A new copepod species, Lepeophtheirus schaadti n. sp., is established based on female and male specimens obtained from the Giant Kelpfish, Heterostichus rostratus Girard, 1854, and Striped Kelpfish, Gibbonsia metzi Hubbs, 1927, captured at Inner Cabrillo Beach in southern California, U.S.A. In addition, comparisons with copepod specimens identified by Wilson (1935) as L. parviventris Wilson, 1905 from the Spotted Kelpfish, Gibbonsia elegans (Cooper, 1864), in Newport Bay, California, revealed they are conspecific with L. schaadti n. sp. The new species differs from its congeners by a combination of characters that include: female with a genital complex that is more than half the length of the cephalothoracic shield and with posterolateral lobes, an abdomen that is composed of one somite and is less than one-quarter the length of the genital complex, a maxillulary dentiform process bearing a thin ridge on the inner tine and lacking a basal knob, no myxal process on the maxilliped, apically rounded tines on the sternal furca, the spine on the first exopodal segment of leg 3 inserted distally on the basal swelling, a 3-segmented leg 4 exopod, and a broad inner lobe of leg 5 that does not extend beyond the posterior margin of the genital complex; and male with three accessory claws on the antennal endopod and no myxal process on the maxilliped. L. schaadti n. sp. represents the first account of an ectoparasitic species from the Striped Kelpfish and Spotted Kelpfish, as well as the fourth ectoparasitic species reported from the Giant Kelpfish.

Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, are known to inhabit populated and often urbanized areas. To understand turtle habitat use and behavior within these unique habitats, seven juvenile green turtles were fitted with acoustic transmitters (September 2012 – August 2014), of which two transmitters included an accelerometer (AP transmitter). One individual fitted with an AP transmitter was tracked using a passive acoustic array in an urbanized river, the San Gabriel River, Long Beach, CA (33°45’ N, 118°05’ W). Three additional turtles in this river and three turtles (one with AP transmitter) in a restored estuary (33°44’ N, 118°03’ W) in southern California were actively tracked for two non-consecutive 24-h periods. Those fitted with AP transmitters indicated that turtles were less active at night (0.58 ± 0.56 m/s² and 0.50 ± 0.63 m/s²) than during the day (0.86 ± 0.63 m/s² and 0.78 ± 0.60 m/s²) at both sites. Activity data and corresponding movements of the actively tracked turtle fitted with the AP transmitter were used to infer resting periods for other tracked individuals. Turtles rested near bridge pilings and runoff outflows in the river to potentially shelter from tidal flow. Turtles used significantly larger daily areas in the urbanized river (0.046 ± 0.023 km²) where resources may be patchier and less abundant, compared to turtles in the estuary (0.024 ± 0.012 km²) where large, dense eelgrass beds are present. Based on the habitat use and behaviors of green sea turtles, it appears that some green sea turtles are able to make use of both highly developed and restored habitats and likely benefit from certain aspects of development.

Monitoring the spread and distribution of introduced species in an area can be challenging due to a variety of issues. Range expansion may exceed expected rates if the area of introduction is more suitable than expected, and may be slowed by an area in which it is difficult to establish a population. The species of interest in this study is the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger rufiventer) and the focus of the study is the spread of the species in Southern California. Previous studies have shown a steady and continuous spread from main points of introduction in Southern California and the species is now considered well established in the region. In this study, we collected and mapped new location data within Southern California. We discuss the spread of the Eastern Fox Squirrel in this area from 2005 through 2014 and include habitat suitability models to project the potential future distribution of the species. Results show that the Eastern Fox Squirrel has spread east into Rancho Cucamonga, into southern portions of Irvine, and has maintained isolated populations in places such as San Diego and Riverside. Our models suggest potential future paths of movement for contiguous range expansion.