San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve

The San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve represents one of the last remnants of freshwater wetlands that once covered much of Orange County’s flood plain. Located in an ancient river-cut channel at the head of Newport Bay, the reserve supports a variety of wetland habitats, including freshwater marshlands, shallow ponds, and channels confined by earthen dikes. Research at San Joaquin includes: Habitat use and movements of coyotes in a Southern California urban environment, Effects of black sage on herbivore predation of purple needlegrass, Parasitoids and population ecology of the harlequin bug, Wetlands production and fluxes of methane and other gases, and Pollen analysis of San Joaquin Marsh Holocene sediment