Marine ornithology · 2003 · 22 citations · 9 references
Environmental MonitoringEngineeringCoastal WaterOceanographyCoastal ProcessPollution AssessmentEnvironmental HealthMarine PollutionOil SpillBeach Watch ProgramPublic HealthBeach ManagementCoastal MonitoringBeach WatchEnvironmental PollutionMarine Ecosystem-based ManagementSystematic Shoreline SurveysCoastal ProcessesCoastal SystemsCoastal ManagementBeach DynamicChronic Oil PollutionMarine BiologyCoastal Pollution
Systematic shoreline surveys for beached birds have been conducted since the middle of the twentieth century (Bull & Boeson 1961, Veitch 1976, Page et al. 1982, Stenzel et al. 1988, Powelsland & Imber 1988, Carter & Page 1989, Bayer et al. 1991, Heubeck 1995, Benson et al. 1999, Camphuysen & Heubeck 2001). In 1993, the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) began Beach Watch, a long-term shoreline monitoring program, in north-central California. The program records baseline data on beachcast and live marine organisms, assists sanctuary management in the early detection of natural and human-caused environmental perturbations such as epizootic outbreaks, El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and oil spills, and provides a network of skilled shoreline surveyors to respond during oil spills. Since 1996, the Beach Watch program has also counted tarballs (small patties of oil) found on survey beaches, as a secondary indicator of chronic oil pollution.
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