Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the California continental shelf : final report

Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the California continental shelf : final report

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Date

1995

Abstract

Specimens of new Harpacticoida species were obtained during the California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Phase II, Monitoring Program (CAMP) between November 1986 and May 1989. The CAMP project was a multidisciplinary study to detect and evaluate the long-term biological impacts of continental shelf oil drilling and production. The study was centered around a proposed platform site named Julius, which was never put into service. Samples were collected in the Santa Maria Basin on a regional scale (10- 20 km). Harpacticoids are the second most abundant meiofaunal taxa in the Santa Maria Basin. Harpacticoids have been intensively studied in the Atlantic OCS. However, Pacific studies are limited to collections made in shallow water. There are a great number of undescribed species in the CAMP samples taken from the Santa Maria Basin. The present study is rather limited in scope and only touches on some of the dominate species found. It contains full taxonomic descriptions of six species, a pictorial key of 18 dominant species, and drawings of 42 other unknown species.

Department

Marine Science

Description

"The California Harpacticoida Study was a small multi-year, marine program that was conducted to provide the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service with information necessary to assess the potential environmental impacts of leasing tracts of submarine lands for commercial oil production and to properly manage marine resources if recovery of petroleum occurs. The study resulted from data produced in the meiofauna studies of the California Monitoring Program (CAMP) from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Harpacticoid copepods were found to be very numerous and important, but most were species new to science. The report consists of a series of detailed chapters describing the harpacticoids which were found in the CAMP project. The chapters are authored by two participating investigators, who are trained systematists. ... The objective of the Report is to provide a detailed description of the new harpacticoids found in the Santa Maria Basin. The Report summarizes systematic accounts that are or will be published in peer-reviewed journals. ... All specimens were derived from samples archived from the CAMP project. Harpacticoids were dissected, and drawings were made of each anatomical feature of the species that has taxonomic significance. Systematic accounts of the species were constructed based on a comparison of other species found in the taxonomic literature. ... Over 115 new species were found in the Santa Maria Basin during the CAMP program. Complete systematic accounts are given for 6 of the species, and drawings are provided for 9 others. A pictorial key is provided for the identification of the harpacticoids.
Submitted by: Marine Science Institute, the University of Texas at Austin ... for: U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Pacific OCS Region
Under purchase order no. 13244
October 1995