Monterey Bay
Having visited Monterey Bay dozens of times, I was blessed to encounter many new taxa, along with re-acquaintance with numerous familiar plants, birds and marine mammals. Of note were sightings of thirty one Southern Sea Otters, some great lichens adapted to marine salty air, and a variety of kelp species. Even though i have had the earlier opportunity to conduct scientific research in the dunes area, this trip offered my first visit to the Fort Ord Dunes State Park; that visit surprised me with the massive surfside ongoing dunes erosion, which left the coastal zone virtually depauperate of plantlife. Access to the native area atop the dunes was severely limited at the time of my visit. It nevertheless gave me a time data point into the state of dunes here. The native vegetation stabilizing dunes tops were in seemingly great condition even though no path was open to view most of that coastal scrub close up.
