A demonstration project to define possible future land use scenarios for Staten island ("visions") and leverage existing tools/resources to analyze and compare these scenarios.
Description Suisun Bay and Marsh are a key part of the habitat for Delta Smelt, but during drier periods such as summer, Delta Smelt may be at least partially excluded from Suisun Marsh due to high salinities. The purpose of this proposal is to provide scientific support a management action for Smelt, operation of the Suisun Marsh Salinity Control Gates (SMSCG). This facility is currently to tidally pump water into the Marsh to improve fall and winter habitat conditions for waterfowl, but could also provide a tool to manage aquatic habitat for Delta Smelt in other periods. Specifically, by using the SMSCG to direct more fresh water in Suisun Marsh, our prediction is that reduced salinities will improve habitat conditions for Delta Smelt in the region. Need The status of Delta Smelt is dire. As part of the Resources Agency's Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy, in August 2018 we conducted pilot operations of the SMSCG to support Delta Smelt , with promising results. Based on this early success, we expect that the SMSCG will be used as a seasonal tool to support Delta Smelt in summer-fall in coming years as part of the coming FWS Biological Opinion and DFW ITP. Neither has been completed, but SMSCG operations for fish are expected to be required in each. Hence, the proposed study is intended to provide a scientific evaluation and guidance for an expected SMSCG action in 2020. Objectives The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of the SMSCG action. Questions to be addressed include: Did the action improve habitat conditions for Delta Smelt in the Suisun Region? Does the Suisun Region typically have better habitat and food web conditions than the upstream River Region? Do Delta Smelt respond favorably to the SMSCG flow action? Does operation of the SMSCG affect other fishes and clams?
Description The Direct Field Collections element (-089) provides funding support for expanded field collections, allowing CDFW to provide other, IEP-approved researchers access to research-capable boats and experienced operators, and thus the ability to safely sample the upper San Francisco Estuary. This element most recently facilitated investigations associated with the Fall Low Salinity Habitat (FLaSH) project and the Directed Outflow Project (DOP). Need This element allows CDFW and thus IEP to provide boat and operator time to assist collaborating researchers leading approved IEP projects with "on-the-water" sampling. There is no mandate for this element. Objectives To provide CDFW operational flexibility to assist collaborating researchers leading approved IEP projects with access to CDFW boat operators and boats to complete "on the water" sampling.
Description In a collaborative effort between CA Department of Water Resources, US Bureau of Reclamation, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, United States Geological Survey, San Francisco State University, and UC Davis, this study will investigate the role of augmented summer and fall flows in the Yolo Bypass and North Delta areas on lower trophic food web dynamics and the benefits to listed fish species. Using both continuous and discrete sampling approaches, this study will relate hydrologic patterns to chlorophyll-a, nutrients and primary productivity, plankton densities and composition (phytoplankton and zooplankton), contaminant concentrations, as well as water quality parameters such as electrical conductivity, turbidity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. In addition, caged hatchery Delta Smelt will be monitored to determine the effects of the managed flow action and increased food web productivity on fish survival, growth, and behavior. Need Due to the food-limited nature of the San Francisco Estuary, it is critical to understand mechanisms that result in successful food web productivity including phytoplankton blooms. Food limitation is one of the primary hypothesized causes of the Pelagic Organism Decline. In 2011 and 2012 there was evidence that a moderate Yolo Bypass flow pulse during fall agricultural drainage periods was followed by phytoplankton blooms in the lower Sacramento River. Managed flow actions in the following years showed an increase in food web productivity could be repeated; however, results varied across years and flow actions indicating more research is warranted to understand correlations between flow and abiotic conditions, and the biological response of the food web. The increases of summer/fall flows in North Delta, has been considered a management strategy as part of complying with USFWS Delta Smelt Biological Opinion Action 4. The augmentation of flows through the Yolo Bypass/North Delta is also included as one of several Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategies by Natural Resources Agency. Objectives: Determine if managed flow actions through the Yolo Bypass stimulate increased primary productivity locally and downstream, and if it is repeatable. Characterize how nutrients, chlorophyll and plankton (composition and density) in the Toe Drain, Cache Slough Complex, and lower Sacramento River change in response to flow pulses. Determine if nutrient subsidies of the source water and downstream are limited by abiotic and biotic factors. Characterize spatial differences and transport of pesticide contaminants in the Yolo Bypass in response to the flow actions. Determine survival, growth and behavior of caged hatchery Delta Smelt before and after the flow action in the Yolo Bypass.
Description The purpose of this study is to expand IEP monitoring and inference to other dominant near-shore, littoral habitats not sampled by beach seines through the use of boat electrofishing. To accomplish this we will sample key littoral fish species across various near-shore habitats in order to determine how best to estimate abundance, occupancy, capture probabilities, and related environmental drivers. Need Expanding DJFMP sampling to other habitats throughout the Delta will allow our program to detect and monitor fishes and ecological trends through time, alleviating a recognized data gap. Current sampling relies on data collected through non-random fixed point sampling of unobstructed habitats, which limits the utility of our data to inform management decision. Objectives • Design boat electrofishing survey methods to expand DJFMP’s monitoring into habitats and locations not sampled by beach seining. • Design and develop field and data analysis methods for estimating capture probability and abundance using boat electrofishing techniques. • Predict spatio-temporal distribution of habitats occupied by key littoral species.
SacPAS serves to provide information integration services to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and practitioners working on matters related to ESA-listed fishes. The web-based services relate fish passage to environmental conditions and provide resources for evaluating the effects of river management and environmental conditions on salmon passage and survival.
The work performed as part of this agreement includes developing, maintaining, and making accessible query tools and decision support tools to access: historical, real-time and forecasted data; data summaries and visualizations; and hindcasts, forecasts, and scenario-derived predictions from statistical and mechanistic models. More specifically, the objectives are to:
1) Maintain and extend a secondary data repository of historical, real-time, and forecasted fish, environmental, and operational data from the Sacramento River and other river systems in the Central Valley, integrated from primary, public databases.
2) Maintain and improve the data query and visualization tools and services provided through the SacPAS website (https://www.cbr.washington.edu/sacramento/) for historical, real-time, and forecasted environmental and fish data.
3) Conduct research and provide access to modeling tools for fish survival and migration, through the SacPAS website, in support of Reclamation-funded and ESA-mandated activities, especially in efforts to predict, track, and evaluate the efficacy of proposed or actual actions.
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.
Assessing fire retardant toxicity on salmonids (eggs and alevins).
