La Jolla’s marine biodiversity is a “point of pride,” according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Charlotte Seid.
And that biodiversity is no secret: a recent article on HawaiianIslands.com’s blog, which collected data from data-recording site iNaturalist, “La Jolla Cove in California boasts 143.7 animal species per 10 acres — the densest variety of animal life at any US beach.”
La Jolla Shores came in at number eight, with 34.5 species per 10 acres and logging “the widest variety of marine animal species (177).”
Applauding the article’s “scientifically robust and valuable” approach to data collection, Seid, the Benthic Invertebrate Collection manager at SIO who supports biodiversity research, new species descriptions, education and outreach, points to the Marine Protected Areas off La Jolla’s coast as a boon to biodiversity.
The MPAs keep La Jolla’s waters “protected from commercial exploitation, even from recreational activities that might damage or remove wildlife,” she said.
The MPAs also attract divers and snorkelers looking to spot the variety of creatures seeking refuge there, Seid said.
Those divers and snorkelers are among those collecting data recorded on iNaturalist, she added, noting the site is “an excellent platform for citizen science observations. … It feeds to the very same biodiversity databases that museum-quality and research observations also support.”
Wading through the iNaturalist data, Seid “was impressed to see a number of species [such as] nudibranchs that might have look-alikes or they can only be accessed by scuba diving,” she said.
“Some of these observations are the wonderful product of dedicated people who know what they’re looking for and know what they’re looking at.”
Seid cautioned readers to take “sampling bias” into account for La Jolla’s biodiversity rankings, as “your conclusions are only as good as your data.”
The sheer number of participants at La Jolla’s beaches – including tourists, scuba divers, citizen scientists, birdwatchers, reptile watchers and insect lovers – doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t as much or more biodiversity in other places, Seid said, only that La Jolla is fortunate to have so much recorded here by these nature enthusiasts.
La Jolla’s particular ecology might play a role in its biodiversity, however, as Seid notes the steep depth gradient of the submarine canyon just off The Shores could bring “more deep water and offshore species access to our neighborhood.”
Biodiversity is entirely dependent on observation, Seid emphasized.
“We can’t study or conserve what we don’t know exists,” she said.
“Observations and correct identifications are the absolute bedrock of conservation, stewardship and appreciation of our biodiversity resources.”
To that end, SIO is excited to be part of an upcoming, broader project to be funded by the state of California, Seid said.
The project, a biodiversity barcoding bio blitz program, is spearheaded by the California Institute for Biodiversity in collaboration with several museums and institutions, including SIO.
The program will take stock “of all the biodiversity we can find in the intertidal zone by bringing in experts to collect, identify and sequence the DNA of these creatures,” Seid said, noting the project will focus primarily on invertebrates, “since those are so diverse and abundant.”
These “humble and seemingly simple efforts will yield rich results,” she said, which can help track changes in the oceans, both negative and positive, along with aiding researchers with unanticipated questions.
“It gives us some hope and some indication as to what’s working,” she said.
