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Science activity #54442, updated 28 May 2025

Fish and Fish Habitat Monitoring - Wetland Regional Monitoring Program.

Description / purpose

The Wetland Regional Monitoring Program (WRMP) Fish and Fish Habitat Monitoring project is a collaborative effort to track biological responses to tidal wetland restoration in the San Francisco Estuary. Monthly sampling is conducted across a network of benchmark, reference, and project restoration sites in the South Bay and North Bay, with the goal of evaluating how wetland restoration influences fish assemblages, habitat use, and ecological condition.

The study uses primarily otter trawls to monitor fish and macroinvertebrate communities. Standardized field methods align with those used in long-term monitoring programs to ensure comparability and data integration across regions. Environmental data, including water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, are collected in tandem with biological sampling to assess habitat quality and seasonal dynamics.

The program addresses WRMP Guiding Question #4: How do policies, programs, and projects to protect and restore tidal marshes affect the distribution, abundance, and health of fish and wildlife? The data support adaptive management, regulatory compliance, and science-based restoration planning by identifying key habitats, tracking restoration performance, and detecting regional patterns in species composition and abundance over time.

Linked science activities

ID Title
#49813 Investigating the Factors that Affect Distribution, Abundance, and Recruitment of Age-0 Longfin Smelt in the upper San Francisco Estuary →
  • hexagon shaped logo for WRMP Fish and Fish Habitat

Collaborators

None specified

Activity status

  • 1 Awarded / Initiating (2025)
  • 2 In progress / Ongoing (2025 - 2026)
  • 3 Complete

Funding summary

Total allocated funding: $0

Products and outputs

None provided

Type and context

Science action area

3A: Develop methods for evaluating long-term benefits of habitat restoration based on current understanding of how species use restored areas and how use changes over time as habitats evolve. , 3B: Estimate and assess the system-wide effects of location and sequence of tidal marsh habitat restoration projects in regions where sea level is rising and climate is changing , A3A: Review effort to examine effectiveness of habitat restoration , 4A: Implement studies to better understand the ecosystem response before, during, and after major changes in the amount and type of effluent from large point sources in the Delta including water treatment facilities , 4B: Identify areas that act as refugia for species of concern during extreme conditions, particularly drought and flood, to inform management decisions and priorities during extreme climate events , 4C: Understand mechanisms for observed relationships between flows and aquatic species , A5A: Build on existing models to integrate fish and water quality monitoring data to report, simulate, and forecast distribution of salmon runs in time and space. These actions should be coordinated with tagging studies and other monitoring data to provid , A5B: Conduct baseline surveys throughout spawning habitat, map egg collection and larval rearing habitat, and quantify availability using various characteristics identified through egg sampling (water temperature, depth, velocity, substrate, etc.) , A5C: Develop and implement a Bay Area and Delta regional wetland monitoring program.

Management themes

Environmental conditions , Habitat management , Invasive / non-native species management , Native species management , Water quality

Science themes

Environmental conditions , Fish , Habitat changes , Invasive / non-native species , Invertebrates , Land use and human activities , Salinity , Species , Water quality

Types

Status and trend monitoring , Synthesis , Targeted immediate research

Science functions

Data application – Data analysis , Independent peer review , Monitoring – Effectiveness , Monitoring – Implementation , Monitoring – Status and trends , Research

Management actions

Creation of favorable habitat conditions for native species , Habitat protection / enhancement / restoration , Improving methods and/or infrastructure for science and monitoring , Population enhancement of listed species , Predation , Wetland resilience , Wetlands

Science Topics

Backwater , Benthic , Benthos , Biosentinels , Bivalve , Corbicula/Potamocorbula , Crustaceans , Dissolved oxygen , Dredging , Drought , Endangered species , Environmental drivers , Estuaries , Fish , Flows , Habitat , Habitat restoration , Intertidal / transition zones , Invasive / non native species , Invertebrates , Jellyfish , Longfin Smelt , Marsh wildlife , Mollusks , Monitoring methods and techniques , Mudflats , Mysis , Other species , Pelagic fish , pH , Resilience , Restoration , Restoration planning , Sacramento Splittail , Salinity , Sloughs , Steelhead Trout , Striped bass , Sturgeon , Tidal wetlands , Tides , Turbidity , Wastewater discharge , Water , Water temperature , Wetland mapping , Wetlands , White Sturgeon

Lead implementing organization

University of California - Davis [UC Davis]

Partner implementing organizations

San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]

Funding organizations

None specified

Funding programs

None specified

Funding sources

None specified