Tanner, Richelle L (2025): Tidepool characteristics of nudibranch habitat in Southern California [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.987810 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2025-12-18
Abstract:
Nudibranchs, sea slugs belonging to the Mollusca phylum, reside in rocky intertidal ecosystems worldwide. These intertidal ecosystems are facing significant impacts of climate change, including, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, an increase in the frequency and severity of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) weather events. While most organisms are negatively affected by the warm waters that accompany ENSOs, nudibranchs have documented population booms. They are also highly tolerant of thermal extremes, positioning them as important indicators of tidepool health. To address biotic and abiotic conditions that impact nudibranch presence, we investigated ecological factors that affect the microhabitat selection of nudibranchs in tidepools across Southern California in June 2022-January 2023 (ranging across 35.2589°N, 120.8975°W to 32.7269°N, 117.2562°W). We evaluated the environmental and habitat characteristics of 28 tidepools from each of ten field sites each during summer and winter. We also collected species richness data. Tidepool depth and bottom substrate were significantly correlated with nudibranch presence but not temperature. Nudibranchs were more likely to occur in tidepools without, rather than with, sea anemones. Here, we present the first documentation of multivariate abiotic and biotic interactions that influence nudibranch presence.
Related to:
Tanner, Richelle L (2025): Thermal inertia of seaweeds in Southern California tidepools [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.987811
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 33.891974 * Median Longitude: -118.579878 * South-bound Latitude: 32.726900 * West-bound Longitude: -120.897500 * North-bound Latitude: 35.258900 * East-bound Longitude: -117.256200
Date/Time Start: 2022-06-30T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-01-23T00:00:00
Minimum DEPTH, water: 0.000 m * Maximum DEPTH, water: 0.870 m
Event(s):
Nudibranchs_AVB (Avila Beach) * Latitude: 35.173400 * Longitude: -120.755900 * Date/Time Start: 2022-07-14T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-01-04T00:00:00 * Campaign: Nudibranchs_SoCalBight * Method/Device: Sampling by hand (HAND)
Nudibranchs_CAB (Cabrillo) * Latitude: 33.709000 * Longitude: -118.284000 * Date/Time Start: 2022-07-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-01-23T00:00:00 * Campaign: Nudibranchs_SoCalBight * Method/Device: Sampling by hand (HAND)
Nudibranchs_CTC (Christmas Tree Cove) * Latitude: 33.762200 * Longitude: -118.417600 * Date/Time Start: 2022-07-02T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-01-20T00:00:00 * Campaign: Nudibranchs_SoCalBight * Method/Device: Sampling by hand (HAND)
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Tanner, Richelle L | |||
| 2 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Tanner, Richelle L | Geocode | ||
| 3 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Tanner, Richelle L | Geocode | ||
| 4 | DEPTH, water | Depth water | m | Tanner, Richelle L | Scale bar measurement (in situ) | Geocode – tidepool measurement |
| 5 | Location | Location | Tanner, Richelle L | |||
| 6 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Tanner, Richelle L | Geocode | ||
| 7 | Site index code | Site ind | Tanner, Richelle L | tidepool; unique label by site | ||
| 8 | Season | Season | Tanner, Richelle L | winter or summer | ||
| 9 | Echinoidea | Echinoidea | # | Tanner, Richelle L | Species abundances in counts (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | sea urchin abundance |
| 10 | Actiniaria | Actiniaria | # | Tanner, Richelle L | Species abundances in counts (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | sea anemone abundance |
| 11 | Paguroidea | Paguroidea | # | Tanner, Richelle L | Species abundances in counts (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | hermit crab abundance |
| 12 | Substrate type | Substrate | Tanner, Richelle L | Visual observation | Nudibranchia substrate | |
| 13 | Vegetation, cover | Veg cov | % | Tanner, Richelle L | Grid pattern (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | |
| 14 | Bare ground, cover | Bare ground cov | % | Tanner, Richelle L | Grid pattern (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | |
| 15 | Invertebrates, species richness | Invertebrates S | # | Tanner, Richelle L | Species abundances in counts (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | Invertebrates |
| 16 | Plant, species richness | Plant S | # | Tanner, Richelle L | Species abundances in counts (0.25 m² photo quadrat) | |
| 17 | Perimeter | Perimeter | m | Tanner, Richelle L | tidepool measurement | |
| 18 | Radius | Radius | m | Tanner, Richelle L | Scale bar measurement (from photo) | |
| 19 | Volume | Vol | m3 | Tanner, Richelle L | tidepool measurement; calculated from tidepool perimeter and depth measurements | |
| 20 | Nudibranchia | Nudibranchia | Tanner, Richelle L | visual presence/absence |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
6457 data points
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