Unconsolidated sediments are estuarine habitats with little to no vegetation and sediments smaller than pebbles. Area of the estuary where unconsolidated sediments occur can be hydologically classified as subtidal, permanently flooded, semipermanently flooded, and/or intermittently exposed. The composition and distribution of organisms is determined by the habitat’s exposure to wave and current action, temperature, salinity, and light penetration. Because there is little to no vegetative protection, most inhabitants are macroinvertebrates within the substrate.
