Long-Term Monitoring of Rocky Intertidal Communities: Lessons and Implications from the Redwood National and State Parks, Northern California

A long-term monitoring program spanning 15 years at Redwood National and State Parks reveals that rocky intertidal communities exhibit substantial short-term fluctuations, particularly among barnacles and the red alga Endocladia muricata, with variations often linked to recruitment patterns. While most taxa experienced periods of dramatic decline (>50% reduction from long-term means), they typically recovered, resulting in no apparent long-term changes. Rare instances where long-term shifts were detected may reflect analytical artifacts rather than ecological trends. The study underscores the importance of long-term monitoring in distinguishing natural variability from human-induced impacts, such as climate change, while highlighting the resilience of intertidal ecosystems.

Lohse, D., Ammann, K., & Dinger, E. C. (2023). Long-Term Monitoring of Rocky Intertidal Communities: Lessons and Implications from the Redwood National and State Parks, Northern California. Northwest Science, 96(3-4). https://doi.org/10.3955/046.096.0301