MARINE LIFE OFF THE COAST OF MONTEREY CALIFORNIA
...tat one might happen upon is the sandy beach. The mole crab (Emerita analoga) is a permanent beach resident. The crab is generally found 842195XHN 2 from British Columbia all the way to Baja, California. Its body is smooth and oval which allows for easy burrowing. The hind limbs are specially designed for digging quickly into the sandy beaches. The male mole crab stops growing when it has reached three quarters of an inch, and generally only live one year. The largest female mole crab can reach over two inches, and live for two years. Another permanent beach resident that one might happen upon would be the Isopod (Excirolana). The Isopod can be mistaken for the mole crab due to their similar oval appearances. Nonetheless, the Isopod is distinctly different in it’s smaller size, it only reaches one half inch in length. Its body appendages and antennae are much shorter, as well. Other marine life that are permanent inhabitants on the sandy shores of California are the Polychaete worms, Mollusks (shelled marine snails). Some occasional visitors include the California Grunion, Moon Snails, sandy beach Echinoderms and Sea Pansies. Among the permanent and occasional residents, there are also the wash-ups. These include Stranded Seaweeds, Stranded Jellies, Pelagic Animals (Barnacles, Shipworms and the Dungeness Crab). The sandy beaches of California, and those all over the world, all have numerous things in common. They all are compiled of sediment particles that superimpose of a rocky beach platform. The sediments that make up California’s beaches are primarily small pieces of minerals, quartz and feldspar. 842195XHN 3 These sediments are usually pummeled by the continental rocks and washed down to the ocean in rivers, or perhaps they are the fabrications of coastal erosion (Niesen, 27). The Shoreline is constantly changing, resulting in estuaries, and mudflats. Estuaries are naturally formed, and occur when a considerable size river is flooded by the ...