Bodega Marine Reserve

Bodega Marine Reserve (BMR) is the only marine area protected for research and education on California’s rugged north central coast. Offering a variety of habitats from rocky intertidal and subtidal areas to beaches, dunes, coastal prairie, coastal scrub, wetlands, seagrass, and mudflat habitats, it is a preeminent site for in-depth research on state and national environmental priorities, and an extraordinary training site for terrestrial, marine and coastal field biologists.

The diverse habitats of BMR support a wide variety of flora and fauna, including numerous migratory shorebirds, intertidal invertebrates, coastal bluff plants, and marine algae. Located on site, UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) provides cutting-edge research facilities and classrooms, conference facilities, boating and diving programs, oceanographic and meteorological data, and much more.

Located 60 miles north of San Francisco, Bodega Marine Reserve supports marine and terrestrial research and education in an area of California unique for the strength of its coastal upwelling, strong influence of marine processes on coastal ecosystems, and diverse soils and geology within the San Andreas Fault zone. Researchers and classes also use BMR as a base to explore sites ranging from San Francisco Bay to Point Arena.

Year Founded
1965
Year Joined OBFS
2023
Size of Field Station (hectares)
101-500
FSML Web Address
https://naturalreserves.ucdavis.edu/bodega-marine-reserve

Private nonprofit organization?
No
Universities affiliated / Parent Organization
University of California Davis
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
Other: Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
Member of the Virtual Field
Yes

Additional Information

Private nonprofit organization?
Names of Universities affilated
0
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
Other
Name of partner
Center for Environmental Studies, Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico
Tribal partners/users
Yes
MSI/HBCU users
Yes
Community College users
Yes
Member of the Virtual Field
Yes

Visiting a FS/ML

Open to the Public
Yes
Year round staff
21+
Seasonal staff
0
Overnight housing facilities/# of beds
50+
Distance to emergency services
0-20 minutes
Library
Yes
Hiking trails
Yes
Internship employment
Yes

Environmental Information

Biomes
Intertidal - rocky, Intertidal - sandy, and Intertidal - salt marsh, pelagic, benthic, abyssal
Minimum Elevation
0-100 meters
Maximum Elevation
0-100 meters
Köppen climate classification
C (temperate)
Freshwater habitats
Yes
Urban or rural
Agricultural fields
No

Research

REU host station
No
Dry lab space
Yes
Wet Lab space
Yes
Research vessels available
Yes
GIS capacity on site
Yes
Long term data sets
Yes
On site herbarium or voucher species
Formal Data Management Plan
No
Mesocosms, plots, stream diversions, or other sets ups for outdoor manipulative experiments
Yes
Date Joined OBFS
February 9, 2024