What lives there & what species are monitored?

Tidepool ecosystems are considered to be highly diverse with a large number of different species of plants and animals. While exploring the tide pools, you can find a wide variety of colors and species of plants including brightly colored green seagrasses, large fleshy brown and red seaweeds, and algae that looks like paint on the rocks. Tidepools are teaming with a vast number of invertebrates, like barnacles, mussels, sea anemones, and sea stars, as well as fish, such as sculpin and opaleye.

A number of target species are monitored by the MARINe program (see Target Species: www.pacificrockyintertidal.org) including some shown to the left (left to right, top to bottom: mussels (Mytilus), barnacles (Balanus and Chthamalus), sea stars (Pisaster), anemones (Anthopleura), gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes), and rockweeds (Silvetia)