Sea Ranch

Click here for Long-Term trends

Click here for Biodiversity Survey findings

Sea Ranch is located in the North Central Coast region of California, within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. This site is 0.4 mi southeast of the Sea Ranch Del Mar Mussel Watch site. Sea Ranch is one of 6 sites where Kinnetic Laboratories did experimental clearings (1m x 2m) in 1985 in the Endocladia/Mastocarpus and Mytilus zones to look at recovery rates within these species assemblages. This site receives low visitation by tidepoolers and abalone divers, and is accessed through The Sea Ranch community (private property). This gently sloping site consists of moderately uneven terrain, containing few cracks and folds.

Sea Ranch is dominated by consolidated bedrock, 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 Sea Ranch were established in 2004 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), Fucus (Northern Rockweed), Pelvetiopsis (Dwarf Rockweed), Endocladia (Turfweed), Neorhodomela (Black Pine) and Pisaster (Ochre Star). Click here to view Long-Term trends at this site.

Biodiversity Surveys were done in 2001, 2005, 2010, 2018, and 2020. The Biodiversity Survey grid encompasses one section that is approximately 30 meters (along shore) x 50 meters (seaward). Click here to view Biodiversity Survey findings at this site.

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