Current Projects

Surface Waters Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) established a new program (Surface Waters Ambient Monitoring Program or SWAMP) to implement comprehensive environmental monitoring in all of California’s watersheds. The focus is to provide the information the SWRCB and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) need to effectively manage the State’s water resources for a wide range of beneficial uses. SWAMP was developed in response to Assembly Bill 982, as it relates to the implementation of the requirements of Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), and other applicable federal regulations, and monitoring and assessment programs. SWAMP is a collaborative effort with the SWRCB, RWQCBs, CDFG, USGS and several contractors. MPSL-MLML will primarily be involved with overall data management and logistical support for the state, but field and laboratory activities may be required. Initial fieldwork began in the fall of 2001 and is an ongoing project.

MPSL-MLML also wrote a report on the environmental condition of Central Coast (RWQCB 3) harbors. The report can be found at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/swamp/docs/reglrpts/rb3_harborreport.pdf.

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California Invasive Species Survey (ISS) - Project 2

The Marine Invasive Species Act of 2003 stipulates that CDFG must conduct ongoing surveys along California's coast in order to document the distribution of non-indigenous aquatic species. This work is, in part, a continuation of an effort begun in 2000 by MPSL-MLML and CDFG's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to survey major ports and estuaries in the state for non-indigenous aquatic species. The current 5-year study will include a re-survey of the ports and estuaries surveyed in 2000 as well as a more intensive survey in San Francisco bay and, for the first time, a comprehensive survey of California's outer coast. The project will involve both field collections and a comprehensive literature review to create a database that will include information on all known non-indigenous aquatic species in the marine and estuarine waters of the state. Field work along the outer coast of California was conducted in 2004. Intertidal and subtidal habitats at 22 outer coast sites were surveyed. San Francisco Bay was surveyed in depth in 2005. Two side projects in San Diego Bay and the San Juoaquin Delta were also sampled in 2005. A repeat of ISS - Project I focusing on bays and estuaries was conducted in 2006. A re-sample of the Outer Coast stations will occur in 2007. The overall ISS effort includes the participation of the MLML Benthic Ecology lab and a number of specialized taxonomists throughout the state. The final report for the Outer Coast sampling in 2004 as well as additional information regarding this project can be found at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/organizational/scientific/exotic/MISMP.htm.

Fish Tissue Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) in San Francisco Bay

Based on results from a 1994 Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program (BPTCP) pilot study of fish tissue contamination, a long term monitoring effort of sport fish from San Francisco Bay is being conducted. This work is incorporated as a regular component of the San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (RMP), which is managed by SFEI. MPSL-MLML is involved in the study design, sample collection, and tissue homogenization. MPSL-DFG conducts the mercury analyses and DFG-WPCL will conduct the organics analyses. This work has resulted in the issuance of fish consumption advisories by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), a number of technical reports and conference presentations, and peer-reviewed journal publications. MPSL-MLML conducted the 2006 survey last year with good success. A Cruise Report has been submitted to SFEI and all of the tissue samples have been sent to the labs for analysis.

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Western EMAP (WEMAP)

This project began as a five-year multi-state effort to assess near-coastal ecosystem health of the West Coast (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii) according to methods and procedures developed under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). In California, a four-year multi-agency cooperative study is managed by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) and includes partners from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), and MPSL (MLML, DFG, and UC Davis). The first year effort (1999) was dedicated to a probabilistic survey of California coastal bays and estuaries. Year two (2000), which was a cooperative effort with the EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), focused on a probabilistic survey of 200 stations in San Francisco Bay. Year three (2002) focused on a probabilistic survey of intertidal wetlands, and year four (2003) focused on a probabilistic survey of offshore (20-200 meters) near-coast stations. This work was conducted on the NOAA ship MacArthur II. We conducted a special study in Morro Bay in late 2003. Water, sediment, and fish samples were collected.

In 2004, we conducted another round of WEMAP sampling in California's bays and estuaries. This sampling was a repeat of years 1 (1999) and 2 (2000) in which we visited the same areas but new stations were sampled. Water and sediment samples were collected at 49 stations with trawling for fish occurring at 31 of those stations.

Fund were allocated to conduct additional sampling in bays and estuaries in 2005 and 2006. Water and sediment samples (n=32) were collected each year with trawling for flatfish species conducted at each station. This was the last sampling under WEMAP.

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EPA Genetics Survey

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Cincinnati, Ohio funded the collection of estuarine introduced (non-native) species along the West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia). MPSL-MLML collected specimens throughout California's major bays and estuaries in 2006. This work will support the task of making community-wide comparisons of invasion pathways across Pacific coast estuaries.

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California Invasive Species Survey (ISS) - Project 1

The Ballast Water Management Act of 1999 stipulates that the CDFG conduct appropriate studies necessary to develop a list of non-indigenous aquatic species occurring in the marine and estuarine waters of the state. The CDFG’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and MPSL-MLML conducted field and laboratory studies jointly. OSPR identified seven regions of the state, representing the state’s major ports and estuaries, to conduct both field and literature studies on the presence of non-indigenous aquatic species. These areas include: the major ports of San Diego, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Hueneme, Stockton, Sacramento; San Francisco Bay and adjacent waters; Humboldt Bay; and a number of small harbors along the length of the California coast. The survey was primarily an investigation of epifaunal communities, but also included minor investigations of infaunal communities, plankton communities, and fish communities. This effort included the participation of the MLML Benthic Ecology lab and a number of specialized taxonomists throughout the state.

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Previous Projects

2003-2004: San Diego Bay Sediment Quality TMDL. Funded by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.

2002: Ballast Water Management Program. Funded by State Lands Commission and State Water Resources Control Board.

2002: GPS Documentation of Discharges in Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). Funded by Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and State Water Resources Control Board.

2001: Bioavailability of PCBs in San Francisco Bay. Funded by the State Water Resources Control Board and the San Francisco Regional Monitoring Program.

1999: Assessment of Stormwater Emissions. Funded by Southern California Coastal Water Research Project.

1999: Assessment of MTBE in California Coastal Waters. Funded by Southern California Coastal Water Research Project.

1999: Investigation of Metal Contamination at Hugo Neu Proler, Los Angeles Harbor. Funded by Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

1998: Inventory of California Emissions: Funded by State Water Resources Control Board.

1998: Investigation of Sediment Quality at McGrath Lake. Funded by Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

1998: Assessment of PCBs in San Leandro Bay. Funded by San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board.

1998: Toxicity Identification Evaluations in San Francisco Bay. Funded by the Regional Monitoring Program through the San Francisco Estuary Institute.

1996-1998: United Heckathorne Remediation Investigation: Funded by California Department of Fish and Game.

1996-1998: Investigation of PCB Contamination at Canada de la Huerta. Funded by AERA Energy and BC Laboratories.

1992–1998: Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program. Funded by State Water Resources Control Board.

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