FIGURES 



Number Page 



1 Location of southern California coastal wetlands 2 



2 Marine and terrestrial topographic contours 3 



3 Changes in sea level 5 



U Tidal features 6 



5 Rainfall data for San Diego 7 



6 Interstitial soil salinities 12 



7 Seasonal changes in water salinity of closed lagoons 12 



8 Effects of heavy rainfall on tidal estuaries and closed lagoons . . 13 



9 Distribution of the most common halophytes by elevation 17 



10 Soil texture data 19 



11 Soil salinity changes with elevation, time of year and rainfall . . 20 



12 Average soil salinity and variability with elevation 21 



13 Cordgrass ( Spartina foliosa) 24 



14 Pickleweed ( Salicornia virginica ) 25 



15 Annual pickleweed ( Salicornia bigelovii ) 25 



16 Saltwort ( Batis maritima ) 27 



17 Jaumea carnosa 27 



18 Sea-blite ( Suaeda californica ) 28 



19 Arrow grass ( Triglochin concinnum ) 28 



20 Frankenia grandifolia 29 



21 Saltgrass ( Distichlis spicata ) 31 



22 Shoregrass ( Monanthochloe littoralis ) 31 



23 Salt marsh bird's beak ( Cordylanthus marltimus ssp. maritimus ) ... 32 



24 .. Salicornia subterminalis 32 



25 Sea lavender ( Limonium californicum ) 32 



26 Alkali weed ( Cressa truxillensis ) 33 



27 Dodder ( Cuscuta salina ) 33 



28 Cordgrass patches in a pickleweed marsh 36 



29 Prolonged flooding effects at the San Diego River marsh 36 



30 Off-road vehicle activities 36 



31 Conceptual model of species establishment and spread 39 



32 Luxuriant algal mats on the soil surface 45 



33 Scanning electron microscope photos of salt-marsh diatoms 46 



34 Algal mat productivity under four halophyte canopies 48 



35 Soil salinity effects on vascular plant and algal productivity ... 50 



36 A comparison of energy flow for two food chains 53 



37 Marsh-tidal creek interactions 55 



38 Three common salt-marsh molluscs 59 



39 Creekbank habitat and three southern California crabs 62 



40 Salt-marsh insect representatives 66 



41 The California killifish ( Fundulus parviplnnis ) 70 



42 The arrow goby ( Clevelandia ios ) 75 



43 The long-jaw mudsucker ( Gillichthys mirabilis ) 75 



44 The staghorn sculpin ( Leptocottus armatus) 75 



vii 



