Sea Ranch was one of 6 sites where there were experimental clearings in 1985 to see the recovery rates within species of mussels (Mytilus), turfweed/marine alga (Endocladia), and Turkish washcloth, (Mastocarpus). The substrate is a mixture of consolidated bedrock and sandy beach.
Fast forward to 2004 where a long-term monitoring survey was established by UC Santa Cruz. A team of scientists now join with Sea Ranch locals to continue the study which now incorporates 5 other target species: Acorn Barnacles (Chthamalus/Balanus), Northern Rockweed (Fucus), Dwarf Rockweed (Pelvetiopsis), Black Pine (Neorhodomela) and Ochre Star (Pisaster). However, many other species are recorded during the survey(s). This year there were also two team members from US Fish and Wildlife along with 3 scientists from UCSC.

A research project of this magnitude is possible solely through the cooperation of the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe), a large consortium of research groups working together to collect compatible data that are entered into a centralized database. Long-Term Monitoring and Biodiversity Surveys done by MARINe occur throughout the year at sites ranging from Southeast Alaska to Mexico. The synthesis of this research has resulted in the pacific rocky intertidal monitoring program website—a summary of data, methods, and products of this research, with interactive mapping and graphing features. Please see:
http://www.pacificrockyintertidal.org
http://www.piscoweb.org
http://www.marine.gov