This polygon shapefile depicts eelgrass beds on the central California coast that provide foraging, breeding, or nursery areas for invertebrates, fish and birds. The most common type of seagrass in California is Zostera, or eelgrass, which grows under water in estuaries and in shallow coastal bays of the ecoregion. This flowering plant, not an alga, occurs in dense beds and helps prevent erosion and maintain stability near shore by anchoring sediment with its spreading rhizomes and slowing water flow. This file aggregates data from several sources across multiple years. Features shown here should not be considered a representation of condition for any given year, but represent the maximum extent of eelgrass found across multiple surveys over multiple years. This coverage represents eelgrass distribution on the central California coast. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.
