LiMPETS Field Trip

On April 12, 2019, Team AP Bio embarked on an epic journey to LiMPETS.

LiMPETS is an organization based at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Half Moon Bay. Basically, we visited the intertidal areas or, better known, the tidepools. This was so COOL. There is so much diversity here because of the tides. Different organisms grow and thrive in the tidal “zones”. These zones represent each stage of the tides, from high to low.

At LiMPETS, we collected data as part of Citizen Science. We were able collect data on the living organism diversity in the tidepools. We used quadrats that had 25 squares within them. From here, we recorded the squares which had certain organisms or we counted the organisms themselves. This data helps LiMPETS monitor the health of the organisms within the tidepools. Also, with the recent events in 2013-2015 concerning the Sea Star Wasting Disease that wiped out almost all the sea stars in the intertidal. Citizen Science data shows that sea stars are recovering from this disease and are coming back to the intertidals.

There were some pretty cool organisms at LiMPETS. My personal favorite was the Sunburst Anemone, and I am so glad that I was able to find an open one. Another cool critter was the Chiton, an eight plated organism whose plates were made of chitin.

LiMPETS was such a great experience so I would 100% recommend it to anyone and everyone. I was able to actively make a difference in the conservation of the marine life there and so can you!

Check out the vlog I made featuring Caroline Divney and Isa Lopez!