Newport Back Bay - Marine Life

Marine Life

The Upper Newport Back Bay boasts one of the few remaining natural estuaries in Southern California. Living in the waters of the Upper Newport Back Bay, are several diverse species of plankton and algae. These plankton and algae act as a food source for the eighty or so species of fish that live in the estuary. The topsmelt, anchovy, and mullet are especially common in the area, feeding on the abundant population of plankton and detritus. Along with a multitude of fish, plankton, and algae, a number of invertebrates occupy the marine zone of the Upper Newport Back Bay. The most common invertebrates that can be found in the Upper Newport Back Bay are worms, molluscs, and crustaceans. Molluscs found in the bay are likely to harbor hurtful micro-organisms and bacteria, therefore human consumption of mussels, clams, and snails found in the bay are forbidden from human consumption. Some of the molluscs that can be found in the Upper Newport Back Bay are California jackknife clam, the Bent-nosed clam, the Ribbed horse mussel, Lined shore crabs, Fiddler crabs, Mud crabs, Swimming crabs, Skeleton Shrimp, Ghost Shrimp, and the California horn snail.

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