Monitoring and Evaluation of Kelp Forest Ecosystems in the MLPA Marine Protected Area Network: 2024-2026

Award Period
to
Award Amount
$3,982,878
Agency Name
UC Sea Grant College Program
Award Number
R/MPA-50A
PI First Name
Jenn
PI Last Name
Caselle
MSI People
Area/s of Research
Climate Change Science
Ecology and Evolution
Marine Conservation, Policy and Education
Abstract

The overarching goal of the project is to inform the evaluation and adaptive management of California's network of MPAs. Our specific goals and objectives are largely defined by the evaluation questions identified in Appendix B of the MPAMAP and refined by the Decadal Evaluation Working Group (DEWG), that pertain to shallow rocky reef and kelp forest ecosystems. Guided by these evaluation questions, our proposed approach includes the following elements: (i) continue long-term kelp forest monitoring, (ii) QA/QC collected data and append to the long-term kelp forest dataset, (iii) use these historic and future datasets to reassess and update statistical analyses on MPA performance conducted for the 2022 Decadal Management Review, (iv) reproduce selected updated graphic and textual summaries of analyses, and (v) document datasets and analysis code and submit to appropriate repositories.