Minerals Management Service (MMS) Phase I : study of benthic communities in the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel

These specimens come from the Minerals Management Service (MMS) “Phase I” study of benthic communities in the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel in 1983–1986. A total of 102 soft-substrate stations and 23 hard bottom stations were surveyed. Further information below is quoted from: Blake, J.A. (1993) 1. Introduction to the Taxonomic Atlas. In: Blake, J.A. & A. Lissner, Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel, Volume 1. Introduction, Benthic Ecology, Oceanography, Platyhelminthes, and Nemertea. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) is endowed with authority pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, the Submerged Lands Act, and the OCS Lands Act Amendments to develop oil and gas resources on the outer continental shelf while providing for the protection of the marine and coastal environment. As part of this responsibility, MMS has sponsored numerous studies through the Environmental Studies Program to develop sufficient baseline information for the evaluation of potential environmental impacts resulting from OCS development. Among the major MMS-sponsored investigations of the benthic communities in the Southern California OCS Planning Area are the 1975-1978 Southern California Bight Baseline Program, the 1983-1986 Assessment of Long-Term Changes in Biological Communities in the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel (Phase I), the 1987-1989 Biological Reconnaissance of Selected Benthic Habitats within Three California OCS Planning Areas (a.k.a. CARP, California Area Reconnaissance Program), and the 1968-1991 California Phase II Monitoring Program (CAMP). The hard-bottom monitoring phase of CAMP has been continued as part of Phase III (1991-1995).

Note: Sample labels from the Soft-substrate stations have several identification codes which include a station number, sample type, replicate number, and analysis type. These are as follow: 001 to 200 the range of station numbers; BSS - Benthic Sediment Single (i.e., a non-replicated station); BSR Benthic Sediment Replicate (three replicates taken at this station); BSV Benthic Sediment Variance (subsamples); 01-09 replicate numbers: TX a taxonomy sample. Sample labels having the designation BRA, represents a sample from rocks taken as part of the hard bottom survey.