Transcript PPT - South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project

Subtidal Habitat Update
Eden Landing Living Shoreline Project Ideas
Marilyn Latta
Eden Landing Working Group
October 27, 2009
Historical Abundance
Steelhead streams
Hunting and shellmounds
The Albatross surveys
Commercial oyster farms
Eden Landing
Bay shrimp fishery
Dungeness crab fishery
Salmon fleet
Hydrographic surveys
Habitats in San Francisco Bay
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Tidal marsh ~40,000 acres
Tidal flats ~30,000 acres
Eelgrass beds ~3,000 acres
Native oyster and other shellfish beds (?)
Creeks – over 1,000 miles
• Shallow and deep subtidal ~250,000 acres
Photo credits: www.lorenz-avelar.com
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
Pebble/cobble/gravel
Rocky Outcrops
Artificial Structures
Sandy shoals
Algal Beds
Photo credits: www.bluewaterimages.com
Shellfish Beds
Mud/silt/clay/shell mix
GIS Maps Being Produced
• Subtidal Habitat Types
• Habitat Stressors
• Informed Siting of Projects
September 2009
San Rafael
Richmond
Oakland
San Francisco
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2.5
Kilometers
2.5
Miles
California Department of Fish & Game
San Francisco Bay Bathymetry (Feet)
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3 - 12
12 - 20
20 - 30
30 - 40
40 - 55
55 - 65
65 - 80
80 - 100
100 - 150
150 - 282
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Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Restoration Sites
Current Estimated Range of Subtidal Oyster Distribution
Oyster Restoration Site
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Habitat
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Documented Intertidal Oysters
Creosote Pilings (DRAFT - for graphics only)
Road
Agar (Gracilaria) Habitat
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Boyer (unpub.)
Harris, 2004;Smithsonian/UC Davis; Attoe, 2008; traylor-Dutra; Grosholz, 2008; Caltrans, 2009.
Merkel, 2003, 2009.
NOAA, ORR, Environmental Sensitivity Index, 2006 .
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Subtidal Habitat Conceptual Models
Wim Kimmerer
Functional Connections Across Habitats
Habitats and Function are Linked
• Watershed: elevational gradient of sediments
• Sloughs/channels: hydrology, food, larval transport
• Offshore shoals: shallow water spawning/rearing
• Estuary wide: Migratory and feeding routes
Species use multiple depths and vegetation types
• invertebrates, crabs, shrimps, shellfish
• herring, salmon, smelt, sturgeon, rays, sharks
• shorebirds, diving ducks and waterfowl
• marine mammals
Ecosystem-based Approach
• arrays of natural habitat types
• multiple objectives
Graphic: www.baynature.org
Transition Zones on Both Edges
Upland transition
Subtidal transition
Wetland edges: sand bars, shell beds, kelp and eelgrass fringe, rocky intertidal
Increase Subtidal Design Integration
shoreline-tidal-submerged habitats
Design Integration
1. Reduce habitat fragmentation, increase connectivity
2. Plan for more shallow water habitat and maximum edges
3. Design gradual slopes and a variety of topography
4. Pay attention to “subtidal transition zones”
5. Optimize natural sediments to promote self-maintenance
Artificial Structures
6. Reduce and modify hard structures to protect habitat
Increase Subtidal Design Integration
shoreline-tidal-submerged habitats
Monitor existing native species
7. Survey existing subtidal resources and species use
8. Enhance current habitat for aquatic species
9. Restore offshore shellfish, eelgrass beds, fish habitats
Manage invasive species
10. Survey for Aquatic Invasive Species
11. When feasible, eradicate invasives
Control marine debris
12. Identify trash hot spots, prevent sources of debris
Photograph at low tides
13. Photomonitor sites at extreme low tides
Native Olympia Oysters:
Ostrea conchaphila
Habitat Engineers:
• Range: Chile to Alaska
• Small: usually 1.5 - 2”, some to 3”
• Attach to shell, hard substrate, mud/cobble
• Planktonic larvae, settle in embayments
• Filter feeders, water quality
• Co-evolved with natives, key niche space
• Food source for other invertebrates, birds, fish
2007 Native Oyster Recruitment
Native Eelgrass:
Zostera marina
Habitat Builders:
• sediment infauna (clams, worms, etc.)
• epibenthic invertebrates (sponges, etc.)
• fishes (pipefish, anchovy, etc.)
Traps sediments, reduces erosion
Breeding ground for Pacific herring
Foraging area for dungeness crabs, birds,
& marine mammals
Two Marin Restoration Sites:
> 10,000 new shoots
Assessment Projects
Native Eelgrass, Shellfish, and Creosote Pilings
Eelgrass and Shellfish: Ecosystem Engineers
• niche space for invertebrates
• fish forage and spawning
• habitat for Dungeness crabs, salmon,
diving ducks & marine mammals
Project Elements:
• Key functions
• Restoration methods
• Bay-wide acreage goals
• Priority areas for research
Creosote and Artificial Structures:
• benefits and impacts of pilings
• proposed action plan
• potential removal, encapsulation
Living Shorelines: A soft bioengineering approach
Living Space: employ natural habitat elements to protect shorelines from
erosion while also providing water quality benefits and critical habitat.
Living Shorelines: Issues for study in SF Bay
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Scale: what acreage is needed to slow wave action?
Suitability: must be matched to site conditions
Permitting: fill considerations in the subtidal zone
Monitoring: functional connections between habitats
Pilot: test effectiveness thru experimental designs
Katharyn Boyer, SFSU
Robert Abbott, Environ
Proposed Eden Landing Project
May 2010- May 2011:
• Monitor existing populations
• Final Design and Permitting
Summer 2011:
• Install two acre project
2011- 2013 Monitoring Tasks:
Number of oysters recruited/year; number of adults persisting/year
Number of eelgrass shoots propagated/year, persisting/year
Presence/absence and diversity of species use (epifauna, fish, birds) at the treatment
sites and at control sites at each location
Measurement of change in sedimentation rates between subtidal treatments and
marsh/riparian edge, at the treatment sites and at control sites
Measurement of change in flow velocity rates between subtidal treatments and
marsh/riparian edge, at the treatment sites and at control sites
Thank You
Marilyn Latta, Project Manager
Subtidal Habitat Goals Project
State Coastal Conservancy
510.286.4157
[email protected]