MINT
– the MMS Intertidal Team
MMS biologists on the MINT team continue to
support the study of rocky intertidal communities along the coast of
California (maps).
The MMS Intertidal Team, or MINT, is one of nine
monitoring teams that collect data for MARINe
, the Multi-Agency
Rocky Intertidal Network
MARINe.gov. MINT biologists team up with biologists from five
university campuses (UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Davis,
and California State University Fullerton) to monitor mussels, sea
stars, algae, and other intertidal plants and animals along the coast.
MINT has been active since 1991, when MMS, the
County of Santa Barbara and scientists at UC Santa Barbara set up
shoreline inventory sites at nine locations from Vandenberg AFB to
Carpinteria. MMS now funds 24 sites along the mainland, as a part of
MARINe’s efforts, from San Luis Obispo County to Orange County. MMS
sponsors university biologists to conduct the monitoring and
coordinate MARINe projects and, as part of these efforts, MINT
biologists monitor turf algae, rockweed, acorn and goose barnacles,
mussels, surf grass, sea stars, black abalone, limpets, and motile
invertebrates (crabs and snails) along the mainland at MMS-funded
sites. The National Park Service and many other organizations monitor
MARINe sites on the islands and other sections of the mainland (see
MARINe.gov for information on the other 22 MARINe partners).
In addition to providing field support twice a
year at MMS-funded sites, the MINT team leads special projects for
MARINe, including reviews of protocols, development of new techniques,
equipment development; and sponsoring an annual Taxonomic Workshop for
MARINe field teams.
Current MINT
projects:
Recently, MINT team biologist Maurice Hill (top
left pictured with Matt McNutt), has been working with Steve Lee at
UCLA (top middle photo) to test aerial photography methods for use in
sampling rocky intertidal communities. So far, they have tested an
unmanned18 foot blimp and a remote-controlled mini-helicopter (below).
Both are remotely-controlled by a joystick from the ground.
MINT/MARINe is developing a method to take photos of the site at
various heights in order to map our sites, plots, and transect
locations. Eventually we hope to be able to photographically sample
communities from the air.
In a separate survey, Ken Wilson with the State
of California, Office of Spill Prevention and Response flew 4 MMS
sites with their winged aircraft while shots at several
hundreds of feet above the site put the MMS sites in perspective with
other rocky formations along the coast (see below).
University Scientists working with MINT:
Four key scientists have been instrumental in
shaping the work being done in rocky intertidal habitats along our
coast. Dr. Pete Raimondi (University of California,
Santa Cruz); Dr. Rich Ambrose (UCLA), Dr. Jack Engle (UC Santa
Barbara) and Dr. Steve Murray (California State University at
Fullerton) (left to right below) have worked with MMS and other
biologists to develop the sampling approaches and monitoring
strategies that have become the basis of MARINe. Countless hours of
effort have been put in by these scientists studying, analyzing, and
working to understand the dynamics of the rocky intertidal habitats
off our coast.
These scientists, their technicians, and students
pictured below have monitored MMS-funded sites in the field with MINT
biologists since 1991. The success of a long term monitoring program
such as this is due in large part to the consistency of effort
provided by technicians dedicated to accurate, systematic collection
of data.
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Upper row from left,
Steve Lee (UCLA) takes notes in mussel plots at an LA site; Tish
Conway-Cranos (UC Santa Cruz) and
Rafe Sagrin (UCLA) measure barnacle
“recruits,” i.e., baby barnacles, with a scope;
Melissa Wilson (UCSC) samples a turf algae
plot. Lower row from left: Susan Frisch and Erin Cox
(California State University Fullerton) revisit sites surveyed by Dr.
Mark Littler and Dr. Steve Murray in the late 1970’s; Melissa Wilson (UCSC) and Mark
Pierson need to use their acrobatic skills to count sea stars in the
cracks in central California. Stevie Lynn Adams (UCLA) and Christy Roe
(UC Santa Cruz) sample motile invertebrate plots with MMS biologists. |
Other MINT Projects:
The MMS Intertidal Team (MINT) has studied rocky
intertidal communities since 1991. MINT continued the MMS-funded long
term study of four rocky intertidal communities in northern and
central California from 1985-1998 to determine the recovery time
needed for mussel beds following a major disturbance.
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Top row, MINT team members Maurice Hill, Mary Elaine Helix, and Dr. Mark Pierson are pictured collecting data at a
central California site in 1998. Second row left, John Tarpley
(California Office of Spill Prevention and Response) and Herb Leedy
(MINT) use a point intercept sampling method to determine dynamics of
disturbed mussel beds. Second row, middle, Erig Nigg, formerly of
Kinnetics Laboratories, joins MINT biologists at a northern California
study site. Second row right, MINT members Lynnette Vesco, Mike
McCrary, Maurice Hill, Herb Leedy, Mary Elaine Helix and Mark
Pierson are pictured with the beloved government van. |
From 1991 to 2000, MINT members, with the help of
then UCSB scientists Rich Ambrose, Pete Raimondi, Jack Engle and their
technicians Jessie Altstatt and Melissa Wilson, collected data at the
Santa Barbara County mainland sites as part of the MMS/County of Santa
Barbara Shoreline Inventory Study. These data have been placed into
the MARINe database.
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Above from left MINT members and Pete Raimondi (UCSC)
are pictured sampling a site near Point Conception in the early
1990’s; MINT team members are pictured with Melissa Wilson (UCSC) and
Dick Wilhelmsen (former MMS manager) after a day of work. On far
right, Jessie Altstatt is pictured sampling a turf algae photoplot. |
This
year, in addition to participation in MARINe field data collection at
MMS-funded rocky intertidal sites, MINT is actively developing new
MARINe photography protocols and oil spill response protocols for
rocky intertidal habitats. MINT will also sponsor an annual taxonomic
workshop for MARINe biologists.
MINT is
funded directly by MMS as an in-house study.
Web Master:
Nollie
Gildow-Owens
Page content last updated 09/20/2006
Page last published 09/20/2006