The marine and rocky intertidal ecosystem at the Mediterranean Coast Network is home to an abundant and diverse marine habitat and life. The rocky intertidal area bordering the southwestern end at Cabrillo National Monument is one of the richest and most diverse tide pool areas remaining in San Diego County, the 8th most populous metropolitan area in the United States. Off the coast of Channel Islands National Park, the kelp forests provide shelter and food for over 1,000 species of animals and plants that live within them. The islands themselves are home to large colonies of pinnipeds which breed and pup on the islands in addition to being the primary nesting area of the California Brown Pelican, Xantus's Murrelet, Cassin's Auklet, and other seabirds. Isolation from the mainland has left the much of the Channel Islands coastline removed from some of the human-induced impacts plaguing other rocky intertidal areas. The tide pools and marine communities are among the least altered in southern California. The biggest threats to the marine flora and fauna within this ecosystem include impacts by visitors, harvesting of resources, foraging and/or invasion by non-native species, and episodic (or chronic) pollution, such as oil spills and shipwrecks that damage marine habitat and life. Studies assessing the impact of human visitors on the tide pools and foraging shorebirds are currently being conducted at Cabrillo National Monument. Long-term monitoring is in place for the rocky intertidal area at Cabrillo National Monument and Channel Islands National Park. Additional long-term ecological monitoring has been implemented at Channel Islands for the kelp forest, pinnepeds, and numerous sea birds.

^IN biological inventory project
^VS ecosystem vital sign monitoring project