History of the CHS
The
Center for Habitat Studies was established as a geophysical institute
of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) in 1994 to characterize and
map marine benthic habitats and marine and coastal geohazards. Since
that time it has grown into a geological and biological research facility
that is among the world leaders in the field of deep-water marine benthic
habitat mapping. The primary focus of the Center is two-fold: 1) to
distinguish and map marine deep-water habitats for the purpose of managing
commercially important fish stocks and sustaining demersal fisheries,
and 2) to characterize seafloor morphology and geology. Scientists at
the Habitat Center have broad experience in the collection and analysis
of data necessary for habitat studies of demersal fishes and invertebrates
and in mapping the seafloor using a variety of marine geophysical tools.
The
Habitat Center is an interpretive institute that uses digital multibeam
bathymetric data (bathymetry xyz and backscatter data), analog and digital
side-scan sonographs, seismic reflection profiles, and other geophysical
data to construct various thematic maps. Types of maps include: bathymetric
artificial sun-shaded relief, geologic, geomorphic, geologic structure
and hazards, habitat, slope inclination, roughness derivative and other
specialty maps.
The Center's facility is well appointed for mapping
projects. It is located in the MLML Norte building on the spit at Moss
Landing and contains multiple computers, scanners, plotters and printers
capable of producing publication quality maps in large sizes. GIS software
such as ArcView © and ArcInfo © are used in data compilation,
digitizing, and display. A variety of software is used to georeference
(TNT MIPS ©) and produce “fly-throughs” (ERDAS Imagine
©) of various digital data. The Habitat Center also has a modern
video lab stocked with the latest video editing equipment. In addition,
a digital side-scan system (100 kHz Kline system), cores and sediment
samplers are available for data collection.
Under
the direction of Dr. H. Gary Greene, the Center for Habitat Studies
at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories has produced habitat maps and GIS
products for a wide variety of state and federal fisheries management
agencies (e.g., Alaska Department of Fish and Game, California Department
of Fish and Game, and several regional laboratories of the National
Marine Fisheries Service), academic institutions (e.g., California State
University at Monterey Bay and University of California at Santa Barbara),
and private organizations, including MCI-WorldCom. All equipment necessary
to undertake the following tasks is contained at the Center for Habitat
Studies: processing side-scan sonar and mulitbeam bathymetry, construction
of geologic, bathymetric, and habitat maps, and production of professional
map and GIS products. These capabilities enable the completion of multi-stage
projects without the need for outside contractors. After seafloor imagery
is processed, Dr. Greene, who has over 15 years of experience in construction
of habitat maps, interprets geology and derivative habitat types. Dr.
Greene is senior author of “A Classification Scheme for Deep Seafloor
Habitats” published in Oceanologica Acta (1999), a seminal work
in the field of seafloor characterization. This scheme is a well-cited
standard for habitat characterization among fisheries biologists. It
has been recently expanded to include nearshore and tropical habitats
and to facilitate incorporation into GIS products. Dr. Greene has established
long-standing collaborations with fisheries biologists throughout the
US Pacific and is therefore uniquely qualified to construct map products
that cater to these interests.
Habitat Studies of Commercially Important Fishes
The
Center for Habitat Studies has recently expanded its capabilities to
facilitate the determination of habitat associations for commercially
important marine fishes. As mandated by the 1996 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, “Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)”
must be identified for all species that are fishery targets in order
to facilitate the construction of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for
effective management. The Center for Habitat Studies is uniquely qualified
to undertake these studies because of its extensive history of work
in the field of fisheries-related habitat mapping (see above) and its
recent incorporation of fisheries biologists with expertise in habitat
studies. Capabilities include: spatial analysis of habitat data, video
analysis of habitat types, invertebrates and fishes (e.g., identification
and enumeration as well as determination of distribution, relative abundance,
and density), statistical analysis, and production of figures, tables,
and completed reports or manuscripts. Projects incorporating both habitat
mapping and subsequent evaluation of fish-habitat associations are now
possible. Two such projects are currently in progress with funding from
for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and NMFS-Auke Bay Marine
Laboratory.
