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  • Title

    Directed Outflow Project

    Lead U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
    Description The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and California Department of Water Resources (DWR), along with collaborators, are continuing efforts to evaluate the hypothesized benefits of outflow and outflow alteration for Delta Smelt. The collective aim of these efforts is to better inform management actions that will bolster and stabilize the Delta Smelt population. The planned five-year Directed Outflow Project (DOP) seeks to assist in evaluating the overarching hypothesis that habitat quality and quantity is improved in the summer/fall when X2 is below 81 km and the LSZ occurs in Suisun Bay and Marsh, and this improvement in habitat conditions will translate into a greater catch density, health, and growth for Delta Smelt using this area
    Science topics Delta Smelt, Fish, Flows, Water management
    Updated November 17, 2022
  • Title

    Directed Outflow Project [DOP] - Paired Habitat Sampling

    Lead U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
    Description Special study supporting water quality, food web, and biological measures regarding seasonal outflow and Delta Smelt.
    Science topics Flows, Water management
    Updated April 29, 2022
  • Title

    From Microbes to Zooplankton, What Defines a Beneficial Wetland?

    Lead San Francisco State University, Estuary & Ocean Science Center
    Description Our study will characterize species diversity at multiple levels of biological organization in the water column of restoring wetlands in the upper San Francisco Estuary and Delta (SFE), from bacteria to fishes. In doing so, we will also describe the foodweb benefits being provided to larval fishes, including longfin smelt, through additional dietary DNA analysis. We will use the species diversity we find in the water column to identify a subset of biota that are indicative of the conditions present in wetlands in different stages of restoration (early, intermediate, and mature) and identify connections between those indicators to the foodweb resources being provided to higher trophic levels. We will study 3-4 wetlands in each of 3 stages: early (unvegetated), intermediate (partially vegetated and partially channelized), and mature (fully vegetated and channelized) wetlands.
    Science topics Crustaceans, Cyanobacteria, Estuaries, Fish, Food webs, Habitat, Habitat restoration, Insects, Invertebrates, Longfin Smelt, Other species, Other zooplankton, Pelagic fish, Phytoplankton, Predation, Restoration, Salinity, Saltwater / freshwater marshes, Tidal wetlands, Wetlands, Zooplankton
    Updated January 31, 2024
  • Title

    Open-Source Resources for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Telemetry Research Community

    Lead Cramer Fish Sciences
    Description There is a great deal of telemetry data amassed from studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It continues to grow every year with special studies and monitoring efforts. Multiple research priorities surrounding fish ecology in the Delta could be addressed, at least in part, by synthesizing the myriad telemetry data sets that exist; this work would benefit greatly from the centralization and standardization of data workflows surrounding telemetry research. With the guidance of a PIT Advisory Team, we plan to establish a collection of open-source, technology-agnostic, accessible resources to support a reproducible and transparent telemetry data workflow for researchers in the region. The workflow and resources do not invent new procedures, rather improve and standardize those already used by the telemetry research community. This will bring us in closer alignment with centralized, coordinated data workflows that have been successfully implemented in other regions and data communities. The final open-source set of resources will include a design and roadmap for implementing a central telemetry database and workflow, an R package for the preparation, QA/QC, and basic analysis of telemetry data, and a regional workshop offering training programs in the proposed telemetry data workflow.
    Science topics Chinook Salmon, Fish, Other species, Salmon migration, Steelhead Trout, Striped bass, Sturgeon
    Updated August 26, 2024
  • Title

    Feasibility of Acoustic Telemetry in Delta Smelt

    Lead University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
    Description

    This project aims to test the feasibility of using novel acoustic transmitters to track Delta smelt in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Successful utilization of acoustic telemetry to track Delta smelt can provide researchers and resource managers with information about the species’ habitat preferences, the effects of water-management practices on Delta smelt movement and distribution, and the success of ongoing supplemental release efforts. The assessment of feasibility will include a comprehensive analysis of both the lethal and sublethal effects of surgical tag implantation on Delta smelt, as well as the development of a species-specific tagging protocol.

    Science topics Delta Smelt
    Updated October 15, 2024
  • Title

    The effects of surgical implantation of miniaturized acoustic transmitters in longfin smelt, Spirinchus thaleichthys

    Lead University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
    Description

    The San Francisco Estuary (SFE) supports the southernmost reproductive population of longfin smelt (LFS) along the Pacific Coast. Long term monitoring studies have observed a precipitous decline of LFS in the SFE over the past several decades, and the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in July of 2024. There are important gaps in our understanding of LFS ecology and movement within the highly urbanized SFE, posing challenges to the development of effective recovery strategies. More complete information about the movement and migration of LFS in the wild can lead to improved life-cycle modeling and provide insight into the species’ relationship with temperature, salinity and other habitat features of the SFE. An effective tool to learn about fish migration and movement is through a tracking method known as acoustic telemetry. Until recently this practice has been impossible on small fish such as LFS due to their body size relative to existing acoustic transmitters, or ‘tags’. With recent advances in telemetry technology, we now have an opportunity to implant newly miniaturized acoustic transmitters into adult LFS. However, before the results of telemetry studies utilizing these newly developed transmitters can be used to make inferences about wild populations, it is imperative to determine whether the tagged individuals are surviving and behaving in the same way as their un-tagged counterparts. The study aims to establish post-tagging survival and transmitter retention rates of wild and captive-reared LFS surgically implanted with newly miniaturizes acoustic transmitters, as well as the sublethal effects of transmitter implantation on LFS swimming performance. The results of this study will directly inform the implementation of acoustic telemetry on LFS, aiding in the conservation and recovery of an imperiled native species.

    Science topics None specified
    Updated March 11, 2025