Underwater Ranger

Scientific divers like Kelly Moore work to protect ocean resources

BRETT SEYMOUR/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

UNDERWATER LIVE STREAM: Moore gives students watching from school a look at a spiny lobster during a virtual tour.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Underwater park rangers at Channel Islands National Park start their days by putting on 45 kilograms (100 pounds) of scuba gear. They then dive into the chilly ocean that surrounds the five islands, located off the coast of Southern California. It’s the rangers’ job to protect the park’s marine resources, which means they spend a lot of time in the water.

The Channel Islands are home to one of North America’s most biologically diverse ocean ecosystems—communities of organisms interacting with their physical environment. One of the islands’ distinguishing features is their underwater kelp forests. Dive rangers are responsible for monitoring these areas, which are dominated by a dense growth of kelp, a type of seaweed.

While diving, the rangers also host virtual field trips for students. With the help of an underwater camera and microphone, students can watch live and even ask questions in real time as rangers work. To learn more, Science World spoke with former Channel Islands underwater ranger Kelly Moore about her job safeguarding sea life.

Why are the Channel Islands kelp forests important?

JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN ®

Kelp forests are one of the most unique places on the planet. This dynamic ecosystem in the park supports a huge range of marine organisms. More than 1,000 species live there, including 150 found nowhere else on Earth.5

Kelp forests have another vital function. Seaweeds are algae. These aquatic organisms provide much of the oxygen we breathe every day. Like plants, algae rely on photosynthesis. This process uses sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide gas into oxygen and sugar that they use for energy.

Today’s kelp forests face many threats. For example, kelp thrives in cool, nutrient-rich water. But oceans are warming. Climate change is the biggest contributor to rising ocean temperatures. But big storms and occasional ocean temperature fluctuations called El Niño events also play a role.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

SEA LIFE UP CLOSE: A dive ranger displays a sea urchin.

What kind of research do dive rangers at Channel Islands National Park do?

One of the biggest projects I’ve worked on was the Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, which was established in 1982 and is still ongoing. Each year in early May, I was part of a team that went scuba diving around the Channel Islands to gather information about more than 70 species. We would use waterproof paper to record the number of creatures we’d observe and how well kelp was growing.

To make counting easier, we’d divide the area we were surveying into 33 defined areas called quadrats. Each quadrat is 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) and is marked off with long pieces of rope bolted to the seafloor.

By comparing current data with that from previous years, we could learn about any changes happening to the ecosystem. As more data is collected over time, rangers get a better picture of the area’s overall health.

What changes did you observe in marine populations at the park?

I spent about 12 years exploring the kelp forest as a scientific diver. In that time, I saw fish populations increase, particularly in the 20 percent of the Channel Islands that’s now a protected marine reserve. Fishing is restricted in that area. Hopefully, it’s the start of a wonderful success story.

PASCAL KOBEH/NPL/MINDEN PICTURES

ESSENTIAL ECOSYSTEM: A kelp forest off the coast of California

What was the most challenging part of working as an underwater ranger?

Fieldwork can be tough. To collect data for the Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, 10 scientists spent a week at a time aboard a research vessel. We conducted three to six dives each day, which meant we took our scuba gear on and off multiple times. That got exhausting. We also had to review data after each dive for accuracy before we entered it into our database. That made for extremely long days.

What’s the most memorable thing you experienced during a dive at the park?

Once while I was in the water, a 9 meter (30 foot)-long baby gray whale swam right past me as I was diving. I think my heart nearly pumped right out of my chest!

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