Scientific Sources
Important Note:
Science is not a belief system. It's a structured process for understanding the world we live in, using rigid methodology to test hypotheses, and peer-reviewed oversight to catch biases and mistakes.
Uncertainty is a key component of science. Uncertainty is good for scientists because it helps them locate spaces where where we can gain further knowledge.
Uncertainty does not mean that we don't understand how any ocean process works, and it's not an excuse for inaction; we can always learn more about the ocean, but we must make conservation decisions based on the best-available science.
La Jolla Cove / Surface Map
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (2022). California’s marine protected area network decadal management review. https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=209209&inline
California Ocean Science Trust, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, & California Ocean Protection Council. (2017). State of the California South Coast: Summary of findings from baseline monitoring of marine protected areas, 2011–2015. https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/sites/default/files/news/field_attachment/2019/south_coast_state_of_the_region_Final.pdf
MPA Monitoring Enterprise. (2011). South Coast MPA monitoring plan. California Ocean Science Trust. https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=154159&inline
Nillos Kleiven, P. J., Espeland, S. H., Olsen, E. M., Abesamis, R. A., Moland, E., & Kleiven, A. R. (2019). Fishing pressure impacts the abundance gradient of European lobsters across the borders of a newly established marine protected area. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1894), 20182455. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.2455
Novaczek, E., Howse, V., Pretty, C., Devillers, R., Edinger, E., & Copeland, A. (2017). Limited contribution of small marine protected areas to regional biodiversity: The example of a small Canadian no-take MPA. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, Article 174. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00174
Parnell, P. E., Lennert-Cody, C. E., Geelen, L., Stanley, L. D., & Dayton, P. K. (2005). Effectiveness of a small marine reserve in southern California. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 296, 39–52. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps296039
Pondella, D. J., Caselle, J. E., Claisse, J. T., Williams, J. P., Davis, K., Williams, C. M., & Zahn, L. A. (2015). South Coast Baseline Program final report: Kelp and shallow rock ecosystems. California Sea Grant. https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/sites/default/files/SCMPA-27-Final-Report_0.pdf
La Jolla Leopard Sharks
Aquarium of the Pacific. (2024, October 29). Topsmelt. Online Learning Center. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/topsmelt
Burgess, G. H., Cailliet, G. M., Camhi, M., Cavanagh, R. D., Fordham, S. V., Fowler, S. L., Musick, J., & Simpfendorfer, C. A. (Eds.). (2005). Sharks, rays and chimaeras: The status of the Chondrichthyan fishes. IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2005.SSC-AP.9.en
Gong, A. Y., Nosal, A. P., Cartamil, D. P., Anderson, J. M., Bellquist, L. F., Ben-Aderet, N. J., Blincow, K. M., Burns, E. S., Caldow, C., Freedman, R. M., Logan, R. K., Lowe, C. G., Semmens, B. X., Stirling, B. S., White, C. F., & Hastings, P. A. (2023). Migration, aggregation, and philopatry of two nearshore elasmobranch species in the Southern California Bight. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 724, 111–125. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14460
Nosal, A. P., Cartamil, D. C., Long, J. W., Lührmann, M., Wegner, N. C., & Graham, J. B. (2013). Demography and movement patterns of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) aggregating near the head of a submarine canyon along the open coast of southern California, USA. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 96(7), 865–878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0083-5
Pondella, D. J., & Allen, L. G. (2008). The decline and recovery of four predatory fishes from the Southern California Bight. Marine Biology, 154(2), 307–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-0924-0
Smith, S. E. (2005). Leopard shark mating observed off La Jolla, California. California Fish and Game, 91(2), 128–135.
University of California Television. (2012, October 10). Local legends: The leopard sharks of La Jolla Shores [Video]. https://www.uctv.tv/shows/Local-Legends-The-Leopard-Sharks-of-La-Jolla-Shores-Perspectives-on-Ocean-Science-24000
Giant Kelp Forest
Blincow, K. M., Elstner, J. T., Ben-Aderet, N., Bellquist, L. F., Nosal, A. P., & Semmens, B. X. (2023). Spatial ecology of the Giant Sea Bass, Stereolepis gigas, in a southern California kelp forest as determined by acoustic telemetry. PeerJ, 11, e16551. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16551
Eisaguirre, J. H., Eisaguirre, J. M., Davis, K., Carlson, P. M., Gaines, S. D., & Caselle, J. E. (2020). Trophic redundancy and predator size class structure drive differences in kelp forest ecosystem dynamics. Ecology, 101(5), e02993. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2993
House, P. H., Clark, B. L. F., & Allen, L. G. (2016). The return of the king of the kelp forest: Distribution, abundance, and biomass of giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) off Santa Catalina Island, California, 2014–2015. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 121(1), 1–10. https://scasbulletin.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/soca/121/1/article-p1.xml
House, P. H., & Allen, L. G. (2022). Differences in trophic and community structure of kelp forest fishes inside and outside of three long-standing MPAs in the Southern California Bight. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 121(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3160/0038-3872-121.1.1
Miller, R. J., Lafferty, K. D., Lamy, T., Kui, L., Rassweiler, A., & Reed, D. C. (2018). Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, increases faunal diversity through physical engineering. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1874), 20172571. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2571
Ortiz-Villa, E. M., Rassweiler, A., Caselle, J. E., Cavanaugh, K. C., Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Bell, T. W., & Cavanaugh, K. C. (2025). Marine protected areas enhance climate resilience to severe marine heatwaves for kelp forests. Journal of Applied Ecology, 62(9), 2439–2453. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70112
Steneck, R. S., Graham, M. H., Bourque, B. J., Corbett, D., Erlandson, J. M., Estes, J. A., & Tegner, M. J. (2002). Kelp forest ecosystems: Biodiversity, stability, resilience and future. Environmental Conservation, 29(4), 436–459. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892902000322
Sullivan-Stack, J., Aburto-Oropeza, O., Brooks, C. M., Cabral, R. B., Caselle, J. E., Chan, F., Duffy, J. E., Dunn, D. C., Friedlander, A. M., Fulton-Bennett, H. K., Gaines, S. D., Gerber, L. R., Hines, E., Leslie, H. M., Lester, S. E., MacCarthy, J. M. C., Maxwell, S. M., Mayorga, J., McCauley, D. J., Micheli, F., Moffitt, R., Nickols, K. J., Palumbi, S. R., Pearsall, D. R., Pike, E. P., Pikitch, E. K., Sancho, G., Spalding, A. K., Suman, D. O., Sykora-Bodie, S. T., & Grorud-Colvert, K. (2022). A scientific synthesis of marine protected areas in the United States: Status and recommendations. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, Article 849927. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.849927
Sea Caves
California State Water Resources Control Board. (1979). California marine waters: Areas of special biological significance—Reconnaissance survey report: Santa Catalina Island—Subarea I, Los Angeles County (Water Quality Monitoring Report No. 79-6). Division of Planning and Research, Surveillance and Monitoring Section. https://escholarship.org/content/qt7qw5f4ck/qt7qw5f4ck.pdf
Krause, P. R., & Bray, R. N. (1994). Transport of cadmium and zinc to rocky reef communities in feces of the blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis), a planktivorous fish. Marine Environmental Research, 38(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/0141-1136(94)90044-2
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service. (n.d.). Abalone restoration and management in Southern California. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/dam-migration/noaa_abalone_recovery_fact_sheet.pdf
Additional information on the history of the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park / Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve was provided by Dr. Ed Parnell.
Feather Boa Kelp Forest
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (2026, March 27). CDFW finds starvation to be primary cause of increased mortalities in California seabirds. https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/cdfw-finds-starvation-to-be-primary-cause-of-increased-mortalities-in-california-seabirds
Nosal, A. P., Cartamil, D. P., Ammann, A. J., Bellquist, L. F., Ben-Aderet, N. J., Blincow, K. M., Burns, E. S., Chapman, E. D., Freedman, R. M., Klimley, A. P., Logan, R. K., Lowe, C. G., Semmens, B. X., White, C. F., & Hastings, P. A. (2021). Triennial migration and philopatry in the critically endangered soupfin shark (Galeorhinus galeus). Journal of Applied Ecology, 58(8), 1570–1582. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13848
BOFFFs
Evans-Powell, R. T., Hesp, S. A., Denham, A., & Beckley, L. E. (2024). Implications of big, old, fat, fecund, female fish (BOFFFFs) for the reproductive potential of a demersal teleost stock. Fisheries Research, 272, 106934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106934
Marine Room
Aquarium of the Pacific. (2026). Kelp bass. Marine Species Report Card. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/reportcard/info/kelp_bass
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (n.d.). California sheephead. CA Marine Species Portal. https://marinespecies.wildlife.ca.gov/california-sheephead/the-species/
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (n.d.). Kelp bass. CA Marine Species Portal. https://marinespecies.wildlife.ca.gov/kelp-bass
Curtis, D. L., Pearce, C. M., van Dam-Bates, P., Duprey, N. M. T., Cross, S. F., & Cowen, L. L. E. (2023). California sea cucumber (Apostichopus californicus) abundance and movement on a commercial shellfish aquaculture farm. Diversity, 15(8), 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080940
Early-Capistrán, M.-M., Sáenz-Arroyo, A., Cardoso-Mohedano, J. G., Garibay-Melo, G., Koch, V., & Peckham, H. (2018). Complex past, promising future: Baja California’s green sea turtles. dataMares. https://datamares.org/stories/complex-past-promising-future-baja-californias-green-sea-turtles/
Hanna, M. E., Chandler, E. M., Semmens, B. X., Eguchi, T., Lemons, G. E., & Seminoff, J. A. (2021). Citizen-sourced sightings and underwater photography reveal novel insights about green sea turtle distribution and ecology in Southern California. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 671061. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.671061
Monterey Bay Aquarium. (n.d.). Leopard shark. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-the-ocean/animals-a-to-z/leopard-shark
La Jolla Canyon
Ciraolo, A. C., & Snelgrove, P. V. R. (2023). Contrasting benthic ecological functions in deep-sea canyon and non-canyon habitats: Macrofaunal diversity and nutrient cycling. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 197, 104073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104073
Fildani, A. (2017). Submarine canyons: A brief review looking forward. Geology, 45(4), 383–384. https://doi.org/10.1130/focus042017.1
Gastauer, S., Nickels, C. F., & Ohman, M. D. (2022). Body size- and season-dependent diel vertical migration of mesozooplankton resolved acoustically in the San Diego Trough. Limnology and Oceanography, 67(2), 300–313. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11993
Santora, J. A., Zeno, R., Dorman, J. G., & Sydeman, W. J. (2018). Submarine canyons represent an essential habitat network for krill hotspots in a large marine ecosystem. Scientific Reports, 8, 7579. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25742-9
Smith, J. G., & Lindholm, J. (2016). Vertical stratification in the distribution of demersal fishes along the walls of the La Jolla and Scripps submarine canyons, California, USA. Continental Shelf Research, 125, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.07.001
University of California San Diego, Multiscale Ocean Dynamics. (n.d.). Turbulence in La Jolla Canyon. https://www.mod.ucsd.edu/lajollacanyon