La Jolla Ecological Reserve Impact Study Recently SDOF set up time-lapse camera's near the La Jolla Ecological Reserve to help study the human impacts on tide pool communities. What we want to learn is how many people are walking around the La Jolla Ecological Reserve tide pools at low tide. SDOF proposed documenting this using time-lapse recordings taken from video cameras. To ensure the cameras would withstand being exposed to the elements, the cameras were installed in water tight enclosures and were connected to special VCRs that have time-lapse capability. The VCRs were also placed in water-proof enclosures. The VCRs are programmed to record one frame of video every three seconds. At this rate a tape will last over one month. Each video frame is automatically stamped with the time and date of its recording. After the tapes are collected, they are analyzed frame by frame over specific time intervals. The researchers will note how many people are present & perhaps what they are doing. Activities including collecting, trampling, and rock turning may be recorded along with total numbers of visitors. In the future SDOF hopes to have volunteers help participate in this process. This would require having the cameras connected to the internet to access the images. The study could be expanded by looking outside of the tide pools to see how many boaters, swimmers, divers and others are using the Reserve. This type of information has never been collected before and could prove useful in better understanding the ecology of the Reserve. They will also help us to understand how human disturbances may interact with and intensify natural disturbances on our coasts. As we become better able to accurately describe human impacts to our shorelines, we will also become better able to effectively manage and protect them. To learn more, you can e-mail Tonya: tohuff@ucsd.edu