Eelgrass & Caulerpa

Print Feedback

Font Size: + -

Eelgrass

Eelgrass provides a number of important ecosystem functions including foraging areas and shelter to young fish and invertebrates, food for migratory waterfowl and sea turtles, and spawning surfaces for species such as the Pacific herring. By trapping sediment, stabilizing the substrate, and reducing the force of wave energy, eelgrass beds also reduce coastal erosion. In essence, eelgrass forms the base of a highly productive marine food web.

This unique habitat also produces food and oxygen, improves water quality by filtering polluted runoff, absorbs excess nutrients, stores greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and protects the shoreline from erosion.

For more information, please visit the NOAA Fisheries website https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/importance-eelgrass
Eelgrass Survey Report

Newport Harbor Eelgrass Protection and Mitigation Plan

California Eelgrass Mitigation Policy and Implementing Guidelines

Caulerpa

The genus Caulerpa comprises a group of green algae with a wide global distribution throughout the marine environment. Although primarily found in shallow tropical and subtropical waters, some species can inhabit brackish lagoons. Caulerpa species possess unique characteristics that enable them to withstand a broad range of environmental conditions and give them great invasive potential. For instance, Caulerpa species can typically reproduce asexually through clonal fragmentation so that even tiny fragments can grow into new adults, and they often have a high growth rate allowing them to rapidly colonize new areas. Caulerpa prolifera new

There are no Caulerpa species native to California. Therefore, Caulerpa species pose a substantial threat to marine ecosystemsin California particularly to the extensive eelgrass meadows and other benthic environments that make coastal waters such a rich and productive environment. The eelgrass beds and other coastal resources that could be impacted by an invasion of Caulerpa are part of a food web that is critical to the survival of numerous native marine species including those of commercial and recreational importance. Infestations from two Caulerpa species, C. taxifolia and C. prolifera, have been detected in California including Newport Harbor.

Although there is significant concern Caulerpa could be harmful to native species, there is no danger to humans.

For more information, please visit the NOAA Fisheries website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/habitat-conservation/caulerpa-species-west-coast#about-caulerpa

Or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Species/Caulerpa

Caulerpa Reporting Forms

Caulerpa Control Protocol and Caulerpa Survey Reporting Form

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Word Viewer