Climate Change Impacts to the Tidal Salt Marsh Habitats of San Pablo Bay, California

Climate Change Impacts to the Tidal Salt Marsh Habitats of San Pablo Bay, California
Author: Karen Maria Thorne
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN: 9781267663191

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The response of ecosystems to climate change is difficult to evaluate and predict, and often are constrained by anthropogenic modifications to the natural environment. Here, I assess the impacts of sea-level rise and extreme storm events on a tidal salt marsh ecosystem located in San Francisco Bay estuary (California, USA) that contains local endemic and endangered wildlife species. The San Francisco Bay estuary has been heavily impacted from human development resulting in the loss of over 80% of its historic tidal salt marshes. In this dissertation, I hypothesize that there will be short-term impacts from extreme storm events and long-term impacts from sea-level rise on the San Pablo Bay endemic marsh wildlife. The first chapter of this dissertation is a discussion about the current state of understanding about climate change impacts on salt marsh habitats and wildlife, using San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SPBNWR) as a case study. The second chapter documents two extreme storm events in 2010 and 2011, and discusses impacts on available marsh habitats. At peak storm surge, over 65% (2010) and 93% (2011) of the marsh habitat for wildlife was under water, presumably increasing predation and drowning risk. In the third chapter, I evaluate if SPBNWR is currently keeping pace with sea-level rise and what biogeomorphic processes may be important. Subsidence and accretion was found to vary spatially, with only 37% of the marsh keeping pace with current sea-level rise rates. Surprisingly, I found widespread subsidence (55%) in areas adjacent to constructed levees. Using Akaike Information Criterion (AICc), I found that the distance from the sediment source (San Pablo Bay edge) was the most important covariate to determine accretion. In the fourth chapter, I develop a spatially-explicit, sea-level rise response model for SPBNWR to assess habitat resiliency to 2100. The model projected a loss of most high marsh habitat by 2050, and a loss of most mid marsh habitat by 2040 to 2060. Low marsh habitat showed a temporary increase in area between 2030 and 2050, with the peak (658 ha) in 2040. A large eastern portion of the marsh or 75% of the area (1,004 ha) converted to predominantly mudflat by 2060 with a 47 cm increase in sea-level. However, an almost complete conversion to mudflat occurred with a 75 cm sea-level rise by 2080, with

Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of Tidal Marshes

Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of Tidal Marshes
Author: Arnas Palaima
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2012-10-09
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520954017

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The San Francisco Bay, the biggest estuary on the west coast of North America, was once surrounded by an almost unbroken chain of tidal wetlands, a fecund sieve of ecosystems connecting the land and the Bay. Today, most of these wetlands have disappeared under the demands of coastal development, and those that remain cling precariously to a drastically altered coastline. This volume is a collaborative effort of nearly 40 scholars in which the wealth of scientific knowledge available on tidal wetlands of the San Francisco Estuary is summarized and integrated. This book addresses issues of taxonomy, geomorphology, toxicology, the impact of climate change, ecosystem services, public policy, and conservation, and it is an essential resource for ecologists, environmental scientists, coastal policymakers, and researchers interested in estuaries and conserving and restoring coastal wetlands around the world.

Suisun Marsh

Suisun Marsh
Author: Peter B. Moyle
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2014-03-26
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520276086

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One of California's most remarkable wetlands, Suisun Marsh is the largest tidal marsh on the West Coast and a major feature of the San Francisco Estuary. This productive and unique habitat supports endemic species, is a nursery for native fishes, and is a vital link for migratory waterfowl. The 6,000-year-old marsh has been affected by human activity, and humans will continue to have significant impacts on the marsh as the sea level rises and cultural values shift in the century ahead. This study includes in-depth information about the ecological and human history of Suisun Marsh, its abiotic and biotic characteristics, agents of ecological change, and alternative futures facing this ecosystem.

Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of Tidal Marshes

Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of Tidal Marshes
Author: Arnas Palaima
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2012-09-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0520274296

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The San Francisco Bay, the biggest estuary on the west coast of North America, was once surrounded by an almost unbroken chain of tidal wetlands, a fecund sieve of ecosystems connecting the land and the Bay. Today, most of these wetlands have disappeared under the demands of coastal development, and those that remain cling precariously to a drastically altered coastline. This volume is a collaborative effort of nearly 40 scholars in which the wealth of scientific knowledge available on tidal wetlands of the San Francisco Estuary is summarized and integrated. This book addresses issues of taxonomy, geomorphology, toxicology, the impact of climate change, ecosystem services, public policy, and conservation, and it is an essential resource for ecologists, environmental scientists, coastal policymakers, and researchers interested in estuaries and conserving and restoring coastal wetlands around the world.

Summary Status Report

Summary Status Report
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 76
Release: 2001
Genre: Watershed restoration
ISBN:

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Human Impacts on Salt Marshes

Human Impacts on Salt Marshes
Author: Brian R. Silliman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2009-06-03
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520258924

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"Human Impacts on Salt Marshes provides an excellent global synthesis of an important, underappreciated environmental problem and suggests solutions to the diverse threats affecting salt marshes."—Peter B. Moyle, University of California, Davis