Tidal effects on marsh habitat use by three fishes in the San Francisco Estuary

Colombano, Denise D.; Donovań, John M.; Ayers, David E.; O’Rear, Teejay A.; Moyle, Peter B.

doi:10.1007/s10641-020-00973-w

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The transition from a marsh-dominated ecosystem to an open waterdominated ecosystem, combined with flow alterations and nonnative species introductions, likely disrupted food web processes (Cloern et al 2016) and contributed to many native fishes becoming threatened, endangered, or extinct (Moyle et al 2010). While evidence is accumulating that remnant tidal marshes provide important habitat for estuarine fish assemblages (Visintainer et al 2006;Colombano et al 2020a; Communicated by Henrique Cabral Colombano et al 2020b), the extent to which they provide foraging opportunities for multiple guilds and support secondary production transfers to the open estuary remains a key knowledge gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We hypothesized that the distribution of fishes would be related to differences in structural characteristics such as channel depth or microhabitat type (e.g., confluence vs. edge; Kneib 2000). We also posited that changes in tide height, direction, and amplitude would play important roles in the spatial structure of fish feeding guilds because these factors govern access to tidal marsh edges (Colombano et al 2020b). To address this question, we surveyed fish assemblages along the elevation gradient over a range of tidal conditions and then constructed spatially explicit generalized additive mixed models using soap-film smoothers, highresolution bathymetry data, and continuous, high-frequency tidal time series data to make predictions about fish distribution and abundance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complex Tidal Marsh Dynamics Structure Fish Foraging Patterns in the San Francisco Estuary

Colombano

Handley²,

O’Rear

et al. 2021

Estuaries and Coasts

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Mechanisms driving the consumption and transport of tidal marsh nutrients and energy by fishes are of key interest in the San Francisco Estuary, CA, USA. By combining multiple data sources (gill-net catches, gut contents, channel morphology, tides), we modeled spatial and temporal patterns of fish abundance and gut fullness across a tidal marsh elevation gradient. Channel depth, microhabitat, and tide were important predictors of fish abundance and gut fullness. Species, feeding guild, and season were also important to fish abundance but not to gut fullness, suggesting that abundance was more related to physical constraints of shallow water than to prey availability. Multiple feeding guilds overlapped in space and time at interaction hotspots in subtidal channel habitat near the marsh entrance. In contrast, fish use of shallow intertidal marsh channels was more variable and indicated tradeoffs between foraging and predation. Gut content analysis revealed moderate-to-high gut fullness for all feeding guilds and models predicted high gut fullness in subtidal reaches during tidal flooding, after which fish fed intensively throughout the marsh. While mysids, amphipods, and detritus were common prey among feeding guilds, variation in prey consumption was apparent. Overall, complex tidal marsh hydrogeomorphology driving land-water exchange and residence time may diversify and enhance benthic and pelagic food web pathways to fishes and invertebrates. Furthermore, these findings substantiate the notion that dynamic tidal marshes in this system can support robust secondary production, foraging by multiple feeding guilds, and trophic transfer by fishes to the estuarine mosaic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex Tidal Marsh Dynamics Structure Fish Foraging Patterns in the San Francisco Estuary

Colombano

Handley²,

O’Rear

et al. 2021

Estuaries and Coasts

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…If sufficient suitable habitat is not available or accessible, then species will be challenged to physiologically adjust (i.e., acclimate) to changing salinities, or evolve adaptions to these new conditions through natural selection. Little is known about how the movement patterns of entire fish communities might permanently shift in response to altered salinity regimes, but emerging tracking technology may allow us to better understand the timing and patterns of movement within the estuary (Åkesson 2002;Hussey et al 2015;Colombano et al 2020).…”

Section: Future Research Prioritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Effects of Climate-Driven Salinity Variation in the San Francisco Estuary: Can We Anticipate and Manage the Coming Changes?

Ghalambor¹,

Grosholtz²,

Gross³

et al. 2020

SFEWS

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Climate change-driven sea level rise and altered precipitation regimes are predicted to alter patterns of salt intrusion within the San Francisco Estuary. A central question is: Can we use existing knowledge and future projections to predict and manage the anticipated ecological impacts? This was the subject of a 2018 symposium entitled “Ecological and Physiological Impacts of Salinization of Aquatic Systems from Human Activities.” The symposium brought together an inter-disciplinary group of scientists and researchers, resource managers, and policy-makers. Here, we summarize and review the presentations and discussions that arose during the symposium. From a historical perspective, salt intrusion has changed substantially over the past 10,000 years as a result of changing climate patterns, with additional shifts from recent anthropogenic effects. Current salinity patterns in the San Francisco Estuary are driven by a suite of hydrodynamic processes within the given contexts of water management and geography. Based on climate projections for the coming century, significant changes are expected in the processes that determine the spatial and temporal patterns of salinity. Given that native species—including fishes such as the Delta Smelt and Sacramento Splittail—track favorable habitats, exhibit physiological acclimation, and can adaptively evolve, we present a framework for assessing their vulnerability to altered salinity in the San Francisco Estuary. We then present a range of regulatory and structural management tools that are available to control patterns of salinity within the San Francisco Estuary. Finally, we identify major research priorities that can help fill critical gaps in our knowledge about future salinity patterns and the consequences of climate change and sea level rise. These research projects will be most effective with strong linkages and communication between scientists and researchers, resource managers, and policy-makers.

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Wetland geomorphology and tidal hydrodynamics drive fine-scale fish community composition and abundance

Clause,

Farruggia,

Feyrer

et al. 2024

Environ Biol Fish

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Effective restoration of tidal wetlands for fish communities requires clear goals and mechanistic understanding of the ecosystem drivers which affect fish distribution and abundance. We examined fish community responses to abiotic habitat features in two adjacent but dissimilar freshwater tidal wetlands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, CA, USA, each of which represents a potential restoration configuration. The first wetland was characterized by a broad, intertidal basin with relatively high hydrodynamic exchange with surrounding waterways. The second wetland was characterized by a dendritic network of shallow subtidal channels with relatively low hydrodynamic exchange. Fish community composition significantly differed between the two wetlands, based on permutational analysis of variance. Fish abundance within and among the two wetlands was also highly affected by specific geomorphic and hydrodynamic characteristics: distance from connection with the main external waterway, bed elevation, and water surface elevation. The physical configuration of a restored tidal wetland, in conjunction with the way tides move across the restored landscape, has strong implications for local fishes. Manipulating these elements to create a landscape mosaic of habitat configurations can be an effective tool for targeting desired restoration outcomes, such as specific fish communities or target fish densities.

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Tidal effects on marsh habitat use by three fishes in the San Francisco Estuary

Cited by 5 publications

References 51 publications

Complex Tidal Marsh Dynamics Structure Fish Foraging Patterns in the San Francisco Estuary

Complex Tidal Marsh Dynamics Structure Fish Foraging Patterns in the San Francisco Estuary

Ecological Effects of Climate-Driven Salinity Variation in the San Francisco Estuary: Can We Anticipate and Manage the Coming Changes?

Wetland geomorphology and tidal hydrodynamics drive fine-scale fish community composition and abundance

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