Southwest

Humboldt Bay is California’s second largest estuary, encompassing roughly 62.4 square kilometers (about 15,400 acres) and supporting more extensive eelgrass resources than any other system in the state. Eelgrass is a highly productive seagrass that contributes to ecosystem functions at multiple levels as a primary and secondary producer, as a habitat structuring element, as a substrate for epiphytes and epifauna, and as a sediment stabilizer and nutrient cycling facilitator.

Restoration efforts in San Francisco Bay will advance in Summer 2012 as the San Francisco Bay Living Shorelines: Nearshore Linkages Project is implemented. The overarching project goal is to analyze subtidal restoration techniques and restore critical eelgrass and oyster habitat, while learning more about the potential physical benefits of biological reefs along the shoreline.

To inform current and future adaptation decisions and conservation actions we conducted the first statewide, comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of California’s coastal habitats, imperiled species, and conservation lands to sea level rise. Coastal habitats exist in narrow bands at the land-sea interface and are therefore extremely susceptible to inundation by sea level rise. However, some habitats may be able to adapt vertically and possibly move inland, assuming local topography and the built environment do not constrain this movement.

Santa Monica Bay teems with life, serving as home to over 5000 species of birds, fish, mammals, plants and other wildlife and providing the two million-plus humans who live in its watershed with a mild climate, aesthetic beauty, recreation, food, fresh oxygen, and commercial opportunities. In December 1988, the State of California and the U.S.

The decline of flora and fauna of rocky intertidal habitats along wave-exposed coasts has been observed globally. Over the past ten years, researchers have showed links between organism population change and human visitation disturbance. The rocky intertidal zone in Los Angeles County, CA, is especially vulnerable to visitation disturbance due to its large human population coupled with the importance of the ocean as a recreation center.

The rocky intertidal zone, or the band of rocky coastline that is flooded by high tides and exposed during low tides, is home to a wealth of colorful seaweeds and uniquely adapted invertebrates. In Southern California, Cabrillo National Monument and Channel Islands National Park both protect rocky intertidal habitat to the delight of curious visitors young and old.

Texas sportsmen and women know that the species they prize are highly attuned to climate. Climate change is already resulting in many changes that are being observed across land and water habitats, including changes in the types of fish, wildlife and plants, their population size, and shifts in where and when species are found. This publication describes some of the effects that have already been seen in Texas and what may be in store for the state's fish and game in the future.

Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States—a contribution to the 2013 National Climate Assessment—is a summary and synthesis of the past, present, and projected future of the region’s climate, emphasizing new information and understandings since publication of the previous national assessment in 2009.

Regional scope