For two weeks every year, the California Academy of Sciences—with support from the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the MPA (Marine Protected Area) Collaborative Network, and many other partners—mobilizes communities from Del Norte to San Diego to make and share observations of plants, animals, and seaweeds along the California coast using the iNaturalist app. By creating a real-time, statewide snapshot of current species ranges, we're building a community of observers that provides valuable data for scientists at local, regional, and state levels, and answering targeted research questions in support of California Marine Protected Areas.
Pisaster ochraceus and tidepool diversity. Pillar Point, San Mateo County, CA
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Snapshot Cal Coast is June 17-July 9! Help us document California's incredible biodiversity on your own or at a bioblitz event near you.
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Getting started is a snap!
Participating in Snapshot Cal Coast is as easy and fun as a day at the beach. Get started in six easy steps:
- Download the iNaturalist app for iOS or Android.
- Create an account to start making observations.
- Join the Snapshot Cal Coast 2023 iNaturalist project (coming soon).
- Head to the coast on your own time or during a bioblitz to make and share observations of plants and animals you see, especially species on our "most wanted" list (see below).
- Observe during low tide. See NOAA's tide table to find exact times for low tides near you.
- Spread the word with hashtag #SnapshotCalCoast!
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Keep tidepool etiquette top of mind
- Observe things where you find them. Never remove animals, rocks, shells, seaweeds, or plants from the tidepools.
- Walk gently, taking care to avoid stepping on animals or seaweeds.
- Do not “roll” rocks. Animals living on the underside of rocks can only survive there.
- Be aware of the wildlife around you and try to minimize disturbances.
- Be careful! Tidepools and rocky shorelines are slippery, and tides and waves can catch you off guard. Never turn your back on the ocean.
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Most-wanted species
In addition to documenting as many species as possible from as many places as possible, we are also interested in learning more about a handful of “most-wanted” species and groups. These include introduced species for which we have limited data on their ranges, species whose ranges are affected by changing oceanic conditions and habitat modification, and species that are affected by emerging diseases.
Check out the iNaturalist Most Wanted Species Guide for more information.
Native rocky intertidal species
Anemones
- Anthopleura artemisia (Moonglow Anemone)
- Anthopleura buttermeieri
- Anthopleura elegantissima (Aggregating Anemone)
- Anthopleura mariae
- Anthopleura sola (Sunburst Anemone)
- Anthopleura xanthagrammica (Giant Green Anemone)
Abalone
- Haliotis cracherodii (Black Abalone)
- Haliotis kamtschatkana (Pinto Abalone)
- Haliotis fulgens (Green Abalone)
- Haliotis rufescens (Red Abalone)
Snails in the genus Nucella
- Nucella canaliculata (Channeled Dogwinkle)
- Nucella emarginata (Emarginate Dogwinkle)
- Nucella lamellosa (Wrinkled Purple)
- Nucella ostrina (Striped Dogwinkle)
Snails in the genus Tegula
- Tegula aureotincta (Gilded Tegula)
- Tegula brunnea (Brown Tegula)
- Tegula eiseni (Western Banded Tegula)
- Tegula funebralis (Black Tegula)
- Tegula gallina (Speckled Tegula)
- Tegula montereyi (Monterey Tegula)
- Tegula pulligo (Dusky Tegula)
Chitons
- Lepidozona spp.
- Mopalia spp.
Lottia gigantea (Owl Limpet)
Nudibranchs
- Acanthodoris nanaimoensis (Nanaimo Horned Dorid)
- Felimare californiensis (California Blue Dorid)
Strongylocentrtus purpurartus (Pacific Purple Sea Urchin)
Kelps
- Alaria marginata (Winged Kelp)
- Egregia menziesii (Feather-boa Kelp)
- Hedophyllum sessile (Sea Cabbage)
- Laminaria setchelli and Laminaria sinclairii
- Macrocystis pyrifera (Giant Kelp)
- Nereocystis luetkana (Bull Kelp)
- Postelsia palmaeformis (Sea Palm)
Non-native species
Seaweeds
- Sargassum horneri (Devil Weed)
- Sargassum muticum (Japanese Wireweed)
- Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame)
Watersipora Bryozoans
Tunicates
- Botrylloides giganteum
- Botrylloides violaceus (Chain Tunicate)
- Botryllus schlosseri (Star Tunicate)
- Didemnum vexillum (Sea Vomit)
Crabs
- Carcinus maenas (European Green Crab)
- Eriocheir sinensis (Chinese Mitten Crab)
Mud Snails
- Batillaria attramentaria (Japanese False Cerith)
- Tritia obsoleta (Eastern Mudsnail)
- Urosalpinx cinerea (Eastern Oyster Drill)
Worms
- Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Australian Tubeworm)
Upcoming bioblitzes
Connect with other beach-lovers at a bioblitz near you! Scheduled events are listed by county, north to south. THIS WILL BE UPDATED FOR 2023 SOON.
Humboldt County
June 18: Baker Beach. Organized by Trindidad Coastal Land Trust.
Marin County
June 18: Muir Beach. Organized by California Academy of Sciences.
Alameda County
July 2: Lake Merritt. Organized by Rotary Nature Center Friends.
Santa Cruz County
June 18 & July 2: Seabright State Beach. Organized by Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.
Registration information coming soon
Monterey County
June 18: Elkhorn Slough Reserve. Organized by Elkhorn Slough Reserve.
San Luis Obispo County
June 18: Montaña de Oro State Park. Organized by Central Coast State Parks Association and Morro Bay State Parks.
Los Angeles County
June 19: Leo Carrillo State Beach. Organized by Heal the Bay and the LA MPA Collaborative.
Registration information coming soon
June 20: Pelican Cove. Organized by USC Sea Grant, Aquarium of the Pacific, and the LA MPA Collaborative.
Registration information coming soon
June 24: Lovers Cove and Casino Point, Catalina Island. Organized by Catalina Island Conservancy.
Registration information coming soon
Orange County
June 20: Crystal Cove State Park. Organized by Crystal Cove State Park and the Crystal Cove Conservancy.
San Diego County
June 21: Coronado Central Beach. Organized by Coronado Public Library and the San Diego Natural History Museum.
How we are using these data?
Observations contributed by volunteers, community, and community scientists during Snapshot Cal Coast and year-round via iNaturalist make up an increasingly large proportion of our knowledge of biodiversity over space and time on the California coast. Our team—a collaboration between the California Academy of Sciences, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)—is building the capacity to use these crowdsourced community-contributed observations to understand and monitor biodiversity across California’s coastal and marine protected areas.
Our data science efforts were initiated by Dr. Giovanni Rapacciuolo and are now led by Dr. Natalie Low and focus on developing innovative approaches and tools to translate crowdsourced community-contributed observations into meaningful indicators of biodiversity change on the California coast in support of California’s long-term MPA Monitoring Action Plan and the Ocean Protection Council's Strategic Plan. In particular, we are now focusing on mobilizing the community of volunteer naturalists, community, and community scientists to power an Early Warning and Forecasting System for biodiversity change on the California coast. This system will combine crowdsourced community-contributed observations with state-of-the-art ecological models to track key metrics of ocean and coastal health over time (e.g. distribution and abundance of native species, spread of invasive species, emergence of marine disease) and forecast changes in those metrics associated with a changing climate. This effort will provide resource managers with the tools necessary to slow or stop biodiversity loss in California’s coastal and marine habitats and will also empower community scientists to take an active role in conserving biodiversity.
You can find out more about how we are using data contributed by the community during Snapshot Cal Coast and year-round via iNaturalist, as well as explore and interact with our findings, by visiting http://calcoast.dob.bio. You can also watch the short talk by Dr. Rapacciuolo below about our data analysis efforts.
Community science at the Academy is led by Rebecca Johnson, Alison Young, and Annie Miller. Questions? Want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you.