Monitoring beach litter is essential for reducing ecological threats towards humans and wildlife. In Monterey Bay, CA information on seasonal and spatial patterns is understudied. Central California's coastal managers require reliable information on debris abundance, distribution, and type, to support policy aimed at reducing litter. We developed a survey method that allowed for trained citizen scientists to quantify the types and abundance of beach litter. Sampling occurred from July 2009-June 2010. Litter abundance ranged from 0.03 to 17.1 items m(-2). Using a mixed model approach, we found season and location have the greatest effect on litter abundance. Styrofoam, the most numerically abundant item, made up 41% of the total amount of litter. Unexpected items included fertilizer pellets. The results of this study provide a baseline on the types and abundance of litter on the central coast and have directly supported policy banning Styrofoam take out containers from local municipalities.

Accurate efficient estimation of actual and potential species distribution is a critical requirement for effective ecosystem-based management and marine protected area design. In this study we tested the applicability of a terrestrial landscape modeling technique in a marine environment for predicting the distribution of ecologically and economically important groundfish, using 3 species of rockfish at Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS) as a model system. Autoclassification of multibeam bathymetry along with georeferenced submersible video transect data of the seafloor and demersal fishes were used to model the abundance and distribution of rockfish. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were created using habitat classification analyses of high-resolution (3 m) digital elevation models combined with fish presence/absence observations. Model accuracy was assessed using a reserved subset of the observation data. The resulting probability of occurrence models generated at 3 m resolution for the entire 120 km 2 study area proved reliable in predicting the distribution of all the species. The accuracies of the models for Sebastes rosaceus, S. flavidus and S. elongatus were 96, 92 and 92%, respectively. The probability of occurrence of S. flavidus and S. rosaceus was highest in the high relief rocky areas and lowest in the low relief, soft sediment areas. The model for S. elongatus had an opposite pattern, with the highest predicted probability of occurrence taking place in the low relief, soft sediment areas and a lower probability of occurrence in the rocky areas. These results indicate that site-specific and species-specific algorithmic habitat classification applied to high-resolution bathymetry data can be used to accurately extrapolate the results from in situ video surveys of demersal fishes across broad areas of habitat.KEY WORDS: Ecosystem-based management · Rockfish · Groundfish · GLMs · Marine protected area · Fishery management Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 415: [247][248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260][261] 2010 Traditional methods of distributional estimates have typically relied upon broad extrapolation from narrowly constrained or sparse data sets, or very costly intense sampling efforts carried out over broad areas (Margules & Austin 1991, Li & Hilbert 2008. However, because the selection of habitats by organisms is nonrandom (Rhodes et al. 2005), habitat conditions important to the occurrence of a species can be used to predict their distribution and aid in the development of management plans (Fernandez et al. 2003).In terrestrial environments, spatially explicit habitat suitability modeling has emerged as an efficient tool for generating accurate patterns and predictions of species abundance and distribution (Austin et al. 1994, Rotenberry et al. 2006, Kleinwachter & Rickfelder 2007, Valavanis et al. 2008. The integration of recent advancements in GIS software , Rotenberry et al. 2006)...

Stationary boundaries of sedentary species may belie dynamic processes that form them. Our aim was to test an implication of an evolving body of theory, that such boundaries are manifestations of complex regulatory dynamics. On rocky shores of British Columbia, large-scale field experiments altered the densities of predatory sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus), causing shifts in the location of the lower vertical boundaries of their prey, sea mussels (Mytilus californianus). While control mussel beds remained unchanged, experimental reductions of sea star densities caused the downward extension of the lower boundaries, and experimental increases in sea stars densities caused the upward recession of the lower boundary well into the zone presumed to be a spatial refuge from predation. Cleared plots prepared within the initial boundaries were recolonized to varying degrees, depending on predator densities. After 30 months, plots on sea star removal sites showed high densities of adult mussels, control plots showed intermediate densities, and sea star addition plots showed only a sparse cover of alternative prey. Observations by divers at high tide showed that as small prey were depleted progressively from removal, to control, to addition sites, correspondingly larger mussels were attacked, including very large individuals comprising the lower boundary of addition sites. The findings contradict classic theory of zonation based on static prey refuges and support an alternative theory in which boundaries are maintained by complex, spatially structured equilibria.

Despite growing demographic diversity in the United States population at large, in the 50 years that the National Science Foundation has been keeping demographic statistics, there has been a continuing lack of diversification in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, leading to growing frustration and a compelling need for both equity and inclusion (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018).Within the geosciences (Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean, and Polar Sciences), there is a current wave of energy and attention to issues of equity and social justice in geoscience spaces that is long overdue. Calls to action (Ali et al., 2020;Morris et al., 2020), publications (e.g., Chen et al., 2020;Marín-Spiotta et al., 2020), personal stories (#BlackAndStem (#BlackAndStem was created by Stephanie Page, PhD; twitter: @ThePurplePage)), new centers (e.g., AGU Ethics and Equity Center), and emerging movements (URGE: https://urgeoscience. org/) are pushing the edges and reforming approaches to broadening participation. This is encouraging, as past strategies to accelerate demographic and ethnocultural representation have not succeeded as hoped. Many existing approaches portray the lack of diversity as a problem of unequal access (e.g., via affordability or as a consequence of structural racism), and/or one of unequal interest, with evidence existing for both perspectives (Dutt, 2020; Posselt, 2020). One mechanism to broaden participation in the geosciences is to

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Recent warnings from scientists suggest there is limited time to enact policies to avert wide-ranging ecological and social damage from climate change. In the United States, discussions about comprehensive national policies to avert climate change have begun, with "Green New Deal" proposals and climate plans put forth by members of Congress and presidential candidates. Oceans are largely absent or separate from these nascent policy proposals. Here, we highlight a policy framework to develop terrestrial and ocean-integrated policies that can complement and enhance terrestrialfocused initiatives focused on four specific sectors: 1) energy; 2) transportation; 3) food security; and 4) habitat restoration. Given political friction and constrained budgets, an integrated policy framework offers greater potential to achieve a portfolio of This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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