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Here are some of the topics that will be covered in this chapter. More text and images will eventually be added to this section. Thank you for your patience.
Sandy-beach events in September:
As northwest winds and wind-generated waves subside, sand on continues to build up exposed beaches. This process will continue until the first winter storms (typically in late October).
Sand dollars broadcast spawn all summer, with a peak in August and September.
Pismo clams spawn mostly between August and October (larvae need warm water and dinoflagellate blooms for survival)
Sanddabs (a common flatfish off sandy beaches) spawn.
Fall is peak mating season for beach hoppers (amphipods), when sandy beaches are at their widest and most stable.
Large numbers of migrating shorebirds appear on Central Coast beaches. Western sandpipers and sanderlings return after nesting in Alaska to feed on mole crabs, beach hoppers and sand-fly larvae. Marbled godwits and willets arrive or migrate through in large numbers after nesting in Canada and Alaska.
