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<title>My Water Quality: Aquatic Ecosystem Health - Wetlands</title>

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    <th width="80%" rowspan="2" align="left"><h1>What Are Marine Wetlands?</h1></th>
    <th width="20%"><img src="../../../../images/ecohealth/wetlands5_147w70h.jpg" alt="wetland" width="147" height="70" align="top" /></th>
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    <td width="300" height="231" align="center" valign="top" style="margin-top:-8px;"><p><a style="background-color:#FFFFFF" href="../../images/e1_marine_bigsur1000w750h.jpg"><img src="../../images/e1_marine_bigsur300w225h.jpg" alt="Marine Intertidal Zone along Southern Big Sur Coastline" width="300" height="225" border="0" align="left" style="margin-right:20px;"/></a></td>
 <td width="61%" align="left" valign="top"><a href="../../images/e_percheelgrass_marine.jpg"><img src="../../images/e_percheelgrass_marine_225h.jpg" alt="" width="338" height="225" border="0" align="left" style="margin-top:8px;"/></a></td>  
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    <td height="40" valign="top"><strong>Marine Intertidal Zone<br />
along Southern Big Sur Coastline</strong><br />
<span class="footer"><em>[click on image to enlarge]</em></span>
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    <td align="left" valign="top"><strong>Perch and Eelgrass</strong><br />
      <span class="footer"><em>[click on image to enlarge]</em></span></td>
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 <td colspan="2"><br /><p>Marine  wetlands occur along the outer coast of California. They depend on regular  tidal action, ocean waves, or frequent ocean spray. The plants that inhabit  marine wetlands are salt-tolerant. In contrast with estuarine wetlands, marine  wetlands are minimally influenced by the freshwater from rivers or streams.<br />
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   Eelgrass beds are one particularly  important kind of marine wetland. They occur in the lower limits of the  intertidal zone, where they function as nurseries for a variety of marine  fishes, as well as feeding areas for fish, birds, seals and other marine mammals.  Eelgrass beds are subject to <a href="../../improvements/regulations.shtml#cemp">special  protection</a> in  California.
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<span class="footer">( Updated 
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