HARTMAN MULTIMEDIA
Nature Based Multimedia Information Systems
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HARTMAN MULTIMEDIA
Nature Based Multimedia Information Systems |
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Encinitas - Cardiff Kelp Bed This area, extending several hundred meters offshore, is
representative of the kelp beds in the Del Mar to Oceanside region.
Large rocky outcrops are unusual and the low-lying substrate on which the
kelp is established is scoured by sand and sometimes buried by sediment shifts.
As a result, animals that cannot tolerate incursions by sand are rare or
absent; consequently the species composition differs from the kelp communities
on extensive rock platforms such as are found at Point Loma or La Jolla . The giant bladder kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, and the
feather boa, Egregia laevigata, are common, and inshore there are stretches of
the surf grass, Phyllospadix scouleri. The gorgonian corals Muricea fructicosa and Muricea californica proliferate in these intermixed sand and rock environments, as does
the tunicate Styela montereyensis. The
bryozoans Thalamoporella californica and Scrupocellaria sp. are also abundant. Two groups of animals are notably rare here, the
abalones and sea urchins; though present, they do not play a controlling role
that devastates the flora. Integrity: The
shoreline is well developed and there is a small sewer outfall near the southern
end; however, the bed appears to be in good condition. Ref: Survey
of the Marine Environment Offshore of San Elijo Lagoon.
1965. California Fish, &
Game Quarterly, Vol. 51, p. 81-112. March 1975
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