Sur Ridge Field Guide: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Sur Ridge is a large rocky feature located approximately 28 miles west of Point Sur, central California within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Sur Ridge serves as a focal area for facilitating research to better understand natural and human-caused ecosystem variation. Recently, Sur Ridge has been surveyed using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV; midwater and seafloor), and with a midwater trawl. At least 261 taxa were observed and are presented in this guide. The purpose of this field guide is to create an inventory of benthic and midwater organisms, and associated imagery, observed at Sur Ridge to provide a baseline taxonomic characterization. It may also be useful for other deep-sea studies off California.

Key Words

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Sur Ridge, field guide, deep sea, taxonomy, corals, sponges, invertebrates, fishes, marine protected area, images, ROV, sanctuary ecologically significant area.