Beach Watch MPA Summary
Beach Watch Overview
The Beach Watch ecosystem monitoring program of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association was created to study and protect the shoreline of the Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. 42 Beaches are surveyed bi-monthly by 100 highly trained volunteers on California Central Coast Beaches From Año Nuevo to Bodega Bay
Beach Watch Data includes: • live wildlife counts • dead wildlife documentation • oil/tarballs • beach wrack • human use
Beach Watch: The Eyes and Ears of the SF Bay Area Outer Coast
Baseline Data Request: 1994-2012
Baseline and Trend Data: • Beach Watch data from
1994-2012 • Birds, live and dead • Mammals, live and dead • Human uses • Regional spatial patterns • Provide data and
summary report to Ocean Spaces
• Summarize benefits from citizen-science
CA MPA & Beach Watch Beaches
Beach Summary: •42 Beach Watch beaches from Bodega Head to Año Nuevo
•3 Marine Reserves •5 Marine Conservation Areas
•3 Special Closure Areas •2 Marine Recreational Managed Areas
•11 BW beaches inside MPAs
•5 BW are near a MPA
Species of Interest within MPAs North Central Coast MPA Monitoring Specific Species of Interest
Total Surveys per Year by Beach Watch
Survey Effort
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
= new recruit training held this year
In 2011-2012 n = 972
Total Kilometers Surveyed per Year by Beach Watch
Survey Effort
= new recruit training held this year
In 2011-2012 n = 6189 km
010002000300040005000600070008000
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Multiple Data Analyses
Example: Dead Bird Cumulative Encounter Rate (#/km), 1994-2012
0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.0
Dora
n Be
ach
Pinn
acle
Gul
chDi
llon
Beac
hBr
azil
Beac
hTo
mas
ini C
reek
Bea
chPo
int R
eyes
Bea
ch A
Poin
t Rey
es B
each
BPo
int R
eyes
Bea
ch C
Drak
es B
each
Wes
tDr
akes
Bea
ch E
ast
Lim
anto
ur B
each
Wes
tLi
man
tour
Bea
ch E
ast
Bolin
as B
each
Bolin
as L
agoo
n, D
ipse
a Ro
adSe
adrif
tM
uir B
each
Rode
o Be
ach
Kirb
y Co
veBa
ker B
each
Chin
a Be
ach
Land
's En
dO
cean
Bea
ch N
orth
Oce
an B
each
Cen
tral
Oce
an B
each
Sou
thTh
ornt
on B
each
Nor
thSh
arp
Park
Sout
h M
onta
ra B
each
FMR,
Wei
nke
Way
FMR,
Ent
ranc
eFM
R, D
istill
ery
FMR,
Fre
nchm
an's
Reef
Pilla
r Poi
nt/M
aver
ick'
sHa
lf M
oon
Bay,
Nap
les B
each
Half
Moo
n Ba
y, F
ranc
es B
each
Pom
poni
o He
adla
nds
Pesc
ader
o Be
ach
Pebb
le B
each
Gazo
s Cre
ekN
orth
Poi
ntCo
ve B
each
Brad
ley
Beac
h
Alcids Cormorants Geese/Ducks Grebes Gulls/Terns Landbirds LoonsPelicans Raptors Scoters Shorebirds Tubenoses Wadders
Trend Summary – Live Birds
R² = 0.0217
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
8019
94
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Slow increase of live bird rates but with great variability. There has been below average observations of birds for the past 5 years.
R² = 0.0851
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.819
94
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Slow increase of dead bird rates but with great variability. There has been below average observations of dead birds for the past 3 years.
Trend Summary – Dead Birds
R² = 0.1314
-2.0
-1.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.019
94
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Slow decline of live pinniped observations but with great variability. There has been below average encounter rate for the past two years.
Trend Summary – Live Pinnipeds
R² = 0.0245
-0.10
-0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Slow decline of dead pinniped encounter rates but with great variability. There has been below average encounter rate for the past two years.
Trend Summary – Dead Pinnipeds
Spatial Analysis – Live Birds
• Higher encounter rates along bays and sheltered coastline
• Greatest effective protection detectable by BW at:
• Pt. Reyes Marine Reserve • Montara Reserve • Montara Marine
Conservation Area • Año Nuevo Marine
Conservation • Higher concentrations outside
of NCC MPAs • Rodeo • Baker • China
Spatial Analysis – Live Pinnipeds
• Higher encounter rates in and near bays, promontories, and rookeries
• Greatest effective protection detectable by BW at:
• Pt. Reyes Marine Reserve • Montara Reserve • Montara Marine
Conservation Area • Año Nuevo Marine
Conservation • High #s outside of MPAs
• Bolinas Lagoon • Pebble & Pescadero
Beaches
Spatial Analysis – Live Cetaceans
• Higher rates of encounter in
and near bays and promontories.
• No specific areas of great protection or missed opportunity for increased protection
Spatial Analysis – Live Sea Otters
•Higher rates of encounter in and near bays in the southern survey region
•Note River Otters not included •Greatest effective protection detectable by BW at:
• Montara Reserve • Montara Marine
Conservation Area • Año Nuevo Marine
Conservation •No specific areas of missed opportunity for increased protection
Species of Interest Analyses
Example: Brandt’s Cormorant
R² = 0.1239
0
2
4
6
8
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Live Encounter Rate
Photo by: Mojoscoast
SE Farallon Island Breeding Pop
Brandt’s Cormorant
R² = 0.1239
0
2
4
6
8
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Live Encounter Rate
R² = 0.2103
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Dead Encounter Rate Photo by: Mojoscoast
= bait fish crash 2009-10
Species of Interest Analyses
Person On Beach Cumulative Encounter Rate, 1994-2012
Spatial Analysis – Human Uses
0102030405060708090
Dora
n Be
ach
Pinn
acle
Gul
chDi
llon
Beac
hBr
azil
Beac
hTo
mas
ini C
reek
Bea
chPo
int R
eyes
Bea
ch A
Poin
t Rey
es B
each
BPo
int R
eyes
Bea
ch C
Drak
es B
each
Wes
tDr
akes
Bea
ch E
ast
Lim
anto
ur B
each
Wes
tLi
man
tour
Bea
ch E
ast
Bolin
as B
each
Bolin
as L
agoo
n, D
ipse
a Ro
adSe
adrif
tM
uir B
each
Rode
o Be
ach
Kirb
y Co
veBa
ker B
each
Chin
a Be
ach
Land
's En
dO
cean
Bea
ch N
orth
Oce
an B
each
Cen
tral
Oce
an B
each
Sou
thTh
ornt
on B
each
Nor
thSh
arp
Park
Sout
h M
onta
ra B
each
FMR,
Wei
nke
Way
FMR,
Ent
ranc
eFM
R, D
istill
ery
FMR,
Fre
nchm
an's
Reef
Pilla
r Poi
nt/M
aver
ick'
sHa
lf M
oon
Bay,
Nap
les B
each
Half
Moo
n Ba
y, F
ranc
es B
each
Pom
poni
o He
adla
nds
Pesc
ader
o Be
ach
Pebb
le B
each
Bean
Hol
low
Bea
chGa
zos C
reek
Nor
th P
oint
Cove
Bea
chBr
adle
y Be
ach
Baseline Trend Data
Slight decrease in live pinnipeds Significant increase in live cetacean sightings
For the past few years there has been below average encounter rate in:
live birds and pinnipeds dead birds, pinnipeds and cetaceans
Baseline Spatial Patterns
Higher rates of live birds and mammals were observed in bays, near promontories, and rookeries, than in other areas
Higher rates of live birds and mammals were seen within MPAs than in other areas
Higher rates of human-use activities were seen close to urban centers
Photo by: Jamie Hall
Recommendations • Continue use of citizen-scientists to increase stewardship
and understanding of MPAs, decrease monitoring costs, and have additional trained personnel in the event of emergency response
• Add BW style surveys in Sonoma and Mendocino Co. to cover all of the NCC MPAs in conjunction with sanctuary expansion
• Develop consistent human-use categories
• Develop consistent beach wrack quantification
• Target surveys in breeding areas
Recommendations • Include demographics of dead birds and mammals, i.e. age
and sex • Perform analyses to identify comparable beaches, i.e.
length, substrate, facing direction, habitat on the inshore side of beach, human use rates and activities.
• Analyze rates of live birds and mammals before and compare to at least five years post-designation
• Compare rate of live shorebirds to human uses: presence, dogs, etc.
• Identify surrogate beaches • Include analyses of oil
pollution rates
Data
Beach Watch Turns 20! 1 October 1993 – 1 October 2013
20-Years of Stewardship
BW would not be possible without the dedication of all our volunteers, interns, and staff.
This year we are grateful for the financial support from Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Firedoll Foundation, Tanklage Foundation, Patagonia, CA
Sea Grant.
Thanks to All Our Peeps!