Collection Data

Page Contents: Section | Significance | Background | Location & Dates | Taxonomic Contents | Documentation | Description of Collection | Collection Inventory | Collection Assets

Mineral Management Service / CAMP (California Phase II Monitoring Program)

Section Responsible for Processing

MBC

Significance

This collection comes from the second phase of a three-phase study of oil lease tracts in southern California. Phase I, also held by this museum, was the baseline study. Phase II was a monitoring study and resulted in the production of the 14 volume “Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and western Santa Barbara Channel” published by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Our Phase II holdings consist of the bulk collections, specimens identified to the Lowest Possible Taxonomic Level (LPIL) which were separated into vials by taxon and station. Initial taxonomy was done by regional experts and verified by additional experts for each group including NHMLAC personnel. Two sets of voucher specimens were produced. The primary set was given to the Smithsonian Institution (USNM) and the secondary to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH). More than 30% of the taxa were either undescribed or new to the region. Types of the new species were distributed between the USNM, SBMNH, and this museum. Our holdings of Phase I & II specimens represent an excellent snap-shot in time of rocky and soft bottom fauna of local oil production areas, as well as the best possible regional taxonomy.

Background

This project is more commonly referred to by the acrynom MMS-CAMP (MMS Contract No. 14-12-0001-30262). This program was designed to monitor potential environmental changes at a series of regional stations and at two arrays of site-specific stations near oil production platforms in the Western Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Maria Basin region of the California OCS. Platform Hidalgo (Lease P-0450) off Point Arguello was selected for hard-bottom, site-specific monitoring, and the site of the proposed (but never built) Platform Julius (Lease P-0409) off Point Sal was selected for soft-bottom, site-specific monitoring. Specific objectives of the program were: (1) to detect and measure potential long-term (or short-term) changes in the marine environment adjancent to oil and gas platforms, and (2) to determine whether changes observed in the marine environment during the monitoring period are caused by drilling-related activities or are a product of natural processes.

As a federally-funded project, the organisms resulting from these studies were destined to go to the National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Leslie Harris (Polychaete Collections Manager) was involved in all three phases of the project prior to her coming to the Museum. While employed by the Allan Hancock Foundation (AHF-USC) she persuaded Dr. Meredith Jones, head of the MMS collection unit at the Smithsonian, that the bulk-collection specimens should be left on the west coast for the benefit of local taxonomists and more specifically, donated to the AHF-USC (polychaetes) and NHMLAC (all non-polychaetes). In 1988 the polychaetes were given to the NHMLAC as part of the larger AHF-USC Polychaete Collection donation.

Collection Location and Dates

This material was collected off California, Western Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Maria Basin, from a grid of 98 stations between Point Estero and Gaviota from 1986 to 1988. Depths ranged from 50 to 930 m. One to 4 box cores were taken in soft sediments at each station. Latitude and longitude data are available for each station. See attached map.

Taxonomic Contents

886 benthic soft-bottom taxa representing 15 phyla were collected during MMS-CAMP. The number was expected to change as revisions were made during Phase III. Most of these are now at the Museum, minus those species represented by single specimens which were taken for the voucher collections. Polychaetes and crustaceans (mostly peracarids) were the most abundant, followed by molluscs and other phyla.

Documentation

All available supporting documentation is available for review on this site. Hard-copies hard-copies of original documentation and subsequent reports are available in Polychaetes.

Description of Collection

The material arrived in 4 to16 oz squat jars, each holding multiple 0.25 to 6 dram shell vials of taxa identified to the LPIL and separated by station and replicate. Material was field fixed in 10% formalin/sea water and later transferred to 70% ethanol for long-term storage.

Collection Inventory

Polychaetes, crustaceans, molluscs, and echinoderms reside appropriate museum sections. All other phyla are stored in the Polychaete Section.

The crustaceans arrived in 109, 16 oz. squat jars, each containing approximately 20 to 150 0.25 dram shell vials identified to LPIL, and were not re-curated into taxon jars and integrated into the general collection for several years. Polychaetes were separated and integrated upon arrival; no inventory was done at the time. All other phyla have now been separated by taxon and are in ~230 jars.

Collection Assets

Date View or Retrieve File Information
03/21/2007 View [655.8 kB] Amphipoda specimens after processing.
03/21/2007 View [1360.6 kB] Cumacea specimens after processing.
03/21/2007 View [1522.7 kB] Tanaidacea specimens after processing.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1170.3 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 1-1 of the California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, December 5, 1986, 25 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1577.4 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 1-2 of the California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, February 18, 1987, 33 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [3143.7 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 1-3, Leg 1, Leg 2, and Leg 3, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, June 22, 1987, 66 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1624.9 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 2-4, Leg 1 and Leg 2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, February 19, 1988, 36 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1584.4 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 2-5, Leg 1 and Leg 2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, June 28, 1988, 34 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1049.0 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 3-1, Leg 1 and Leg 2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, November 11, 1988, 26 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [382.7 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 3-2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, January 3, 1989, 12 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [245.1 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 3-3, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, March 8, 1989, 6 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1914.7 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 3-4, Leg 1 and leg 2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, May 3 -24, 1989, 48 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [1077.5 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 1-3, Leg 4; MMS Cruise CAMP 2-1, 2-2, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, August 21, 1987, James F. Campbell, Dane Hardin, David Cacchione, 29 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [3897.5 kB] Cruise report for MMS Cruise CAMP 2-3, Leg 1, Leg 2, and Leg 3, California OCS Phase II Monitoring Program, December 10, 1987, 80 pages.
08/24/2005 View [365.7 kB] Material before processing.
08/24/2005 View [350.4 kB] Material before processing.

Curatorial Status (Click to view)