Research Technical Report

Biodiversity of the Rocky Intertidal in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: A 24-year Comparison

Pearse, J.S. (1998)

California Sea Grant Report of Completed Projects 1994-97. California Sea Grant College System, University of California, La Jolla, CA. Publication No. R-044:57-60.

EXCERPT

Ten rocky intertidal platforms along the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties were surveyed for biotic richness in 1971-73 by students of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), with support from California Sea Grant and the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. The data gathered provided a baseline that could be used for evaluating future changes. In 1996-97, UCSC students re-surveyed these 10 sites with support from California Sea Grant and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The data collected were compared with earlier data to access how the biota on this coast had changed over the past 24 years, after experiencing droughts, floods, a major El Niño, a severe earthquake, and increasing human disturbance.