Citizen Scientist Monitoring of Rocky Reefs and Kelp Forests, California South Coast MPA Baseline Study, 2011 to 2012

Reef Check California has surveyed rocky reefs and kelp forests in southern California since 2006 and has up to nine years of data from the MLPA South Coast Study Region (SCSR). The goal of this baseline monitoring project is to quantify key attributes of species, populations, communities and habitat variables that constitute representative kelp forest ecosystems within and outside of many of the MPAs in the South Coast Study Region. The sampling design, selected response variables (i.e. key species) and analytical approaches are intended to provide scientists, managers, stakeholders and policymakers with a baseline for future assessment of the effectiveness of the SCSR MPAs. Further, the outcomes from this study will also provide recommendations for long-term monitoring metrics and cost-effective survey protocols for the SCSR. Specific objectives are:

1. Provide a quantitative baseline characterization of the rocky reef and kelp forest ecosystem feature inside and outside of MPAs in the SCSR.
2. Provide pre-MPA implementation data and historical context to ongoing data collection by analyzing RCCA’s existing dataset in the context of the new MPAs.
3. Explore the baseline characterizations for potential indicators of the state of the kelp forest ecosystem (i.e. ecosystem indicators) and make recommendations for long-term monitoring.
4. Build capacity for cost-effective, long-term MPA monitoring through the continued involvement of community members in the monitoring of MPAs.
5. Expand existing public online data dissemination and illustration tool (NED) to inform managers, stakeholders, policymakers and the public about the status of the marine environment in the SCSR.