Point Lobos

Click here for Long-Term trends

Click here for Biodiversity Survey findings

Point Lobos is located in the Central Coast region of California, within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This site is located within the Point Lobos State Marine Reserve and Point Lobos State Park. This site is also located in an Area of Special Biological Significance (Point Lobos Ecological Reserve ASBS), and is 0.3 mi northwest of the Point Lobos/Weston Beach Mussel Watch site. This site receives high visitation by tidepoolers and is often visited by school groups. This gently sloping site consists of extremely uneven terrain, containing many deep cracks and folds.

Point Lobos is dominated by consolidated conglomerate rock and sandstone, and the area surrounding the site is comprised of a mixture of consolidated conglomerate rock and sandstone, boulder fields, and cobble beach. The primary coastal orientation of this site is southwest.

Long-Term Monitoring Surveys at Point Lobos were established in 1999 and are done by University of California Santa Cruz. Long-Term MARINe surveys currently target the following species: Chthamalus/Balanus (Acorn Barnacles), Mytilus (California Mussel), Silvetia (Golden Rockweed), Endocladia (Turfweed), Mastocarpus (Turkish Washcloth), and Pisaster (Ochre Star). In addition, motile invertebrates, barnacle recruitment, mussel size structure, and water temperature are monitored at this site. Click here to view Long-Term trends at this site.

Biodiversity Surveys were done in 2001, 2005, 2014, 2017, and 2020. The Biodiversity Survey grid encompasses two sections that are approximately 8.4 meters (along shore) x 20 meters (seaward), and 12 meters (along shore) x 20 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.

For more information about Point Lobos, please contact Pete Raimondi (raimondi@ucsc.edu).