Quantifying the dispersion and habitats of far-ranging seabirds, turtles, and cetaceans is essential to assess whether zoning strategies can help protect uppertrophic marine predators. In this paper, we focus on Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) use of three US national marine sanctuaries off central California: Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay. We assessed the significance of these protected areas to albatrosses by: (i) documenting commuting flights between Hawaiian breeding sites and the California Current System (CCS); (ii) quantifying albatross dispersion patterns on the central California continental shelf and slope, and (iii) characterizing albatross habitats within sanctuary waters using concurrent satellite-tracking data and vesselbased sightings. Chick-rearing albatrosses commuted from their colony on Tern Island, Hawaii (23.878°N, 166.288°W), to the CCS (34-48°N) and two of the eight satellite-tracked birds entered the marine sanctuaries. Among the telemetry locations within sanctuary waters, two-thirds (24 of 36) straddled the shelf break and slope (201-2000-m depth), a pattern underscored by a concurrent vessel-based survey in which 144 Black-footed Albatrosses were sighted. This study illustrates the value of coordinated satellite telemetry and vessel-based surveys to assess the distributions of protected species within existing marine protected areas. More specifically, our results underscore the importance of three central California marine sanctuaries to Hawaiian albatrosses breeding in subtropical waters, approximately 4500 km away.

The California Current System (CCS), a highly variable eastern boundary system, supports a rich marine mammal fauna. Variation in local coastal upwelling, coupled with larger scale processes (El Niño/La Niña) affects the productivity and distribution of marine species at all trophic levels. Herein, we present an analysis of the occurrence patterns of marine mammals in the central CCS and relate these patterns to changing ocean climate and prey availability. Data on marine mammal distributions, ocean conditions, and prey availability were collected in waters overlying the continental shelf and slope from Bodega to Monterey Bays, from 1986 to 1994 and 1997 to 1999. Occurrence patterns were investigated using geographical information system (GIS), percent similarity index (PSI), multiple logistic regression, and principal component analyses. Spatial patterns of the most frequently sighted species (California sea lion Zalophus californianus, northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus, Pacific white-sided dolphin Lagenorhyncus obliquidens, Dall's porpoise Phocoenoides dalli, harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena,and humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae) were related to bathymetry and changing ocean climate, and were likely to have been mediated by changes in prey availability. Temporal changes were related to migration and significant differences in ocean structure resulting from both local and large-scale processes.

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The accumulation of plastic in the oceans is an ever-growing environmental concern. Plastic debris is a choking and entanglement hazard for wildlife; plastics also leach toxic compounds into organisms and ecosystems. Educating students about the marine debris problem introduces fundamental concepts in toxicology, ecology, and oceanography. Students will learn about the toxicity of plastics, collect and analyze data on plastic debris, and put their new knowledge to work by writing a congressional bill that addresses the problem of marine debris.