Post-glacial environments of coastal regions respond to changes in sea level, tectonics, and climate. Adjustments in sedimentary regimes along the coast also occur during periods of rising sea level, altering littoral habitats. Species diversity and biomass of marine invertebrates depend on the nature of the intertidal zone represented by rocky open coast, sandy beach, or quiet water embayment. Prehistoric human settlement of the southern California coast began in the early Holocene, and the marine invertebrate record in these archaeological deposits reflects the sedimentation history of the littoral cells over ca. 9000 years in the southern bight. Sediment flux to the coast increased markedly in the middle Holocene and led to the development of the modern Oceanside and Silver Strand littoral cells.
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