Project Description: Conservation Science for the CCS

Design of a Marine Reserve Network for the CCS
PRBO Conservation Science will map the distribution and abundance of top predators with those of their prey by season and year. Our attention will focus on “hot spots”, features known to constitute important foraging habitats of pelagic seabirds, mammals, and large predatory fishes.

Central California coastal promontory and underwater sea mount sites (upwelling and ocean productivity centers).

Our primary product will be a report tentatively titled: "A Regional Plan for Offshore Marine Protected Areas and Marine Reserves in the California Current System" to be published in March 2006. This report will include science-based recommendations on the design and implementation of a marine reserve network for the California Current marine ecosystem.

Design of a Farallon Archipelago Marine Reserve
The Farallones hosts the largest and most diverse marine bird and mammal assemblage in the contiguous United States. Essentially, the Farallones are the "Galapagos of the Northeast Pacific," an area of remarkable biological significance that is unparalleled in diversity and abundance anywhere along the U.S. West Coast. PRBO will provide scientific justification and design considerations for a Farallon Archipelago Marine Reserve.


Conceptual Design for a Farallon Archipelago Marine Reserve.

Our primary product will be a technical proposal and implementation action plan for the Farallon Archipelago Marine Reserve to be published in March 2006.

Dissemination of the California Current Marine Bird Conservation Plan
The California Current System Marine Bird Adaptive Conservation Plan (CCS Plan) is a multi-species adaptive conservation plan for marine birds inhabiting the California Current System from southern British Columbia to Baja California. The objectives of the CCS Plan are to synthesize critical anthropogenic, environmental and biological information needed to ensure healthy and diverse marine bird communities in the California Current ecosystem and to provide novel and up-to-date science-based recommendations to federal and state ecosystem management agencies in the region.

The goal of the CCS Plan is long-term conservation of Pacific seabirds. The CCS Plan is a multi-species plan, focused on the ecosystem in which these species live, and the issues and threats that affect their reproduction and survival.
The CCS Plan is currently under review and is scheduled for publication within the next 5 months.

Related Links:
Project Background

Return to Initiative Home Page