Santa Monica Baykeeper

Action Alerts

King Tides have arrived in California! King tides are extreme high tide events that occur as the result of the combined gravitational forces of the sun and moon, providing a glimpse of what rising sea levels could look like in the coming years. Take some photos from February 6-8 and submit them to our statewide King Tides Photo Initiative site. For more information about King Tides, or where to view them, click here.

Santa Monica Baykeeper has issued a public statement on the importance of the new southern Californian Marine Protected Areas, and the role of our program M.P.A. Watch. Please click here to read. And spread the word

Recent News

January 20, 2012	Daily Breeze	Volunteers to gather data at Palos Verdes Peninsula protected marine areas
January 10, 2012	Los Angeles Times	The benefits of MPAs, and the proper role of volunteer watch programs
December 31, 2011	Los Angeles Times	Volunteers to help patrol new MPA Watch program
December 22, 2011	The Daily Breeze	The connection between king tides & sea level rise
November 29, 2011	Los Angeles Times	Stormwater runoff from La Brea Tar Pits and LA County remediation project
November 22, 2011	Slow Living Radio	Liz Crosson LIVE discussing Baykeeper projects

Calendar

STAND-UP FOR CLEAN WATER

Saturday, April 21st, Earth Day Weekend

In celebration of the Clean Water Act's 40th Anniversary and Earth Day, Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Waterkeeper Alliance will host the 1st Annual "Stand-Up for Clean Water" paddleboard race & earth day festival to raise awareness about stormwater runoff and ocean pollution, and Santa Monica Baykeeper's role in the protection & restoration of waterways in Los Angeles County.

For more information, visit http://sup4cleanwater.org/

CALLING ALL SCIENTIFIC DIVERS and RESCUE CERTIFIED DIVERS

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in 2012

Divers are needed for our Kelp Monitoring and Restoration Project. Santa Monica Baykeeper has been restoring kelp forests acre by acre off of the Malibu and Palos Verdes coasts for the past 15 years. This legacy program touts a record urchin relocation in 2011 of over a half a million purple urchins! For more information on how to get involved with this project, please contact Brian Meux at bmeux@smbaykeeper.org, or call (310) 305-9645 ext. 107.

STONE CANYON CREEK RESTORATION

Saturday, March 10th & April 21st

Please help Santa Monica Baykeeper and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission restore Stone Canyon Creek on UCLA's campus from 10am-1pm!

Please click to RSVP or see the flyer for more 2012 dates and information.

MPA WATCH IS UNDERWAY!

Baykeeper staff and volunteers are conducting monitoring and outreach in our LA County Marine Protected Areas. To volunteer for MPA Watch contact Michael Quill, mquill@smbaykeeper.org, and check out our brand new MPA Watch blog!

Connect With SMBK

Kelp Project Species Identification

Click here to go back to Baykeeper Kelp Page

Species Sampled in Band Transects | Invasive Species

Click here for a printable version

Species Sampled in Quadrats


Giant Kelp Adult Macrocystis pyrifera brown alga attached by holdfast size: up to 30 m (100 ft) Click Here for More Information	Giant Kelp Sub-Adult Macrocystis pyrifera visible split at base of blade size: young plants up to 1 meter (3 ft) Click Here for More Information	Juvenile Kelp various species of brown algae no visible split in blade size: up to ~10 cm (4 in) Click Here for More Information

Bladder Chain Algae Cystoseira sp. “chains” of pneumatocysts in upper part, flattened blades in lower part size: up to 8 m (26 ft) Click Here for More Information	California Sea Palm Pterygophora californica woody unbranched stipe, small branched holdfast size: up to 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) Click Here for More Information	Turkish Towel Girgartina exasperata Gigartina corymbifera broad dark purplish-red blades covered with bumps size: blades up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information

Purple Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus purple spines and test (shell) juveniles may look greenish size: test size up to 7 cm (3 in) Click Here for More Information	Red Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus red spines (dark maroon to light reddish-pink) size: test size up to 18 cm (7 inches) Click Here for More Information	White Sea Urchin Lytechinus anamesus white spines, white with some green/gray on test (shell) size: test size up to 4 cm (1.5 in) Click Here for More Information

Black Crowned Sea Urchin Centrostephanus coronatus black ridged spines are three times as long as the test (shell) size: test size up to 6 cm (2.5 in), spines up to 18 cm (7.5 in) Click Here for More Information	Abalone Haliotis sp. holes on edge of shell, very cryptic, can be covered with algae size: up to 30 cm (12 in) Click Here for More Information	Bat Star Asterina miniata Webbed 5-arm shape, solid or mottled colors (red, orange, yellow, brown, green, purple) size: up to 20 cm (8 in) Click Here for More Information

Giant Spined Star Pisaster giganteus 5-arm shape, covered with white spines with blue bumps size: up to 50 cm (20 in) Click Here for More Information	Blue-banded Goby Lythrypnus dalli Small fish with orange and blue stripes size: up to 7 cm (2.5 in) Click Here for More Information	Brown Gorgonian Muricea fruticosa look closely for white polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information

Brown Gorgonian (close-up) Muricea fruticosa look closely for white polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information	Golden Gorgonian Muricea californica look closely for yellow polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information	Golden Gorgonian (close-up) Muricea californica look closely for yellow polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information

Kellet’s Whelk Kelletia kelletii spiral whorls on robust shell, check for hermit crabs in empty shells size: up to 18 cm (7 in) Click Here for More Information	Warty Sea Cucumber Parastichopus parvimensis soft cylindrical orange-brown body with pointy projections size: up to 25 cm (10 in) Click Here for More Information	Wavy Top Snail Lithopoma undosum spiral shell often covered with algae, very cryptic size: up to 13 cm (5 in) Click Here for More Information

Wavy Top Snail Lithopoma undosum spiral shell often covered with algae, very cryptic size: up to 13 cm (5 in) Click Here for More Information