Scientists studied the fauna of asphalt volcanoes in the Santa Barbara Gorge. Reported by the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Asphalt volcanoes are natural oil vents coming out of the Santa Barbara Strait off the coast of California. They create many problems for beach lovers as they cover the beach with dark spots, but they also create a unique ecological environment that biologists know almost nothing about.
Milton Love and colleagues decided to characterize the fish communities living in these unusual objects. Their goal was to find out who lived where and why. To do this, the authors used a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, with which eight hours of observation and 2743 photographs were taken. Although the density of the fish was low, its species were diverse. In total, the authors observed 1,836 fish representing at least 43 species. At least 53.5% of these species were groupers. “When you look at the high and fairly smooth rocky reefs in this region, you expect to find that,” Love said.
Some fish liked the uniform slopes of volcanoes, including perch, such as those covered with green spots. sebastes ensifer. Meanwhile, various marine chanterelles and flounder lived on the muddy seabed surrounding the underwater dunes. Oddly enough, halos a few meters wide without flounder formed around the volcanoes. Love suspects that fish that dare to get too close are tainted in black tar and eaten.
The researchers observed several fish taxa moving between silt and asphalt, including greens, green band groupers, and American hydrolagoons. But, the authors write, “even a small amount of asphalt in the image had a significant effect on the observed species,” as fish living on the soft seafloor avoid hard tar.