Ecosystem Overview

Big Sur is a 90 mile stretch of coastline along Highway 1 that runs from Carmel (just below Monterey) to San Simeon (just before San Luis Obispo). It is about 150 miles south of San Francisco and 300 miles north of Los Angeles.

California Coast Map. Digital image. TrekAmerica. Peak Adventure Travel Group Limited, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://trekamerica.com/tours/xcn.html>.

Map of Big Sur. Digital image. Lonely Planet. BBC Worldwide, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/north-america/usa/big-sur>. 

The ecosystem of Big Sur is extremely complex, and includes several sub-ecosystems. It is made unique by its combination of both land and ocean habitats. Big Sur is of the mediterranean biome, and its official ecosystem is classified as California Coastal Chaparral Forest & Shrub. However, I will be focusing specifically on the intertidal zone of Big Sur, the ecosystem that occurs on the actual coastline.

INTERTIDAL ZONE: LITTORAL ZONE

The "intertidal zone" or the littoral zone lies between low and high tides, or where the waves meet the shore. 

Littoral, Limnetic, and Euphotic Zones. Digital image. Lakes Monitoring Program. RMB Environmental Laboratories, 2007. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://www.rmbel.info/reports/Static/LL_boatslittoral.aspx>.

Tide Pool

Intertidal zones may feature high biodiversity due to several factors:

1. The upwelling of nutrients by the tides

2. Shallow enough to receive sunlight

3. Usually rocky and allow animals hiding places

However, Big Sur's intertidal zone features even more biodiversity because it is a transition zone between the cooler Oregonion Ocean Province and the warmer Californian Ocean Province. Due to this overlap, many species that would never naturally meet begin to coexist. (Henson et al, 1993 p. 52).

Intertidal zones are very delicate places; it is easy to create imbalance, either naturally or human-induced. Intense waves, too much exposure to air, or the chemical makeup of rocks may make some areas completely inhabitable for many species. Human impacts as simple as wading through the tide pools or a boat passing through could devastate an intertidal zone.