A NATURALIST'S
SEASHORE GUIDE
-common marine life of the northern
california coast and adjacent shores-
by
Gary Brusca & Richard Brusca
Mad River Press, 1978, 205 pages

American Bald Eagle
Breaking Through
Littoral Crab
Kleptoparasitized From A
Great Blue Heron
On An Outer Shore
Amidst
California Wild Nature

compiled by
Robert Roy van de Hoek
March 21, 2001
Vernal (Spring) Equinox
Malibu, California

We have seen remarkable changes in the field of marine biology during the past two decades. Both of us have been fortunate enough to study under, and work with, some of the very fine west coast invertebrate zoologists who are true naturalists. The teachings and attitudes of these individuals have instilled in us a respect for all types of life forms........

We have both been stubbornly persistent in believing that knowledge of natural history is critical to an understanding of what the living world is all about. Our feelings are by no means universal, or even popular in some quarters, but there are answers which can only be found by looking at whole animals, with a hand lens and field notes as tools. In addition to the direct scientific value of this approach, there is something quite special about early morning low tides along the California coast, as the sun rises above the cliffs and scatters the ground fog. It is during such moments that a naturalist is in his closest communion with nature. We envision previous tidepool naturalists such as E.F. Ricketts, S.F. Light, and others out in the field on similar early mornings. And we recall those who took us to the field as students: D.H. Montgomery, in dungarees and flannel shirt, standing elbow deep in a cold pool, bent to a rock with his land lens; and J.W. Hedgpeth, in peacoat and beret, pipe smoke wreathing his face, perched on a rock humming some odd Welsh tune. There were, and still are, many others.

But the days of the California tidepoolers are numbered. Not only is this sort of science somewhat less popular than it once was, but the coastline itself is slowly being destroyed in the name of "progress" and development. And attitudes have changed. Marine laboratories once inhabited by naturalists tucked away in dusty corners amidst vials and old manuscripts are gradually becoming lost to sterile labs and computers ...... We hope that this little book helps to transmit and preserve a bit of the flavor of the natural historians and what they are all about.

..... we thank Anna Mary and Jule for their patience during the many evenings when our attention was buried in notes, and for their understanding as we often clanked around our respective houses in preparation for a 5 AM low tide."

On page 22-23, Joel Hedgpeth is acknowledged further:
"Probably since the first naturalist took the time to observe the seashore carefully, it has been apparent that the intertidal zone could be divided not only quantitatively by increments on a measuring stick, but qualitatively, by observing the organisms living in this area. Even a casual observer strolling down an exposed stretch of rocky intertidal beach will see these bands of organisms (called zones) occurring one below the other. Ed Ricketts in his original studies of the intertidal zonation of the Pacfic Coast of California recognized four zones or regions in the intertidal. This original scheme, and numerous others, have been discussed and compared by Hedgpeth in his latest revision of Ricketts' book Between Pacific Tides.