Drift Bottle Studies at Bodega Head, California

摘要

From July 7, 1962 to July 30, 1963 twenty-eight drift bottle experiments were performed in the Bodega Bay region of Central California. The pattern of returns showed that most of the bottles were recovered within a few miles radius of Bodega Head. The possibility of a prevailing northerly current close to shore along Bodega Head is indicated. Periods of heavy northwest winds result in a dispersal of drift bottles to the south in the summer, while southeast storms and the countercurrent transport drift bottles to the north in the fall and winter. There were fewer drift bottle returns in the winter than in other months. The role of near shore currents in the dispersal of pelagic larvae of benthic invertebrates is discussed. (Author)