PISCO is a large-scale marine research program that focuses on understanding the nearshore ecosystems of the U.S. West Coast. An interdisciplinary collaboration of scientists from four universities, PISCO integrates long-term monitoring of ecological and oceanographic processes at dozens of coastal sites with experimental work in the lab and field. We explore how individual organisms, populations, and ecological communities vary over space and time. PISCO's findings are applied to issues of ocean conservation and management, and are shared through our public outreach and student training programs.