Factors that Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay #3: Sediment & Light Differences Part 1

The illustration above shows hands holding sand on the left and clay on the right.

In the first two blog posts of the Factors that Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay series, we learned that there are many factors that influence eelgrass growth in estuaries. In this two-part post, PhD candidate Erin Aiello explores the importance of light and sediment properties and how they change across the bay. Erin Aiello, Guest Author Erin Aiello is a native of the central coast, having grown up in Cambria. She spent most of her childhood running barefoot through pine forests, which instilled in her an undying love of nature. Erin received her BS and MS degrees in …

Field Updates December 2018: Eelgrass, Wildlife Sightings, Creeks, and Rainfall Totals

January 4, 2019 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bivalve chorro creek creeks eelgrass los osos creek monitoring rainfall total restoration seagrass transect monitoring wildlife Blog Posts Field Updates

Watershed Stewards Program members Melia and Doug work on counting the number of eelgrass shoots within a 0.5m by 0.5m area.

Fulfilling our mission to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary for people and wildlife requires a lot of hard work in the field. At the Estuary Program, that often entails doing research, restoration, and monitoring work out on the estuary and along the creeks that feed into it. Read on to see what we’ve been up to during the past month. Eelgrass monitoring Each fall, we monitor eelgrass on our permanent transects. These transects are sample areas across the bay where eelgrass has grown historically. We chose the specific locations of the transects to represent different zones in the …

Factors That Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay #2: Biological Conditions and Human Factors

December 28, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program black brant crabs dredge dredging eelgrass eelgrass mitigation estuary morro bay seagrass zostera marina Blog Posts Factors That Affect Eelgrass Growth

There are a variety of physical, biological, and direct human factors that affect eelgrass growth in estuaries. We have partnered with researchers at Cal Poly and Cuesta College to better understand these conditions in Morro Bay. This blog series, Factors that Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay, highlights our partners’ research. This second post will introduce you to the biological conditions and human factors that can impact eelgrass in our estuary. You can find the first post on physical conditions that affect eelgrass here. Biological conditions Disturbance caused by crabs Crabs can disturb eelgrass blades by clipping them. However, …

Factors That Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay #1: Physical Conditions

December 21, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program anoxic soil central coast california eelgrass estuary low oxygen level macroalgae morro bay physical factors seaweed turbidity water quality Blog Posts

There are a variety of physical, biological, and direct human factors that affect eelgrass growth in estuaries. We have partnered with researchers at Cal Poly and Cuesta College to better understand these conditions in Morro Bay. This blog series, Factors that Affect Eelgrass Growth in Morro Bay, highlights our partners’ research. This first post will introduce you to the physical conditions that can impact eelgrass in our estuary. Physical conditions that affect eelgrass growth Turbidity Eelgrass needs sufficient light to grow. Turbidity (a measurement of the cloudiness of water) can reduce the amount of light that is able …

Preview Sea Level Rise with King Tides in Morro Bay

December 15, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program #MBKingTidesContest CA King Tides California King Tides Project climate change Morro Bay coastal resilience King Tides MBNEP morro bay morro bay estuary national estuary program sea level rise Blog Posts

The highest tides of the year are on their way. These tides, commonly called King Tides, often encroach on infrastructure along California’s coast. They submerge stairways to the beach, overwhelm boardwalks, surge into storm-drain systems, flood roads, and even crash against the windows of waterfront buildings. Read on to see what causes these tides, how they affect Morro Bay, why they matter, and what you can do to help. (Read all the way through to find info on our Morro Bay King Tides Photo Contest.) What causes King Tides These exceptionally high tides occur each winter when: Earth …

Field Updates November 2018: Eelgrass Monitoring and Rainfall Totals

December 7, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program eelgrass eelgrass loss eelgrass restoration estuary field updates field work fieldwork MBNEP monitoring morro bay natural recruitment precipitation rainfall rainfall totals citizen science Field Updates

Fulfilling our mission to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary for people and wildlife requires a lot of hard work in the field. At the Estuary Program, that often entails doing research, restoration, and monitoring work out on the estuary and along the creeks that feed into it. Read on to see what we’ve been up to during the past month. Eelgrass Monitoring In November, we went out and checked on all of our 2018 eelgrass restoration plots, as well as some planted in 2017. While we were out monitoring, we noticed lots of new patches of …

Photograph Friday: Elfin Forest

November 30, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program El Moro Elfin Forest elfin forest live oak los osos MBNEP morro bay morro bay estuary national estuary program native plants photograph friday plant communities pygmy oak Small wilderness areas preservation SWAP Blog Posts Photograph Friday

The El Moro Elfin Forest is full of surprises. Although it lies just on the edge of a neighborhood, near a school, and close to busy South Bay Boulevard, it feels a world apart. The winding boardwalk path brings you to lookout points high above the estuary and salt marsh and then pulls you deep under the cover of pygmy live oaks in Rose’s Grove. And, though the preserve covers only 90 acres, it boasts eight distinct habitat types. (You can read about some of these distinct plant communities in our Native Plant blog series.) Each season brings new …

Thankful in Morro Bay, 2018

November 23, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bird poem estuary Gallery at Marina Square grateful Love Morro Bay MBNEP morro bay morro bay national estuary program Morro Bay poem Morro Bay Standup Paddleboarding State Parks Docent thankful thanksgiving Blog Posts Thanksgiving

Drone photograph of the Morro Bay estuary. Courtesy of Nic Stover, StoverPhoto.

At the Estuary Program, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work collaboratively for the health of the Morro Bay estuary, its watershed, the wildlife that depend on it, and the people who love it. We are thankful for the many citizens, landowners, agencies, and organizations who make this work possible by funding, advising, volunteering, and otherwise participating in projects that benefit the bay. We asked local business owners, volunteers, and artists to share what they are thankful for in and around the Morro Bay estuary. Read on to see the many ways that the bay has touched …

Morro Bay Wildlife Spotlight: Monarchs are back!

November 16, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bay-friendy gardening butterfly grove MBNEP milkweed monarch monarch butterfly monarchs morro bay morro bay estuary native plants Pismo monarchs pollinators showy milkweed thanksgiving count western monarch wmtc Blog Posts Wildlife spotlight

As the month of November rolls around, the eucalyptus groves in Morro Bay State Park fill with bright orange monarch butterflies. After soaring the windstreams of the world for over 1,000 miles, these butterflies escape the cold temperatures of the Rockies and migrate to the warmer climates of our central California coast. A migration across generations One monarch butterfly alone cannot make this journey. It can take up to five generations of monarchs migrating southwest before they reach our coast. Depending on the time of year, the lifespan of a monarch butterfly varies. During the spring and summer, …

Field Updates October 2018: bioassessment scouting, Pismo Preserve, sharing data, and getting ready for rain

November 9, 2018 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bioassessment Camp SLO chorro creek eelgrass report erosion estuary program macroinvertebrates macros MBNEP morro bay morro bay eelgrass Pismo preserve sediment monitoring winter storms Blog Posts Field Updates

Fulfilling our mission to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary for people and wildlife requires a lot of hard work in the field. At the Estuary Program, that often entails doing research, restoration, and monitoring work out on the estuary and along the creeks that feed into it. Read on to see what we’ve been up to during the past month. Scouting a new bioassessment site on Camp SLO Monitoring Coordinators Tim and Karissa ventured out to upper Chorro Creek, on Camp SLO property, to scout out new locations for conducting bioassessment surveys. This site would help …