Like many forage fish species, Pacific sand lance ( Ammodytes personatus ) play a key role in nearshore marine ecosystems as an important prey source for a diverse array of predators in the northeastern Pacific. However, the primary threats to Pacific sand lance and their habitat are poorly defined due to a lack of systematic data. Crucial information needed to assess their population status is also lacking including basic kno...

Delineation of population structure (i.e. stocks) is crucial to successfully manage exploited species and to address conservation concerns for threatened species. Fish migration and associated movements are key mechanisms through which discrete populations mix and are thus important determinants of population structure. Detailed information on fish migration and movements is becoming more accessible through advances in telemet...

Harbor seal numbers and population trajectories differ by location in central California. Within San Francisco Bay ( SFB ) counts have been relatively stable since the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, but in coastal areas like Tomales Bay ( TB ), counts increased before stabilizing in the 1990s. Emigration, poor survival, and environmental effects have been hypothesized as contributors to differences between trajectories; ho...

A bstract Pups on San Nicolas Island were counted by two methods; counts by observers on the ground were compared to counts from aerial photographs taken with a 126‐mm‐format camera with image motion compensation. No difference was detected between photographic counts and ground counts ( P = 0.367) when ground counters had unobstructed views. However, ground counts were significantly lower when areas with obstructed views were...