomly 
s e l e c t e d  a s  fol lows:  Each s tudy  a r e a  has  been d iv ided  i n t o  squa res  1120th 
mi le  on a  s i d e ,  t h e s e  squares  have permanent numbers, and f o r  each  survey  
per iod  w e  s e l e c t  ou r  s t a t i o n s  from published random number t a b l e s .  
e 
During t h i s  survey per iod ,  a  t o t a l  of 12  s u b t i d a l  t r a n s e c t  s t a t i o n s  
were occupied i n  t h e  Cen t r a l  Area (Figure 1 ) .  No d i v e s  were made i n  t h e  
Control  Areas. The depths  of t h e  s t a t i o n s  ranged from 15 t o  75 f e e t  and 
d iv ing  ope ra t ions  were f a c i l i t a t e d  by remarkably good weather  and wa te r  
v i s i b i l i t y  which ranged from 1 5  t o  30 f e e t .  The s t a t i o n s  were l o c a t e d  by 
t r i a n g u l a t i n g  on permanent landmarks w i t h  a  hand-held contpass on board 
t h e  survey v e s s e l .  
Two d i v e r s  occupied each t r a n s e c t ,  marked by a  30 meter  l i n e  l a i d  
p a r a l l e l  t o  t h e . s h o r e l i n e  wi th  po in t  of beginning a t  t h e  b o a t ' s  anchor.  
The width of each t r a n s e c t  was two meters .  Each d i v e r  surveyed a  one 
meter swath, a long each s i d e  of t h e  l i n e .  Major i n v e r t e b r a t e s  and t h e  
l a r g e  b r o m  a lgae  w i t h i n  t h e  60 square  meter t r a n s e c t  were i d e n t i f i e d  
and some were counted. (Appendices A and B) .  Counts were conducted on 
22 p re se l ec t ed  i n v e r t e b r a t e s ,  ( i nc lud ing  a l l  abalone,  s c a l l o p s ,  echino- 
derms and c r a b s ) ,  and seven p r e s e l e c t e d  s p e c i e s  of brown a l g a e .  ~ s t i m a t e s  
of red  a l g a e  were des igna ted  abundant, common, s p a r s e  o r  r a r e  ( ~ ~ ~ e n d i x  C ) .  
The f i s h  observed i n  t h e  immediate a r e a  were i d e n t i f i e d  and e s t i m a t e s  
were made of t h e i r  numbers. 
A b r i e f  d e s c r i p t i o n  of t h e  phys i ca l  environment was recorded ,  i nc lud -  
ing  ternperatures a t  1.0 f o o t  i n t e r v a l s  from s u r f a c e  t o  bottom, underwater  
v i s i b i l i t y  and s u b s t r a t e  type.  
The survey method used on f u t u r e  s t u d i e s  w i l l  b e  modif ied from t h e  
above l i n e a r  t r a n s e c t  method, t o  an "arc" method i n  which two d i v e r s  
survey a c i r c l e ,  u s ing  3.1 m. l i n e s .  This  method, which covers  a  30 
square-meter a r ea ,  w i l l  be  advantageous i n  a t  l e a s t  two ways: 1 )  t h e  
t ime saved i n  conducting a  survey of t h e  sma l l e r  a r e a s  w i l l  a l i ow occupy- 
i n g  more s t a t i o n s ;  2) t h e o r e t i c a l l y ,  t h e  a r e a  w i t h i n  t h e  c i r c l e  i s  more 
l i k e l y  t o  b e  p h y s i c a l l y  and b i o l o g i c a l l y  homogeneous than  t h e  a r e a  in-  
s c r ibed  by a  l i n e a r  t r a n s e c t  and, because of t h i s  homogeneity, t h e  d a t a  
obtained from t h e  nethod w i l l  probably have g r e a t e r  s t a t i s t i c a l  v a l i d i t y ,  
p r imar i ly  because w e  w i l l  be a b l e  t o  sample more s t a t i o n s  du r ing  each 
oceanographic per iod .  
APPENDIX A 
S c i e n t i f i c  Name 
INVERTEBRATES ORSERVYD OR 
---
COLTJECTED DURIIiG SUETIDtlL SURVEYS 
-- 
September 1 8  - 22,  1971 
Abietinuria sp .  
Acrfzaea spp . 
AZ Zopora porphy ra 
Anisodoris nobizis 
* Anthopleura zanthogrmica  
Archidoris montere yensis 
Austrodoris o&neri 
BaZanophy ZZia e Zegans 
C. costatwn 
* Ceratostoma foZiatwn 
Corynactis caZifomzica 
* Cucwnaria miniata 
* Dermasterias irnbricata 
DiauZuZa sandiegensis 
Common N= 
- Hydroid 
- Limpets 
- Hydrocoral  
- Yellow sea  lemon nudi- 
branch  
- Large green  anernone 
- Dorid nudibranch 
- ' White d o r i d  nudibranch 
S o l i t a r y  c o r a l  
Dorid nudibranch 
Gold s p o t t e d  d o r i d  
Channeled s n a i l s  
Channeled s n a i l s  
Channeled s n a i l s  
Murex s n a i l  
Club t e n t a c l e  anemone 
Gumboot c h i t o n  
Orange s e a  cucumber 
Dorid nudibranch 
Leather  s t a r  
Ringed nudib ranch 
Keyhole l impet  
Appendix A (continued) Page 2 
S c i e n t i f i c  Name 
- 
Epiactis proli fera 
Eupentaeta qtrinquesemita 
Fusinus Zuteopictus 
* HaZiotis kamtschatkana 
* H .  rufescens 
* Henricia leviuscula 
* Metridi~rm senile 
OphiopZocus esrzarki - 
* Or&hasterias koehleri - 
* P~ndzLus danae - 
* Pisastor brevispinus - 
* P. giganteus - 
* P. ochra~eous - 
* PsoZus chitonoides - 
* Pycnopodia he Zianthoides - 
' Scyra acutifrons - 
* Strongy Zocentrotus franciscanus - 
* S. purpuratus - 
* TeaZia lofotensis - 
Tegula funebralis - 
Thais sp .  - 
Common Name 
P r o l i f e r a t i n g  anemone 
White cucumber 
Pa in t ed  s p i n d l e  s n a i l  
P i n t o  aba lone  
.. ~ l a t  abalone 
Red aba lone  
Red s e a  s t a r  
White anemone 
B r i t t l e s t a r  
Sea. s t a r  
Coonstr ipe shrimp 
Pink-skinned s e a s t a r  
Giant  common s e a s t a r  
Common s e a s t a r  
Creeping cucumber 
Sunflower s t a r  
Masking c rab  
Suns t a r  
10-Arm suns t a r  
Red u r c h i n  
Purp le  urch in  
Red anemone 
Brown t u r b i n  s n a i l  
Rock s n a i l  
Appendix A (cont inued)  
S c i e n t i f i c  Name 
ToniceZZa Zineata - 
*Included i n  q u a n t i t a t i v e  s tudy .  
Unident i f ied  I n v e r t e b r a t e s :  ' 
T e r r e b e l l i d a e  
Sabel l - idae 
Ophiuroidea 
Common N a m e  
Lined c h i t o n  
- Tentacled tubeworms 
- Plumed tubeworms 
- B r i t t l e  s t a r s  
Page 3 
Scientific Naxe 
APPENDIX B 
ALGAE OGSERVED OX COLLECTED 
P
DURII~G SUETIDE SU~?,V YS 
September 18 - 22, 1.972. 
* Laminaria setcheZZi 
* i'iereocystis Zeutkeana 
* Pterygophora ca l i fomica  
PtiZoda s p p .  
Comn~on Name 
Brown algae 
' Brown algae 
Brown algae 
Brown algae 
Brown algae 
Brown algae 
Brown algae 
Red algae 
* Included in quantitative study. 
APPENDIX C 
FISHES 'OBSERVED 
S c i e n t i f i c  Name 
DURING SUSTIDAL SLxVEY S 
Se~ ten lbe r  18  - 22. 1972. 
Common Nanie 
Artedius probably coraZZinus - C o r a l l i n e  s c u l p i n  
GhiroZophis nugator - Mosshead warbonnet 
b?wyphopterus nichozsii  - Blackeye goby 
Co t t idae  
DamaZichthys vacca 
Embiotoca ZcteraZis 
. Gibbonsia s p  . 
Scu lp ins  
P i l e  perch 
S t r i p e d  s u r f p e r c h  
Kelpf i s h  
Hexagra7mos decagrmn.m - Kelp g r e e n l i n g  
Hexagrmos ZayocephaZus - Rock g r e e n l i n g  
Ophiodon elongatus 
OxyZebius pictus 
- Lingcod 
- Pain ted  g reen l ing  
Rlzacochi Zus toxotes - Rubberl ip  perch 
Scorpaenichthys marmoratus - Cabezon 
Sebastes caurinus 
S. chrysome Zas 
S. maZigsr 
- Copper r o c k f i s h  
- Black and yel low r o c k f i s h  
- Qui l lback  r o c k f i s h  
- Black r o c k f i s h  
- Vermi l l ion  r o c k f i s h  
- Blue r o c k f i s h  
- china  r o c k f i s h  
APPENDIX U 
MAN-DAYS SPENT AT MENDOCINO POWER PLANT SITE 
J u l y  1 - September 30, 1971 
Subt ida l  Surveys: 
e 
Par t i c ipan t s :  
September 1 8  - 22  
Gotshall ,  Lea, Laurent,  
Lollock, S p a l e t t a  
To ta l  man-days: 6 1 
Tota l  man-days a t  si te:  2 2 
Pian-days l o s t  t o  weather: 4 
Tota l  s t a t i o n s  sampled: 1 2  
Boat time: 20 hours (Sea O t t e r  P r o j e c t  
Ski-Barge) 
Travel  time man-days: 8 
. Laboratory time man-days: * 31 
* (Includes time spent  working on specimens, r epor t  w r i t i n g ,  
construct ing.  of sampling gear ,  and gear maintenance). 
APPENDIX D (con t inued)  
PROJECT PEKSONXEL: 
D a n i e l  R. G o t s h a l l ,  S e n i o r  Marine B i o l o g i s t  - P r o j e c t  Leader  
Rober t  N. Lea ,  A s s o c i a t e  Marine B i o l o g i s t  - A s s i s t a n t  P r o j e c t  
Leader  
Laurence L. L a u r e n t  - A s s i s t a n t  Marine B i o l o g i s t  
Margaret  M. Hughes - Stenographer  I1 
A r t h u r  S p a l e t t a ,  Seasona l  Aid 
NOII-PROJECT PERSONNEL : 
Don L o l l o c k ,  S e n i o r  I~Zarine B i o l o g i s t ,  
Environmental  S e r v i c e s  Branch. 
MENDOCIN0 PO'vVER 
PLANT SITE 
F i g u r e  1. 


Mendocino power plant site ecological study, Quarterly Report No. 1; July 1 - September 30, 1971

http://aquaticcommons.org/141/1/Marine_Resources_Administrative_Report_No._72-1.pdf

Mendocino power plant site ecological study, Quarterly Report No. 1; July 1 - September 30, 1971

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Aquatic Commons