EMPA Macroalgae

The overall goal of the Estuary Marine Protected Area (EMPA) Monitoring Program is to
establish a monitoring framework, including data collection, analysis, synthesis, and
reporting to determine the health of estuaries in California and the efficacy of MPA
designation in estuaries. A key element is the development of a standardized monitoring
protocol that can be used not only by the MPA program, but by any program aimed at assessing
estuary function, condition, or health to provide data that can be easily compared across
systems and between programs. A robust condition assessment framework for estuaries should be
able to accommodate the underlying differences in estuarine structure and form, while still
allowing comparable intra-estuary comparisons of health and condition. The purpose of this
project was to develop a standardized approach to monitor and assess the functions (key
species abundance, diversity, structure, function, and integrity) of estuarine ecosystems. As
part of the initial phases of the program, we developed standard protocols to assess key
estuarine features across different estuaries, coupled with standard data templates and
guidance on analysis, synthesis, and reporting, focused on four guiding principles:
flexibility, comparability, interpretability, and practicality. We developed 14 SOPs and
piloted the framework at 15 estuaries in 2021. Monitoring has continued since 2021 and has
expanded to include new SOPs and new sites. For more details on the EMPA program and
framework, see https://empa.sccwrp.org.