The sandy sea floor harbors a diverse and uniquely adapted array of organisms that are part of an ecologically important community.  The fish and invertebrates living on the shallow sandy sea floor within the Los Angeles Harbor (9-18 m/5-10 fathoms/30-60 ft deep) will be sampled using a net called an otter trawl.  Organisms living at different depths can differ radically from shallow water species in terms of both biology and behavior.  To compare animals from two sandy bottom habitats of very different depths, the otter trawl is used to collect organisms from about 90 m (50 fathoms/ 300 ft) deep near the White Point outfall (an outfall from a sewage plant in Carson).

     Available here are photographs of some of the organisms you might recover from the various sampling procedures on board the Vantuna.  You can scroll through all the pictures, or select the specific one you would like to see.  To find a specific organism, choose an alphabetical list by common or scientific name.  To scroll through the pictures, click here.

     © Copyright 2002 Occidental College.  All Rights Reserved.  You may print, reproduce and use the information in, and retrieve files containing publications or images from, Occidental College's Marine Science Experience site for non-commercial, personal, or educational purposes only, provided that you (i) do not modify such information, and (ii) include any copyright notice originally included with such information and this notice in all such copies. 

HS Marine Science Experience | Organisms

Last updated 03/07/00