Inventory & Monitoring

Ecosystem Vital Signs for the Mediterranean Coast Network

The number of potential vital signs identified through workshops and discussion groups were far beyond the network’s ability to implement. To come up with a relevant monitoring program, the candidate list of vital signs were ranked on ecological relevance, feasibility of implementation, and interpretation and utility, and relevance to network parks, and prioritized based on park management needs, the opportunity to leverage both NPS and non-NPS resources to perform monitoring, the possibility for economies in scale by combining or coordinating monitoring activities among vital signs, and the anticipated value of the data obtained in evaluating ecosystem health in the respective parks and network.

A total of 16 unique vital signs were identified for the Mediterranean Coast Network.  These vital signs focus on ecosystem components at Cabrillo National Monument and/or Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and will be monitored at one or both of those parks.  Vital signs monitoring were selected to complement the ongoing monitoring programs at Channel Islands National Park, and park-based monitoring within Cabrillo National Monument and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

These 16 unique vital signs were coalesced into eight monitoring programs for which detailed protocols will be developed:

Vegetation Dynamics
      Exotic Plant Species Introduction and Spread
      Riparian Plant Communities
      Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub & Oak Woodland Communities
Water Quality
      Fresh Water Quality
      Marine Water Quality
Reptile and Amphibian Population Dynamics
      Terrestrial Herpetofauna
      Aquatic Herpetofauna
Landscape Pattern
      Habitat Connectivity, Fragmentation, and Patch Dynamics