On the California coast, just north of the Mexican border, lies La Jolla.
The tranquil beaches here provide habitat for a variety of marine life, such as these
harbor seals.
But the engine that truly drives this region lies beneath the waves.
Shallow seagrass beds provide critical habitat where baitfish and barracuda can find shelter.
These same areas provide important pumping grounds for a variety of shark species, such
as these leopard sharks.
Further offshore in the kelp, larger taupe and seven gill sharks gather to birth their
young in relative safety.
At the edge of La Jolla Canyon, bat rays congregate.
We follow one as it descends into the deep.
This gives way to sand dollars as a round stingray searches for a mate.
Swimming crabs embrace and release their young into the water.
La Jolla's deep canyon walls are teeming with marine life.
Rockfish and blacksmith occupy crevices along the structure of the wall.
Pipefish cling to strands of kelp that drift down from the nearby forests.
A young tree fish seeks the protection of a spiny lobster, while a pair of adults square
off for precious territory.
A change is coming to this peaceful coastline.
Massive El Niño storms are about to wreak havoc.
Cove's once protected from the surge are exposed, no longer safe.
These storms are so powerful, a shipwreck buried in the sand more than 80 years is unearthed
under water.
Under water, the devastation is revealed.
Walls are eroded, replaced by massive canyons of sand.
As water temperatures rise, invaders from the south displace the locals.
The cardinal fish take residence, where once we found blacksmiths.
And our tree fish has been replaced by a warm water grouper.
Seahorses rather than pipefish now reside in the tangle of seaweed at the edge of the
canyon.
But the most surprising change is the arrival of this little guy, the tuna crab.
They have taken over the depths, crowding out most of the locals.
Unlike previous El Niños, the tuna crab persists here, intent on living out their life cycle.
Perhaps a harbinger that this climatic event is serious.
