Collection Data

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

Crustacea / Southern California Coastal Water Research Project / 60 m Survey

Section Responsible for Processing

MBC

Significance

This survey identified possible control areas for contrast with existing municipal wastewater discharge sites and was to define the apparent normal variations in the chemistry and biology of the fine sediment areas covering much of the mainland shelf.

Background

Sponsored by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP).
Word, J.Q., and A.J. Mearns. 1979. Results of a 60-meter synoptic survey. TM229, Coastal Water Research Project, El Segundo, California.
Word, J.Q., and A.J. Mearns. 1978. The 60-Meter Control Survey. In Annual Report, 1978, Coastal Water Research Project, pp. 41-56, El Segundo, California.
Word, J.Q., A.J. Mearns and M.J. Allen. 1977. Better Control Stations: The 60-Meter Survey. In Annual Report, 1977, Coastal Water Research Project, pp. 89-97, El Segundo, California.

Collection Location and Dates

Seventy-one benthic infaunal samples, 71 chemistry samples, 53 trawl samples, and 67 water quality samples were taken at 71 stations between Point Conception, California and the U.S./Mexico border between 28 April and 9 August 1977. The stations were located at intervals of approximately 10 km along the 360 km of coastline at a depth of approximately 60 meters. See map for the station locations.

Taxonomic Contents

Over 37,000 specimens representing 710 species of animals were found in the 71 biological grab samples taken during this survey. Generally, the fauna was dominated by polychaetes (303 species), crustaceans (194 species), molluscs (135 species) and echinoderms (30 species). The 53 trawl samples taken in this survey contained over 23,500 specimens of vertebrates (representing 64 species and 22 families of sharks, rays and bony fishes) and nearly 20,400 specimens of invertebrates (representing 224 species). The most abundant species were the following:
Urchin, Lytechinus anamesus 10,801 (no. of individuals)
Stripetail rockfish, Sebastes saxicola 8,074
Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus 5,895
Ridgeback prawn, Sicyonia ingentis 5,663
Calico rockfish, Sebastes dalli 2,812
Plainfin midshipman, Porichthys notatus 1,507
Sandstar, Astropecten verrilli 1,478
Speckled sanddab, Citharichthys stigmaeus 1,076
Tellowchin sculpin, Icelinus quadriseriatus 736

Documentation

Most materials about these collections which are available from the Polychaetes library shelves have been scanned and OCR’d. Refer to the Collection Images below for PDFs.

Description of Collection

These wet preserved specimens were originally fixed in 10% formalin and stored in 70% ethanol. The collection has been sorted to phylum or order, transferred to cotton stoppered vials and incorporated into the appropriate invertebrate section’s holdings.

Collection Inventory

The collection was originally contained in approximately 12 small cardboard boxes each containing 120 vials. It has been curated and incorporated into the appropriate taxonomic collections.

Collection Assets

Date View or Retrieve File Information
03/21/2007 View [1365.7 kB] Collection after processing.
10/25/2005 View [446.3 kB] Station locations map image, 60-meter survey, 1977.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [780.7 kB] History of SCCWRP - overview.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [45096.7 kB] SCCWRPS Biennial Report, 1983-1984, edited by Willard Bascom, Sediment and Biological Conditions on Coastal Slopes (Bruce E. Thompson, Jeffrey N. Cross, Jimmy D. Laughlin, G. Patrick Hershelman, Richard W. Gossett, and David T. Tsukada, pages 32 - 67.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [124666.1 kB] TM229, June 1979; 60 m Control Survey off Southern California, 64 pp., prepared by Jack Q. Word and Alan J. Mearns
10/25/2005 Retrieve [42926.8 kB] Coastal Water Research Project, Annual Report for the year 1978, edited by Willard Bascom, 17 pages.
10/25/2005 Retrieve [28324.8 kB] Coastal Water Research Project, Annual Report for the year 1977, 10 pages, “Better Control Stations: the 60-meter survey,” by Jack Q. Word, Alan J. Mearns, and M. James Allen.
08/24/2005 View [316.3 kB] Collections before processing.
08/24/2005 View [342.4 kB] Collections before processing.
08/24/2005 View [410.8 kB] Collections before processing.

Curatorial Status (Click to view)