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CALIFORNIA!

FISH- GAME

"CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE THROUGH EDUCATION"

California Fish and Game is a journal devoted to the conser- vation of wildlife. If its contents are reproduced elsewhere, the authors and the California Department of Fish and Game would appreciate being acknowledged.

The free mailing list is limited by budgetary considerations to persons who can make professional use of the material and to libraries, scientific institutions, and conservation agencies. Indi- viduals must state their affiliation and position when submitting their applications. Subscriptions must be renewed annually by returning the postcard enclosed with each October issue. Sub- scribers are asked to report changes in address without delay.

Please direct correspondence, except regarding paid subscrip- tions, to:

CAROL M. FERREL, Editor California Fish and Game 987 Jedsmith Drive Sacramento, California 95819

Individuals and organizations who do not qualify for the free mailing list may subscribe at a rate of $2 per year or obtain individual issues for $0.75 per copy by placing their orders with the Office of Procurement, Documents Section, P.O. Box 20191, Sacramento, California 95820. Money orders or checks should be made out to Office of Procurement, Documents Section. In- quiries regarding paid subscriptions should be directed to the Office of Procurement.

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VOLUME 56

JULY 1970

NUMBER 3

Published Quarterly by

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE RESOURCES AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

RONALD REAGAN, Governor

THE RESOURCES AGENCY

NORMAN B. LIVERMORE, JR., Secretary for Resources

FISH AND GAME COMMISSION

C. RANS PEARMAN, President, San Gabriel

SHERMAN CHICKERING, Vice President PETER T. FLETCHER, Member

San Francisco Rancho Santa Fe

JOSEPH RUSS III, Member TIMOTHY M. DOHENY, Member

Ferndale Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

G. RAY ARNETT, Director

1416 9th Street Sacramento 95814

CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME Editorial Staff

CAROL M. FERREL, Editor-in-Chief Sacramento

STEPHEN J. NICOLA, Editor for Inland Fisheries Sacramento

MERTON N. ROSEN, Editor for Wildlife . Sacramento

HERBERT W. FREY, Editor for Marine Resources Terminal Island

DONALD H. FRY, JR., Editor for Salmon and Steelhead Sacramento

HAROLD K. CHADWICK, Editor for Striped Bass, Sturgeon, and Shad Stockton

(142)

CONTENTS

Page Some Ecological Effects of Discharged Wastes on Marine Life

Richard W. Grigg and Robert S. Kiwala 145

Diversity in Feeding by Brandt's Cormorant Near San Diego

Carl L. Hubbs, Arthur L. Kelley, and Conrad Limbaugh 156

Some Aspects of the Life History of the Santa Ana Sucker, Catos- tomus (Pantosteus) santaanae (Snyder) David W. Greenfield, Stephen T. Ross, and Gary D. Deckert 166

Duck Nesting and Production in the Humboldt Bay Area of Cali- fornia Richard J. Wheeler and Stanley W. Harris 180

The White-tailed Kite in California with Observations of the Santa Barbara Population— Lee B. Waian and Rey C. Stendell 188

California Condor Surveys, 1969

Robert D. Mallette, Fred C. Sibley, W. Dean Carrier,

and John C. Borneman 199

Xotes

Predation on the Purple Urchin by the Leather Star

Richard J. Rosenthall and James R. Chess 203

Western Eange Extension of the Rosethorn Rockfish, Sebastes helvomaadatus (Ayres) Jiro Nishimoto 204

Observation of Mating Behavior of the Striped Perch and Notes on Possible Reproductive Activity of the Rainbow Perch

George D. Edwards 205

Observed Interaction Between Desert Bighorn Sheep, Ovis cana- densis, and Reported Predator Species

Richard A. Weaver and Jerry L. Mensch 206

Waterfowl Botulism in California— 1969 Brian F. Hunter 207

Large Black Bear from Yosemite Neal G. Guse, Jr. 208

Occurrence of a Flamingo at Tomales Bay— Richard J. Wheeler 209

Book Reviews 211

(143)

CHANGE OF EDITORSHIP

With this issue. Carol M. Forrel of the "Wildlife Management Branch assumes the duties of Editor-in-Chief of California Fish and Game.

Mr. Ferrel's assumption of the editorship follows the department's policy of rotating the editorship of its quarterly technical journal be- tween staff members representing Wildlife Management, Inland Fish- eries, and Marine Fisheries.

Mr. Ferrel, whose position is "Wildlife Management Supervisor, has served as Editor for Wildlife with the publication for many years and from 1958-62 was Editor-in-Chief.

Under his guidance, the journal will continue its policy of present- ing to the public the results of scientific investigations as they relate to management programs and the conservation of California fish and wild- life resources.

Mr. Ferrel will be ably assisted in his duties by five associate editors : Stephen J. Nicola, Inland Fisheries; Merton N. Rosen, Wildlife Man- agement; Herbert W. Frey, Marine Resources; and Donald H. Fry, Jr. and Harold K. Chadwick, Anadromous Fisheries.

To Mr. Shapovalov, Editor-in-Chief the past 4 years, we wish to ex- press our appreciation for a job well done. — G. Ray Arnett, Director California Department of Fish and Game.

(144)

Calif. Fish and Game, 56 (3) : 145-155, 1970

SOME ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DISCHARGED WASTES ON MARINE LIFE1

RICHARD W. GRIGG2 University of California at San Diego

and

ROBERT S. KIWALA

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

San Diego, California

The number of macroscopic species present at five stations ranging in depths from 45 to 65 ft off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, near San Pedro, California, was negatively correlated to the amount of fine grain or- ganic-laden sand present in the sediment. Organic rich sediments were thickest at stations near the outfall. Accumulation of this material at these depths appears to have modified or covered substrates otherwise suitable for the settlement of many epibenthic species.

INTRODUCTION

Every day approximately one billion gallons of sewage are dis- charged into the shallow nearshore marine environment in southern California. Despite the volume of this effluent, little is known about its ecological effects (Turner, Ebert, and Given, 1966, 1968; California State Water Quality Control Board, 1965; North, 1963).

The largest sewerage system in southern California in terms of dis- charge is the Los Angeles sewer outfall at "White Point, Palos Verdes Peninsula (near San Pedro, California) where approximately 360 million gallons are discharged daily. The depth of the outfall terminus and diffusers ranges between 165 and 195 ft. Treatment is primary. The Los Angeles County Sanitation District began discharging sewage effluent at White Point in 1934 at a rate of 17 m.g.d. A gradual in- crease in this rate has continued until the present time. Design capacity is 450 m.g.d.

In 1954, the Institute of Marine Eesources (I.M.R.) of the Univer- sity of California contracted to study the effects of oceanic disposal on the nearshore environment at White Point. This study included a survey of the effect of effluent on the biology of the area. The present paper describes the results of a recent survey (June, 1969) that par- tially duplicated this program. The purpose was to collect comparable data, and to examine these in order to detect possible long term eco- logical changes.

METHODS

Detectable changes in the epibenthic communities living on rocky substrates around the outfall were estimated by Conrad Limbaugh (unpublished I.M.R. report) to cover a distance of f to 2 miles of coastline in 1954. To determine whether the effect of the outfall has either changed or spread, five diving stations were selected at locations

1 Accepted for publication March 1970.

* Present address : Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hono- lulu, Hawaii.

(145)

146

CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME

from 1.5 miles south to 6.5 miles north of the outfall (Figure 1). More southerly stations were not selected because of an inappropriate sub- strate and the proximity to Los Angeles Harbor at San Pedro. At each station quantitative counts (numbers per m-) of macroscopic (visible

LOS ANGELES SEWERAGE SURVEY WHITE POINT OUTFALL

DEPTH CURVES IN FATHOMS

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FIGURE 1. Location of stations on the Palos Verdes Peninsula near San Pedro, California.

to scuba divers) epibenthos were made at previously marked random points along a 50 m transect line placed on the bottom. This method gives estimates of abundance as well as information about distribu- tional pattern (Grigg, ms.). Qualitative estimates of the abundances of common organisms over much larger areas, collections, sediment cores, and photographs also were obtained at each station. In the laboratory cores were shaken and allowed to settle. The thickness of a layer of very fine sand C""0.1 mm) laden with organic matter was measured in each sample (Figure 2, Table 1). Organic matter was adsorbed to the surfaces of most sand grains of this size.

RESULTS

The thickest layers of organic laden sediment were found at stations near the outfall (Table 1). In 1954, in an area covering 0.2 square miles around the outfall, D. L. Inman and E. D. Goldberg (unpub-

EFFECTS OF DISCHARGED WASTES

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lished I.M.K. report) found concentrations of organic matter in the surface sediment (upper 5 cm) at least three times greater than normal. In the present study, the highest concentration was observed at Station III, where the smallest number of species (24) was counted. At Station V, where organic laden sediments were least apparent, the greatest number of species was observed (65). Of these, three were algae; com- pared to seven reported by Strachen and Koski (1969) at the same station at 60 ft in March of 1966. The commercially important species; abalone, spiny lobster, and giant kelp were not observed at Station V. Xo fish suffering from aberrations as described by Young (1964) were seen at any station.

Six species, the tube anemone, Pachycerianthus sp. ; Kellet's whelk, Kelletia kelleti; the short-spined starfish, Pisastcr brevispinus ; the common rock crab, Cancer antennarius ; the bat starfish, Patiria mini- atci; and the yellow-green sea slug, Hermissenda crassicornis were rela- tively more abundant at those stations containing high amounts of organic rich sediment (Tables 2 and 3). Conversely, species that were absent or relatively rare at stations where organic laden sediments were thickest, were more common in areas where sediments were thin- nest. These included the algae, Dictyopt* ris sp. and Rhodymenia sp., the invertebrates, the southern California cucumber, Parastichopus calif ornicus ; the red sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus ; the purple sea urchin, 8. purpuratus; the purple starfish, Pisaster ochra- ceus; and the giant keyhole limpet, Megathura crenulata.

DiSCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Underwater observations of sublittoral rocky bottom communities in the vicinity of the Los Angeles Sewer Outfall at White Point indicate that large scale ecological changes have occurred in this area. In June 1969, many economically important species that normally occur over rocky substrates at depths from 45 to 65 ft, such as the kelp. Macro- cystis pyrifera, spiny lobster, abalone, and many species of fish were either rare or absent (Table 2). A survey of this area in 1954 by Lim- baugh (unpublished I.M.K. report) indicated that similar effects from the outfall were detectable along f to 2 miles of coastline. The length of coastline affected in 1969 was about 6 miles, at least three times greater than in 1954.

Certain similarities between the 1954 and 1969 survey are apparent (Table 4). In both, seaweeds normally abundant on solid substrates between 45 and 65 ft were almost absent. Species directly or indirectly dependent on marine algae as a basic food source were limited in num- ber. In 1956, the black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii, taken at White Point, were stunted and the meat was flaccid (Young, 1964). Since little plant material was present, reduced growth of the abalone was primarily attributed to starvation. The most abundant species at White Point in 1969 appear to be those capable of utilizing particulate organic matter (Figure 3).

The almost complete absence of algae at depths from 45 to 65 ft appears to be due to deposits on the bottom which have modified or covered an otherwise suitable substrate. At depths less than 30 ft, how- ever, wave activity may keep fine grained material in suspension. At

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TABLE 3 Abundance of Species (Nombers/m2) *

Species	Transect It	Transect II	Transect III	Transect IV	Transect V
Dictyopteris sp.	.55 .25 .25 35% .05 .05 .05 .25	2.20 .10 .10 .60 40% .50 .10 .10 .40 .20 .10 .10	0.80 1.80 1.30 0.10 0.30 0.10 0.70	0.30 0.10 0.60 1.50 40% 0.40 2.60 0.80 1.80 0.20 0.80	0.60

Muricea calif ornica-	0.40
Muricea fruticosa	0.10


Corynactis californicaX
	0.60
Cypraea spadicea -
Kelletia kelleti	.20

A straea undosa
Pholads.. -
Hermi88enda crassicornis Parastichopus calif ornicus Cancer antennarius	0.80

Pisaster brevispinus
Pisaster ochraceus	1.70
Strongylocentrotus franciscanus.. Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Scorpaena guttata . .	3.60 0.60

* All transects covered 10 mJ, except Transect I, which covered 20 m!. t Transect Numbers Correspond to Station Numbers. X Density given by % cover.

TABLE 4 Comparisons of Species Abundance at White Point in 1954 and 1969

Species	Species	Species	Species
more abundant than	more abundant than	more abundant than	less abundant than
expected	expected	expected	expected
in 1954 and 1969	in 1954 only	in 1969 only	in 1954 and 1969
Pisaster brevispinus	Strongylocentrotus	Cancer antennarius	Egregia laevigata
Patiria miniata	franciscanus	Cancer anthonyi	Eisenia sp.
Pachycerianthus	Strongylocentrotus	Kelletia kelleti	Pelvetia sp.
	purpuratus	H ermissenda crassicornis	Macrocystis pyrifera
	Haliotis assimilis	Sebastes serranoides	Haliotis corrugata
	Pycnopodia	Sebastes mystinus	Haliotis fulgena
	helianthoides		Haliotis rufescens
	Pisaster giganteus		A straea undosa
	Sebastes paucispinis		Panulirus interruptus Rhacochilus vacca Rhacochilus toxotes Girella nigricans Paralabrax clathratus Pimelometopon pulchrum Embiotoca jacksoni Halichoeres semicintus Oxylebius pictus Heterostichus rostratus Hypsypops rubicunda Oxyjulis californiai Scorpaena guttata Coryphopterus nicholsi

154 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME

these depths, North (1963) did no1 find substantia] accumulation of fine sediments al While Poinl and attributed the absence of gianl kelp there in benthic grazing by the red and purple sea urchins. At greater depths in L969, we found these urchins to be either rare or absent ;it Stations I-IV (Table 2), and abundant only at Station V (Table 3). At Station II, most individuals were characterized \<\ stunted and thickened primary spines. Many appeared moribund. It is not likely, therefore, thai the absence of algae near the outfall at these depths in 1969 can be attributed to the grazing activities of urchins.

Datii collected during the 1969 survey show that the number of species enumerated at each station is negatively correlated with the amount of fine grain organic laden sediment present in the cores (Ken- dall Tau Correlation Coefficient, — 0.80, p. =z 0.10). Fish appear to be particularly affected (Table 1). The reduction of benthic species is probably due to decreased settlement and survival of their larvae caused by fine grained sediments which cover the bottom. Since these benthic species make up the diet of many resident fishes, numbers of resident fishes in turn would be expected to decline. In an 8-year study of southern California kelp bed resources, it was found that the diversity (number of species) of fish was not altered significantly by the pres- ence or absence of giant kelp but rather was positively correlated with the degree of bottom relief (North and Hubbs, 1968). Since the bottom topography at White Point has not changed, the decline of fishes there,

FIGURE 3. At Station I, bottom sediments including fine grained sand laden with organic matter, courser sand and shell debris, covered most of the bottom. Sediments ranged between 1 and 10 cm in thickness. The filter feeders Muricea californica and Pachycerianthus sp. were abundant. Photograph by R. Grigg.

EFFECTS OF DISCHARGED WASTES 155

if not caused directly by toxic waste products, may indicate that relief is more important as a substrate for food rather than a source of shelter or a point of orientation.

In Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors which are protected from wave activity. Reish (1959) considered the most important factors eli- minating algae to be toxic effects of pollutants, elimination of suitable substrates, and decreased productivity resulting from increased water turbidity. It is not known to what extent toxic pollutants and increased turbidity affect marine life at White Point; however, where deposits of fine grained organic laden sediments do accumulate, the modification or elimination of suitable substrates appears to be a major factor reduc- ing the diversity of epibenthic communities on rocky bottoms.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to thank John McGowan for stimulating this work; E. W. Fager for critically reading the manuscript; John Prescott for provid- ing launching facilities at Marineland of the Pacific ; Wheeler North, Charles Turner, Rim Fay. and Donald Reish for stimulating discus- sions; Virginia Moore for preparing the figure; and Linda Merritt for typing the manuscript.

REFERENCES

California State Water Quality Control Board. 1965. An Oceanographic and bio- logical survey of the southern California mainland shelf. State Water Quality Control Board, Publ. (27) :l-232. (Work done by Allan Hancock Foundation under contracl I

Institute of Marine Resources. 1954. An oceanographic investigation of conditions in the vicinity of White Point and Hyperion sewage outfalls. Los Angeles, Cali- fornia. Unpublished manuscript. 115 p.

North, Wheeler J. 1963. An investigation of the effects of discharged wastes on kelp. State Water Quality Control Board. Publ. (26) :1-124.

North. Wheeler J., and Carl L. Hubbs. 1968. Utilization of kelp-bed resources in southern California. Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game, Fish Bull., 139:1-264.

Reish, Donald J. 1959. An ecological study of pollution in Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, California. Allan Hancock Found. Publ., Occas. papers, 22 :1— 119.

Strachen, Alec R., and Robert T. Koski. 1969. A survey of algae off Palos Verdes Point, California. Calif. Fish and Game. 55(1) :47-52.

Turner, Charles H.. Farl E. Ebert. and Robert R. Given. 1966. The marine environ- ment in the vicinity of the Orange County Sanitation District's ocean outfall. Calif. Fish and Game, 52(1) :28-48.

. 1968. The marine environment offshore from Point Loma, San Diego

County. Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game, Fish Bull., 140:1-79.

Young. Park H. 1964. Some effects of sewer effluent on marine life. Calif. Fish and Game, 50(1) :33-^l.

Calif. Fi.ih and Game, T.6 (3) : 156-165, 1970.

DIVERSITY IN FEEDING BY BRANDT'S CORMORANT

NEAR SAN DIEGO1

CARL L. HUBBS, ARTHUR L. KELLY, and CONRAD LIMBAUGH 2 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

Brandt's cormorants feed on diverse assemblages of fish species, in a wide variety of habitats. They feed in dense kelp beds and in open water; in midwater; on the bottom, sometimes rather deep; and near the surface. Each day the birds move out en masse from fixed roosts. Mass flights to different feeding areas may be abruptly alternated on a time scale of a few days. This species, like some other cormorants, sometimes feeds singly or in small groups, often mixed with other bird species; but at times feeds in huge compact rafts of seemingly frantic birds, all of this species. These rafts move, apparently following schools of fish, by the repeated flight of groups of birds from the trailing edge to the very front of the raft. Both large and smail fish are consumed, most of which are of limited commercial significance. Cormorants are very ac- complished underwater swimmers, making use of their feet only.

INTRODUCTION

Studies carried out over the past 25 years in the vicinity of San Diego, California, indicate sharp diversity in the feeding habitats and food of Brandt's cormorant. Phalacrocorax penicillatus (Brandt). Though incidental and intermittent, the field observations and food analyses show that this cormorant feeds effectively in several distinct habitats, wherein different assemblages of fish species are consumed.

The vernacular names of fishes follow "A List of Common and Sci- entific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada," American Fisheries Society Special Publication No. 2, 1960. in conformity with the editorial policy of this journal.

The diversity in feeding behavior of Brandt's cormorants was im- pressed on one of us (C.L.H.) in 1944-48, when he almost daily watched the movements of this species from and to their crowded roost on the nearly vertical cliffs between and above the famed La Jolla Caves (Williams, 1942; Martini. I960). Most of the observing was done with binoculars from Scripps Institution, approximately 1 mile north of the Caves, on the coast in the northern part of San Diego.

In those happy years, before the swarming activities of man and the alarming increase in the pollution of coastal waters by pesticides and other pollutants, approximately 2.000 cormorants, about 99% Brandt's and 1% double-crested, Phalacrocorax auritus aloociliatus Kidgway. occupied this rookery. In this very picturesque habitat, they provided a prime attraction that has dwindled almost to the level of disappear- ance. Strikingly marked reduction was observed as early as May 1961, when the cliffs were utilized largely by western gulls, Larus occiden- talis Audubon. Brandt's cormorants soon returned in moderate num- bers, with some seasonal fluctuations in comparison with the other

1 Contribution from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California,

Sao Diego. Accepted for publication February 1970. 'Deceased 1960.

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FEEDING BY BRANDT 's CORMORANT 157

species of cormorants and other sea birds, as noted for 1962 by Martini (1966), who gave a maximum estimate of about 400 Brandt's cormo- rants on the Caves cliff.

In the 1940 's, Brandt's cormorants crowded onto every available ledge to which a bird could cling on the nearly vertical cliff face. Con- siderable numbers nested, though there were not nearly enough suitable ledges to provide nesting sites for all. That many did nest here seems an exception to the rule stated by Jared Verner (in Palmer, 1962) that this species nests "almost always on sloping (not precipitous) surfaces." As Williams (1942) noted, this sheer-cliff nesting