Natural Resource Monitoring at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

A view of Boney Mountain with ceanothus in bloom.

NPS

At 154,095 acres, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is the world's largest urban national park. Since its establishment in 1978, the park has grown to include many individual parks and protected areas in the greater Los Angeles area through partnerships with state and local agencies, universities, and other groups.

Combined, these protected spaces preserve unique mountain, canyon, beach, and rocky shoreline habitats for approximately 500 mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species. It is also one of the best examples of a Mediterranean ecosystem in the world.

Monitored Here

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• Aquatic Amphibians & Invasive Species
• Terrestrial Amphibians & Reptiles
• Climate & Weather
• Invasive Plants
• Landscape Dynamics
• Native Plant Communities
• Stream Condition

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Documents

Quick Reads

Download 1-2 page PDFs about each of the Mediterannean Coast Network's monitoring programs by following the links below.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3367 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Aquatic Amphibian & Invasive Species Monitoring Reports

The Mediterranean Coast Network documents its findings in reports published in the NPS Natural Resource Publication Series. All reports are housed and managed through the Integrated Resource Management Application (IRMA).

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1500 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Terrestrial Amphibian & Reptile Monitoring Reports

The Mediterranean Coast Network documents its findings in reports published in the NPS Natural Resource Publication Series. All reports are housed and managed through the Integrated Resource Management Application (IRMA).

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1501 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Climate & Weather Monitoring Reports

The Mediterranean Coast Network documents its findings in reports published in the NPS Natural Resource Publication Series. All reports are housed and managed through the Integrated Resource Management Application (IRMA).

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1505 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Native Plant Community Monitoring Reports

The Mediterranean Coast Network documents its findings in reports published in the NPS Natural Resource Publication Series. All reports are housed and managed through the Integrated Resource Management Application (IRMA).

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1509 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Protocols & Procedures

Protocols describe in detail the procedures used to collect, manage, analyze and report monitoring data. They follow strict guidelines for content and format, and are reviewed and revised by subject-matter experts in each field.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3517 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Species Lists

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.