Summer fog precipitation beneath coastal forests was examined at two forested sites on ridges bordering the Eel River Valley in northern California. Each site was outfitted with bottle—funnel gauges and standard mechanical gauges placed on the forest floor and screened bottle—funnel gauges to trap fog in open areas. As much as 42.5 cm of fog water were collected beneath the forest crown during the summer fog season although differences in crown exposure and dimension caused high variability in seasonal totals caught beneath individual trees. A typical fog precipitation event begins during late evening and ends just after sunrise. It sometimes continues for several days and produces fog drip amounts of up to 8 cm. The nutrients and water captured form drifting fog by intercepting trees, shrubs, and grasses affect water balances and nutrient cycling within such coastal ecosystems. Fog may influence species composition, and the character of the soils and vegetation of such coastal forests must certainly reflect to some degree the prevalence of summer fog.

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Basic biological information for a sublittoral population of the rock goby Gobius paganellus Linnaeus, 1758 is presented based on a 2-year study involving 1680 specimens. The length-weight relationship was given by TW = 0.0089 * TL 3.163 (where TW= total weight in g; TL= total length in mm). Age at length data were inferred by modal analysis of the monthly length-frequency distributions. The parameters of the fitted Von Bertalanffy growth equation (with seasonal component, birth date on the 1st of January) were L ∞ = 13.8 cm; K = 0.73 yr −1 ; t o = −0.22 yr; C = 0.95; W = 0.07. This growth rate is much higher than that described for northern Europe populations (where K is about 0.3 yr −1 ) and is probably associated with a shorter life span. Macroscopic examination of the gonads, and analysis of the monthly values of the gonadosomatic index, indicated that reproduction occurs in winter and early spring, with a maximum in February and March, when water temperatures are lowest. Individuals become sexually mature around 6-7 cm TL, a size that can be reached in less than 1 year. By contrast, individuals of this goby in the British Isles mature in their second or third year. Stomach contents were mainly small benthic invertebrates, predominantly crustaceans.

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