Carpinteria | MARINe

Click here for Long-Term trends

Click here for Biodiversity Survey findings

Carpinteria is located in the South Coast region of California, on Carpinteria State Beach, and is near the Carpinteria State Beach Mussel Watch site. This gently sloping site consists of moderately uneven terrain, containing few cracks and folds.

Carpinteria is dominated by a mixture of consolidated sandstone and mudstone bedrock and sandy beach, and the area surrounding the site is comprised of a mixture of consolidated bedrock and sandy beach. The primary coastal orientation of this site is southwest.

Long-Term Monitoring Surveys at Carpinteria were established in 1992. This site was sampled by the University of California Los Angeles through 2018 and is now monitored by the University of California Santa Barbara. Long-Term MARINe surveys currently target the following species and/or areas: Anthopleura (Anemones), Chthamalus/Balanus (Acorn Barnacles), Pollicipes (Goose Barnacle), Mytilus (California Mussel), Phyllospadix (Surfgrass), and Pisaster (Ochre Star). In addition, motile invertebrates, barnacle recruitment, and mussel size structure are monitored at this site. Click here to view Long-Term trends at this site.

Biodiversity Surveys were done in 2001, 2012, 2019, and 2024. The Biodiversity Survey grid encompasses one section that is approximately 27 meters (along shore) x 50 meters (seaward). Click here to view Biodiversity Survey findings at this site.

This site is also regularly surveyed by LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students) which is an environmental monitoring and education program for students, educators, and volunteer groups. You can access site specific data from this citizen scientist and educational broad scale trend monitoring program.

Carpinteria was sampled in 2015 as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Biodiversity Linked Vertical Photoplot (BLVP) and motile invertebrate surveys were done as part of the NRDA.

Voucher specimens of selected invertebrate and seaweed species were collected from this site by California State University Fullerton in 2018. The MARINe vouchering effort was designed to collect and archive samples of species that are monitored using MARINe protocols. Archived samples from this site at the Smithsonian Institution (invertebrates) and University of California Berkeley Herbarium (algae) are identified as BOEM-MARINE-CARP-120618.

For more information about Carpinteria, please contact Jenn Caselle (caselle@ucsb.edu).