Organisms of a Subtidal Sand Community in Southern California

Abstract

A long-term study of a subtidal sand community on the exposed coast <br /><br />of California has revealed a highly structured, diverse assemblage of macroscopic, <br /><br />epifaunal organisms. It is dominated by a few species of relatively large, long- <br /><br />Uved suspension feeders, particularly the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus. Along <br /><br />the depth gradient from 2.6 m to 13.1 m there are three faunal zones with the <br /><br />sand dollars occupying most of the middle zone. The community is composed of <br /><br />about 45 common species; the seaward zone has the greatest diversity and number <br /><br />of predators. Nearly 90 invertebrate and more than 30 fish species were recorded <br /><br />during the study.