Rocky intertidal plants and animals are particularly vulnerable to impacts from oil spills. The goal of this cooperative project is to establish a baseline record of select biological resources at representative mainland and island rocky shores that could be affected by oil spills or other human impacts. In such events, the resulting information can be used to provide strategies for the protection of resident biota and sensitive habitats, as well as for the cleanup and rehabilitation of oiled areas. In addition, the monitoring studies yield valuable data on key species populations that can be utilized for more effective resource management as well as to provide fundamental ecological knowledge about rocky intertidal ecosystem dynamics.

Assessing ecological conditions is a complex undertaking; however, in cooperation with the National Park Service and other agencies and institutions, a cost-effective sampling program has been implemented that concentrates on target species assemblages that are monitored biannually in fixed intertidal plots. Complementary regional surveys have been funded through grants to the UCSB Marine Science Institute from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, U.S. Navy, California Coastal Commission, and County of Santa Barbara. Much of this work has been coordinated through the Southern California Educational Initiative and Coastal Marine Institute. The intertidal surveys are conducted by cooperating research teams at UCSB, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, and Cal State Fullerton.

In February 1997, UCSB hosted an Interagency Rocky Intertidal Monitoring Network Workshop for the Minerals Management Service that resulted in the formation of a Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINE). This network will integrate the resource monitoring efforts of 13 agencies and organizations at over 50 shore sites ranging from San Luis Obispo County to San Diego. This will not only result in increased efficiency of survey efforts, but will also facilitate regional analysis of population dynamics and help ensure that standardized long-term data sets are available for evaluation of both "natural" trends (e.g., climate change) and human impacts.