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Text search
Management theme
Delta As Place
Environmental Conditions
Flood Risk And Land Use Management
Governance
Habitat Management
Invasive / Non-native Species Management
Native Species Management
Water Quality
Water Supply Management
Science theme
Amphibians And Reptiles
Aquatic Vegetation
Biological Resource Use
Channelized Habitats
Environmental Conditions
Fish
Floodplain
Food Webs
Habitat Changes
Hydrologic Changes
Hydrology And Hydrodynamics
Invasive / Non-native Species
Invertebrates
Land Use And Human Activities
Landform And Natural Disturbance
Mammals
Nutrients, Energy And Food Web
Riparian Habitats
Sediment
Species
Terrestrial Habitats
Tidal Wetlands
Traditional Knowledge
Water Quality
Weather And Climate
Type
Core Monitoring
Status And Trend Monitoring
Synthesis
Targeted Foundational Research
Targeted Immediate Research
Unsure
Delta region
Cache Slough Complex
East Delta
Entire Delta
North Delta
South Delta
Suisun Marsh
Twitchell And Sherman Complex
West Delta
Yolo Bypass
Yolo Bypass And Cache Slough Complex
Status
Awarded / Initiating
Complete
In Progress / Ongoing
Advanced
Science function
Data Application / Analytics
Data Application – Data Analysis
Data Application – Information Management
Data Application – Modeling
Data Application – Science Communication / Knowledge Synthesis
Monitoring – Effectiveness
Monitoring – Implementation
Monitoring – Status And Trends
Planning And Guidance
Research
Management actions
Agricultural Production
Carbon Markets
Climate Change Mitigation
Creation Of Favorable Habitat Conditions For Native Species
Flood Control
Ghg Emissions
Groundwater Protection & Management
Habitat Protection / Enhancement / Restoration
Improving Methods And/or Infrastructure For Science And Monitoring
Invasive Species Control And Management
Land Use Designation
Methylmercury Tmdl
Natural Environmental Flows
Pathways Of Introduction Of Invasives
Pollution Control
Population Enhancement Of Listed Species
Predation
Salinity Gate Management
Sea-level Rise Accommodation
Subsidence Reversal
Wastewater Management
Water Conveyance / Infrastructure
Water Demand
Water Operations
Water Storage
Wetland Resilience
Wetlands
Science topics
Above-highwater Refugia
Agriculture
Air Temperature
Algae
Ammonia
Amphibians And Reptiles
Aquatic Vegetation
Arsenic
Atmosphere
Backwater
Bedload
Benthic
Benthos
Bioaccumulation
Biosentinels
Birds
Bivalve
Brazilian Waterweed
Cadmium
California Tiger Salamander
Carbon
Carbon Storage
Chemistry
Chinook Salmon
Chlorophyll A / B
Climate Change
Conductivity
Constituent Of Emerging Concern Cec
Copper
Corbicula/potamocorbula
Crustaceans
Cyanobacteria
Delta Islands
Delta Smelt
Deposition
Detritus
Direction
Dissolved Oxygen
Docks And Ports
Dredging
Drought
Emergent Macrophytes
Endangered Species
Endocrine Disruptors
Energy And Mines
Environmental Drivers
Epiphytic Algae
Erosion
Estuaries
Evaporation / Evapotranspiration
Extreme Heat
Extreme Storms
Fecal Coliform / E. Coli
Fish
Fishing
Flame Retardants
Floating Aquatic Vegetation
Flood
Flows
Flushing Rates
Food Webs
Forest Harvesting
Forests
Fungicides
Giant Garter Snake
Giant Reed
Green Sturgeon
Greenhouse Gas Ghg
Groundwater
Gulls
Habitat
Habitat Restoration
Harmful Algal Blooms Hab
Herbicides
Hg And Methyl Mercury
Historical Ecology
Hunting
Hydrocarbons / Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Pah
Insecticides
Insects
Intertidal / Transition Zones
Invasive / Non Native Species
Invertebrates
Jellyfish
Land Elevation
Landscape Change
Landscape Metrics
Lead
Levees
Light
Longfin Smelt
Main Channels
Mammals
Managed Ponds
Marsh Wildlife
Methylmercury
Microplastics
Mollusks
Mudflats
Mysis
Nitrogen
Nitrogen / Ammonia
Non-forested Vegetation
Non-resident / Overwintering Birds
Nutria
Nutrients
Open Water
Other Discharge Contaminants
Other Species
Other Zooplankton
Outflow
Pacific Flyway
Pelagic Fish
Pesticides
Ph
Phosphorous
Phragmites
Phytoplankton
Polychlorinated Biphenyl Pcb
Precipitation
Predation
Primary Production
Rail Lines
Recreation & Tourism
Residence Time
Resilience
Restoration
Restoration Planning
Riparian Wildlife
Roads And Bridges
Rodenticides
Sacramento Splittail
Salinity
Salmon Migration
Salmon Rearing
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
Saltwater / Freshwater Marshes
Sav/fav
Sea Level Rise
Seasonally Flooded
Sediments
Seismicity
Selenium
Shorebirds
Sloughs
Snowpack / Snow Water Equivalent Swe
Socio-economic Drivers
Soil
Solar Irradiance
Spongeplant
Stage
Steelhead Trout
Stormwater Runoff / Drainage
Striped Bass
Sturgeon
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
Subsidence
Surface Water / Flow
Suspended Sediment
Temperature
Terrestrial Wildlife
Tidal Wetlands
Tides
Toxicity
Turbidity
Urban Development
Velocity
Vessels And Shipping Channels
Wastewater Discharge
Water
Water Conveyance / Infrastructure
Water Hyacinth
Water Intakes, Fish Screens & Passage
Water Management
Water Operations / Exports
Water Storage
Water Temperature
Water Use / Demand
Waterfowl
Waves
Wetland Mapping
Wetlands
White Sturgeon
Wildfire
Wind
Yellow Star Thistle
Zinc
Zooplankton
Science action area
N/a (project Initiated Prior To 2017)
Saa Action Area 1 (2017-2021): Invest In Assessing The Human Dimensions Of Natural Resource Management Decisions
Saa Action Area 2 (2017-2021): Capitalize On Existing Data Through Increasing Science Synthesis
Saa Action Area 3 (2017-2021): Develop Tools And Methods To Support And Evaluate Habitat Restoration
Saa Action Area 4 (2017-2021): Improve Understanding Of Interactions Between Stressors And Managed Species And Their Communities
Saa Action Area 5 (2017-2021): Modernize Monitoring, Data Management, And Modeling
Saa Need 1 (2022-2026): Improve Coordination And Integration Of Large-scale Experiments, Data Collection, And Evaluation Across Scales And Institutions
Saa Need 2 (2022-2026): Enhance Monitoring And Model Interoperability, Integration, And Forecasting.
Saa Need 3 (2022-2026): Expand Multi-benefit Approaches To Managing The Delta As A Social-ecological System
Saa Need 4 (2022-2026): Build And Integrate Knowledge On Social Processes And Human Behavior To Support Effective And Equitable Management
Saa Need 5 (2022-2026): Acquire New Knowledge And Synthesize Existing Knowledge Of Interacting Stressors To Support Species Recovery
Saa Need 6 (2022-2026): Assess And Anticipate Climate Change Impacts To Support Successful Adaptation Strategies
Unspecified
Start year
End year
Organizations and funding programs
Lead implementing organization
Audubon Canyon Ranch
California Department of Conservation [DOC]
California Department of Fish and Wildlife [CDFW]
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [CALFIRE]
California Department of Parks and Recreation [PARKS]
California Department of Pesticide Regulation [DPR]
California Department of Transportation [Caltrans]
California Department of Water Resource [DWR]
California Energy Commission [CEC]
California Rice Commission
California Sea Grant
California State Coastal Conservancy
California State University - East Bay
California State University Maritime Academy
California State University [CSU]
California State Water Resources Control Board [SWRCB]
California Water Board - Central Valley Region
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board [Central Valley RWQCB]
Contra Costa Water District [CCWD]
Cornell University - Lab of Ornithology
Cramer Fish Sciences
Delta Regional Monitoring Program [RMP]
Delta Stewardship Council
Delta Stewardship Council - Delta Science Program
DigitalGlobe
East Bay Municipal Utilities District
European Space Agency
Goddard Space Flight Center
Land IQ
MarineTraffic
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Michigan State University
National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]
National Agricultural Statistics Service [NASS]
National Audubon Society
National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]
Oregon State University
Pacific Flyway Council
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission [PSMFC]
Point Blue Conservation Science
Port of Stockton Board of Commissioners
R2 Resource Consultants Inc.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
San Diego State University
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
San Francisco State University [SFSU]
San Francisco State University, Estuary & Ocean Science Center
San Joaquin County and Delta Water Quality Coalition [SJCDWQC]
Santa Clara University
Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition [SMC]
Stanford University
State Water Contractors [SWC]
Suisun Resource Conservation District
The Institute for Bird Populations
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE]
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]
U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Biological and Environmental Research [DOE-BER]
U.S. Department of Transportation [DoT]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]
U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
UNAVCO
University of California
University of California - Berkeley [UC Berkeley]
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
University of California - Los Angeles [UCLA]
University of California - Merced [UC Merced]
University of California - Riverside [UC Riverside]
University of California - San Diego [UCSD]
University of California - Santa Barbara [UCSB]
University of California - Santa Cruz [UCSC]
University of Maryland - Center for Environmental Science
University of Vermont, USGS Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
University of Washington [UW]
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Westside San Joaquin River Watershed Coalition
Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency
Partner implementing organizations
Agricultural Coalitions: Landowners membership fees
Anchor QEA
Bachand and Associates
Bureau of Transportation Statistics [BTS]
California Cooperative Anadromous Fish and Habitat Data Program [CalFish]
California Department of Conservation [DOC]
California Department of Fish and Wildlife [CDFW]
California Department of Food and Agriculture [CDFA]
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [CALFIRE]
California Department of Parks and Recreation [PARKS]
California Department of Pesticide Regulation [DPR]
California Department of Public Health [CDPH]
California Department of Water Resource [DWR]
California Environmental Protection Agency [CalEPA]
California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology [Caltech]
California Landscape Conservation Cooperative [CALCC]
California Natural Resources Agency [CNRA]
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment [OEHHA]
California State Board of Equalization
California State Coastal Conservancy
California State Lands Commission [CSLC]
California State University [CSU]
California State Water Resources Control Board [SWRCB]
Central Valley Flood Protection Board [CVFPB]
Central Valley Joint Venture
Central Washington University [CWU]
Chapman University
Collaborative Adaptive Management Team [CAMT]
Conservation Farms and Ranches
Cramer Fish Sciences
Delta Conservancy
Delta Stewardship Council
Delta Stewardship Council - Delta Science Program
Department of Fish and Game [DFG]
Desert Research Institute [DRI]
Ducks Unlimited
East Bay Municipal Utilities District
EcoMetric Consulting
Fishery Foundation of California
FloodSAFE Environmental Stewardship and Statewide Resources Office [FESSRO]
Hydrofocus Inc.
ICF International Inc.
Interstate Council on Water Policy [ICWP]
Land IQ
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [LBNL]
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Manomet Inc.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories [MLML]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]
National Agricultural Statistics Service [NASS]
National Agriculture Imagery Program [NAIP]
National Audubon Society
National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]
National Science Foundation [NSF]
National Wetlands Inventory - Many Supporting Organizations
NatureServe
Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering - PRISM Climate Group
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission [PSMFC]
Point Blue Conservation Science
Purdue University
Resource Management Associates [RMA]
Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District [Regional San]
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission [BCDC]
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
San Francisco State University [SFSU]
San Joaquin County Resource Conservation District
San Joaquin Valley Drainage Authority
Santa Clara University
Solano Land Trust
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project [SCCWRP]
Southern California Stormwater Monitoring Coalition [SMC]
Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
State Water Contractors [SWC]
Suisun Resource Conservation District
Texas A&M
The Nature Conservancy
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE]
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA]
U.S. Bureau of Land Management [BLM]
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]
U.S. Department of Defense [DoD]
U.S. Department of Energy [DOE]
U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]
U.S. Forestry Service [USFS]
U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
U.S. National Park Service [NPS]
University of British Columbia [UBC]
University of California - Berkeley [UC Berkeley]
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
University of California - Merced [UC Merced]
University of California - San Diego [UCSD]
University of California - Santa Cruz [UCSC]
University of Kansas
University of South Carolina
University of Washington [UW]
Utah State University
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Western Ecosystems Technology Inc.
Western States Water Council [WSWC]
Yuba River Management Team
Primary funding organizations
Audubon Canyon Ranch
CALFED Bay-Delta Program
California Department of Fish and Wildlife [CDFW]
California Department of Water Resource [DWR]
Delta Regional Monitoring Program [RMP]
Delta Stewardship Council
Delta Stewardship Council - Delta Science Program
Interagency Ecological Program [IEP]
State Water Contractors [SWC]
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [USBR]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]
U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]
Funding programs
California Department of Fish and Wildlife CDFW - Prop 1
Delta Regional Monitoring Program RMP
Delta Science Program - Delta Science Solicitations
Delta Science Program - Operation Baseline
Delta Science Program and California Sea Grant - Delta Science Fellows Program
Interagency Ecological Program IEP
Funding Sources
CalFED Bay Delta Fund CBDF
California Department of Fish and Wildlife CDFW - General Fund
California Department of Fish and Wildlife CDFW - Prop 1
Delta Stewardship Council - General Fund
Proposition 50
Proposition 84
Wetland Program Development Grant
Submit
Records
Currently, sorted by last updated
Last updated
Title
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
Delta Historical Ecology
Lead
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
Description
The San Francisco Estuary Institute-Aquatic Science Center, in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Game, completed a historical ecology study of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The project improves understanding of what the Delta looked like and how it functioned prior to the significant modification that has occurred over the last 160 years.
Science topics
Historical ecology
,
Landscape change
Updated
May 23, 2023
Title
Delta Landscapes Project
Lead
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
Description
The Delta Landscapes Project has developed a body of work to inform landscape-scale restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem. The project is built on knowledge, first published in 2012’s Delta Historical Ecology Investigation, of how the Delta ecosystem functioned in the early 1800s (prior to the California Gold Rush and subsequent landscape-level changes).
Science topics
Landscape metrics
,
Restoration planning
,
Marsh wildlife
,
Riparian wildlife
,
Terrestrial wildlife
,
Fish
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Delta Landscapes Primary Production Project
Lead
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
Description
This project compares first-order estimates of primary production among five major groups of primary producers, historically and today, to better identify the potential food production of different habitat types, and inform restoration actions that could increase food availability for wildlife.
Science topics
Primary production
,
Phytoplankton
,
Emergent macrophytes
,
Epiphytic algae
,
SAV/FAV
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Delta Landscape Scenario Planning Tool
Lead
San Francisco Estuary Institute [SFEI]
Description
The Delta Landscapes Scenario Planning Tool is a set of resources to assist users with developing, analyzing, and evaluating different land use scenarios in the Delta. The tool is designed to inform ongoing and future restoration planning efforts by assessing how proposed projects will affect a suite of landscape metrics relating to desired ecosystem functions.
Science topics
Fish
,
Landscape metrics
,
Marsh wildlife
,
Restoration planning
,
Riparian wildlife
,
Sea level rise
,
Terrestrial wildlife
Updated
November 17, 2022
Title
Hydrodynamic Influences on the Food Webs of Restoring Tidal Wetlands
Lead
California Department of Fish and Wildlife [CDFW]
Description
Funding will be use to implement targeted studies that examine the effect of hydrogeomorphology and biogeochemistry on aquatic habitat and resident fish. Increased knowledge of how physical processess drive fish and trophic interactions is imperative to the success of potential restoration projects in the region. Objectives are to evaluate and map the physical and hydrodynamic characteristics of the study sloughs;evaluate the effects of elevation and sea level rise;create a network of water quality stations to measure differences in slough functions;evaluate the influence of flow and tide on food production in sloughs and tidal wetlands;charaterize differences and evaluate how slough restoration effects food productions;evaluate fish community composition;evaluate fish response to habitat differences;evaluate fish use of wetlands as nursery habitats;develop recommendations for improving design of tidal wetland restoration projects to increase food availability for juvenile native fishes;evaluate the influence of flow and tide on trophic dynamics in sloughs and tidal wetlands;and characterize differences and evaluate how slough condition affects food production.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Mechanisms underlying the flow relationship of longfin smelt: I. Movement and feeding
Lead
San Francisco State University [SFSU]
Description
The project is to apply modern analytical methods, bioacoustic detection and particle tracking models to refine understanding of the vertical and longitudinal distribution of longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) and how they are affected by flow and food availability. Funding will be used to conduct the research to protect and maintain the estuary's threatened longfin smelt population.
Science topics
Longfin Smelt
Updated
November 17, 2022
Title
Problems and Promise of Restoring Tidal Marsh to Benefit Native Fishes in the North Delta during Drought and Flood
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
The Project will improve scientific understanding of the North Delta ecosystem and to improve better basis for management and creation of restoration sites, as well as management of the region to benefit native fishes. The Project will improve scientific understanding of how fish populations are influenced by the interactions between wetlands and hydrology, geomorphology, water quality and food availability. Funding will be use to conduct water quality monitoring;hydrodynamic modeling;and fish and invertebrate surveys.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Application of cutting-edge tools to retrospectively evaluate habitat suitability and flow effects for Longfin Smelt
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
The Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) is a native forage fish, characteristic of the natural biological community of the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). This study will examine variation and interactions among hatch dates, instantaneous and total growth rates, habitat use, and timing of transitions among habitats with different salinities, and variation among years with very different climate and freshwater outflow conditions. This information is crucial for managing freshwater flows and can be used to evaluate the effects of tidal wetland restoration in the San Francisco Estuary.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
November 19, 2022
Title
Contaminant Effects on Two California Fish Species and the Food Web That Supports Them
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
Water temperatures are increasing due to global climate change, and are predicted to reach levels that exceed the thermal tolerance of sensitive Delta species such as the Delta Smelt by 2050. Little is directly known about the differences in sensitivity between Inland Silverside and Delta Smelt to such stressors, or how either species responds to multiple stressors. Funding will be use to study how these two species respond to drought-induced stressors (temperature, salinity, and reduced dilution of contaminants) which will provide key insights, given that one is near extinction and the other is thriving under drought conditions.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
November 19, 2022
Title
Defining the fundamental niche of Longfin Smelt [Spirinchus thaleichthys]: Physiological mechanisms of environmental tolerance.
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
This Project will evaluate reproductive output, embryo to larval development, and growth and maturation of Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys). This Project is designed to comprehensively assess effects of extreme events and their interaction with contaminant effects, and aims to fill knowledge gaps relating to turbidity (e.g., stress levels associated with predation risk), age-specific fecundity, egg and early larval buoyancy, and other essential requirements for captive rearing conditions that will aid the successful culture.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
An Improved Genomics Tool for Characterizing Life History Diversity and Promoting Resilience in Central Valley Chinook Salmon
Lead
Michigan State University
Description
This study will improve our ability to protect the diversity of traits in Chinook salmon. The diversity of Chinook salmon migration timing is decreasing in the Central Valley. A key roadblock to protecting diversity is the current inability to rapidly and inexpensively identify large numbers of individuals from different populations during their migration to the ocean. This study addresses this information gap by leveraging pre-existing genomic data to develop a new technique that will allow scientists to identify individuals to life history type and location. For example, this study will potentially be able to identify Fall Run Chinook that are from the Sacramento versus the San Joaquin River basins. This information, in combination with data on water temperature and river flows, can determine the relationship between environmental conditions and juvenile salmon life history diversity. The information generated by this work will provide managers with the ability to accurately monitor the effect of key management actions on the different Central Valley Chinook salmon populations.
Science topics
Chinook Salmon
,
Estuaries
,
Fish
,
Habitat restoration
,
Resilience
,
Salmon rearing
Updated
November 29, 2022
Title
Changes in Organic Carbon and Food Resources in Response to Historical Events in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: A Synthesis Project
Lead
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Description
Recent management strategies in the Delta rely on habitat restoration and water quality improvement to restore ecosystem function. However, current monitoring programs have been limited in their ability to measure ecosystem functions such as food webs. This study explores changes to the sources, quantity, and quality of organic carbon that support the Delta food web. Data from fifteen sites selected to represent the dominant sub-habitats in the Delta will identify the available food resources. The project examines how food resources are affected by wastewater treatment and habitat restoration. Information about organic carbon in the historic and current Delta will aid in establishing realistic goals and targets for ongoing and future restoration efforts in the Delta.
Science topics
None specified
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Consequences of Phragmites invasion for community function in Suisun Marsh
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
This project aims to quantify the impacts of common reed (Phragmites) invasion on community structure and ecosystem function during early stages of tidal restoration in wetlands. The study will focus on the Tule Red Tidal Restoration site in Suisun Marsh. The research aims to produce a conceptual model that will describe habitat structure, invertebrate communities, and predator use of wetlands affected by Phragmites invasion. The conceptual model resulting from this study will guide future predictions of wetland response to invasion and to develop mitigation strategies. Data collected will also support food web models and the understanding of invasive plants as stressors, as well as foster translational science to the management community.
Science topics
Invasive / non native species
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Risk of fish predation within and across tidal wetland complexes
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
This study focuses on understanding how restored tidal wetlands with different physical configurations function as refuge and rearing habitat for fishes, including native and imperiled species such as delta smelt and juvenile Chinook salmon. This research will assess the spatial distribution of predation risk as it varies within and across tidal wetlands. The proposed research will generate a statistical model that helps predict predation outcomes from various restored tidal wetland designs and channel configurations. This will be a powerful tool for managers to forecast how proposed habitat restoration or water management actions may impact native fish populations.
Science topics
Tidal wetlands
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Wetland carbon sequestration and impacts of climate change
Lead
California State University [CSU]
Description
This project aims to improve understanding of atmospheric and hydrologic carbon fluxes in a restored tidal salt marsh in the South San Francisco Bay. I will use soil chambers to measure how much carbon dioxide and methane is taken in and emitted from the marsh. The project will also examine how spatial variability in marsh surface cover impact these exchanges. Shahan will use the data collected in this study to create a biogeochemical model that estimates the carbon budgets of wetlands in the Bay-Delta. A complete carbon budget will illuminate relationships between carbon fluxes and environmental variables. This information can support more informed management of wetlands, as well as allow researchers and decision makers to more effectively plan wetland restoration to be effective in managing carbon fluxes in the face of possible impacts due to climate change.
Science topics
Wetlands
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Environmental geochemistry and tidal wetland support of pelagic food webs
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
This project aims to characterize and quantify where detrital material (decaying plant matter) originates within wetlands, the composition of that material, and how export of detrital particles occurs. This project will combine powerful characterization tools and techniques that scale from molecules to ecosystems to assess spatial and temporal trends in particle sources, species and composition. Because restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will fundamentally alter particle distribution and food availability for aquatic organisms, this study will inform habitat restoration efforts and the revival of native fish populations. The tools developed and adapted for this project may inform management response during extreme conditions and climate events by helping to identify areas that may act as refugia for species.
Science topics
Wetlands
Updated
April 29, 2022
Title
Science for adaptive management of juvenile spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River
Lead
University of California - Davis [UC Davis]
Description
Spring-run Chinook salmon rehabilitation efforts are intensifying on the San Joaquin River. Over the last three years, UC Davis has successfully tracked movement, behavior, reach-specific survival, and route selection for reintroduced juvenile spring-run Chinook salmon in this ecosystem. In 2019, information on salmon tracking was combined with state-of-art habitat (fast limnological automated measurements or “FLAMe”) and physiological (e.g. fish condition, survival and transcriptomic) approaches. Results from this work are ongoing but have yielded actionable information on key habitats and management strategies for promoting salmon life-cycles in the San Joaquin River and central Delta. Now UC Davis will further explore promising recent findings. First, the analysis of an additional year of juvenile salmon tracking will occur to glean more survival information across different water year conditions. This information would be married with expanded FLAMe surveys in space and time along with a second year of physiological assays using caged fish. UC Davis will also evaluate the ‘transport effect’ on salmon, in an attempt to explain consistently high losses of JSATS-tagged salmon through the restoration area. Numerous other synergies exist with new and ongoing telemetry work that will be benefitted by a continuation of this work. The goal is to provide actionable science, and open access data, with a high potential to facilitate adaptive management in the San Joaquin River and central Delta.
Science topics
Chinook Salmon
,
Endangered species
,
Estuaries
,
Fish
,
Habitat restoration
Updated
October 3, 2023
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
Analysis of Delta Salinity during Extended Drought – Pilot Project
Lead
California Department of Water Resource [DWR]
Description
Managing California water operations for multiple priorities under long term drought conditions is becoming an increasing challenge which is compounded by potential sea level rise. This project is a pilot exercise to demonstrate the utility of hydrodynamic and salinity transport models in to understand options for salinity management under extended drought combined with climate change and sea level rise. The project will also consider how to make model outputs available and relevant to other modeling and environmental management decision making efforts. The full range of potential sea level rise, restoration and operational actions is extensive, involving many potential combinations of individual actions. Therefore, it is difficult to fully explore potential actions with high resolution multi-dimensional models. The proposed approach is to use high resolution multi-dimensional flow and transport models to evaluate changes in transport in the Delta under sea level rise, restoration, and operational scenarios. The predicted changes to salinity for a given scenario will inform operations modeling in CALSIM through re-calibration of an ANN to approximately account for the changed salinity response of the estuary. Operations modeling incorporating the revised ANN will then estimate Delta inflows and overall water cost to meet Delta standards for the scenario. “Round-trip” modeling will be performed using the detailed Delta models to verify that the predicted hydrologic inputs allow appropriate compliance with water quality standards and will provide other metrics related to Delta transport.
Science topics
Conductivity
,
Drought
,
Landscape change
,
Restoration planning
,
Sea level rise
,
Water operations / exports
Updated
January 29, 2024