Volunteers Document Health of Marine Life on California Coast in 'BioBlitz'

MUIR BEACH (KPIX 5) -- The California Academy of Sciences is calling all citizen scientists to help document the biodiversity of the California coast.

The institution is organizing BioBlitzes and they are inviting nature lovers to take photos of what they find on Bay Area beaches and shorelines.

Over the past week, 500 people have pitched in on Bioblitzes up and down the state, taking 10,000 photos of 1,000 species.

"We could never do that," said Dr. Rebecca Johnson, the Cal Academy Citizen Science program director. "I could do that over the course of a year if I traveled and hit every low tide but this way we can do it over a week.

At Muir Beach on Friday morning, some 20 people from across the Bay Area documented California mussels, Gooseneck barnacles, limpets, striped shore crabs and California sand castle worms.

"Having your mind shifted to the frame set of 'Oh let me actually look for these things,' you are able to see more of what's there versus just kind of blindly walking by," said Maureen Berg of Berkeley.

Join a BioBlitz in San Francisco this weekend by registering for San Francisco Marina Yacht Harbor on Saturday or Ocean Beach on Sunday.