Research Awards

Dr. Hans Paerl¹, Dr. Karsten Baumann¹, Dr. Ryan Paerl², Hwa Huang², Dr. Kimberly Popendorf³, Dr. Raphael Kudela⁴

High concentrations of the toxin microcystin are linked to the increased occurrence of cyanoHABs (harmful algal blooms that produce toxins) and present a public health concern for communities in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta). Recent findings suggest that cyanoHABs threaten air quality in addition to water quality via emissions of spray aerosols carrying algal cells and toxins. This study aims to generate high resolution measurements of cyanoHAB toxins and DNA in the Bay-Delta airshed, with the goal of informing human exposure guidelines for airborne cyanoHAB toxins and bloom mitigation policy in the region.

¹University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

²North Carolina State University

³University of Miami

⁴University of California Santa Cruz

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. Tamara Kraus¹, Dr. Peggy Lehman², Angela Hansen¹, Dr. Brian Bergamaschi¹, Chuck Hansen¹

A major impediment to improved understanding and prediction of cyanoHABs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is the dearth of cyanoHAB data collected across space and time. To address this data gap, this study will add cyanotoxin sampling to five existing real-time water quality monitoring stations in the Delta. Additionally, two stations will be equipped with sensors that continuously measure the abundance of four different phytoplankton groups. These data will help to identify temporal patterns and key environmental drivers of cyanoHABs and cyanotoxins.

¹U.S. Geological Survey

²California Department of Water Resources

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. Stefan Talke¹, Dr. David Jay²

In the Delta, sea-level is rising, land is sinking, river flows may be decreasing, and tides are changing. This project will recover, digitize, and analyze more than 1,300 station years of ‘lost-and-forgotten’ water level records collected between 1857 to 1982. These measurements, augmented by modern data, will be used to determine tidal and sea level trends, and characterize ‘hotspots’ of habitat and flood risk sensitivity. The results may be useful for focusing future scientific and management priorities, protecting the environment, managing flood risk, and enhancing community resilience to climate change.

¹California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

²Portland State University

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. Dennis Baldocchi¹, Dr. Ariane Ortiz¹

Tidal wetlands that ring the Bay-Delta have great potential to remove carbon dioxide— the greenhouse gas responsible for climate change and sea-level rise—from the atmosphere and to protect shorelines from rising sea-levels. This study aims to understand how effective and how quickly restored wetlands bury carbon in soils, and the degree to which flooded wetlands may produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The project team will measure carbon dioxide and methane fluxes into and out of the wetlands to assess carbon sequestration across a network of tidal and non-tidal wetlands differing in age and salinity, and will create maps of the Bay-Delta with this information using remote sensing products.

¹University of California, Berkeley

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. Malte Willmes¹, Dr. Flora Cordoleani¹, Dr. Eric Palkovacs¹, Dr. Rachel Johnson^2,3, Jelmer Eerkens³

Climate change is transforming California and is threatening already vulnerable salmon populations. This project will use archival tissues (otolith ear stones) from modern and historical spring-run Chinook Salmon to understand how shifts in migration timing and habitat use allowed salmon to cope with highly variable environmental conditions. We will learn how salmon responded to the recent drought and flood periods (2012-2020), the California Gold Rush Period (~1835-1870), the Little Ice Age (~1560-1780), and the Megadrought Period (~1200-1410). This effort will provide the insights needed for developing climate-adapted conservation actions to support salmon into the future.

¹University of California, Santa Cruz

²National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

³University of California, Davis

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Myfanwy Johnston¹, Zachary Jackson², Laura Heironimus³

White Sturgeon is a species of conservation concern in California. However, the scope and variability of movements of White Sturgeon in the Bay-Delta system between river basins remains unknown, despite the existence of over a decades’ worth of acoustic telemetry data in the region. This project’s objective is to combine and synthesize these existing datasets to address high priority research areas for the management of White Sturgeon in the Bay-Delta system, including spawning periodicity, the onset of upstream migration movement, and the scope and variability of inter-basin movements of White Sturgeon.

¹Cramer Fish Sciences

²United States Fish and Wildlife Service

³Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Alexander Forrest¹

The Temperature Control Device (TCD) at Shasta Dam provides a means for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to selectively withdraw water from different depths and temperatures to manage cold water releases to downstream river reaches during the spring, summer, and fall. Cold-water pool management, particularly during low water years, is essential for downstream winter-run Chinook salmon spawning and rearing. How the TCD operates under day-to-day operations for different gate openings, different powerhouse operations, and different thermal conditions within the reservoir is poorly understood. This work will build a flow model to optimize the performance of the existing infrastructure to protect downstream fisheries, enabling more informed operation of the TCD.

¹University of California, Davis

*Funded by the US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Russell Perry¹, Dr. Mariah Meek², Brian Pyper³

The estimated number of young salmon that leave the upper watershed every year, or the “juvenile production estimate”, has been highlighted as a critical data gap that could otherwise be used to inform population demographics, parameterize life cycle models, and provide a population-level criteria for managing take of federally threatened spring-run and endangered winter-run Chinook salmon at the state and federal water projects. In response to this data gap, the goal of this project is to estimate abundance and run timing of juvenile spring-run Chinook salmon leaving the Delta at Chipps Island by leveraging two existing studies that use the latest advances in genetic and acoustic telemetry technology.

¹U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center

²Michigan State University

³Fish Metric Inc.

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Mark Henderson¹

This study will analyze acoustic telemetry data for the four runs of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in California’s Sacramento River (fall, late-fall, winter, and spring) and determine the primary factors, for each run, that affect mortality of juveniles migrating to the ocean. The project team will develop models of juvenile salmon survival to examine the relative influence of flow and predation on survival through the Sacramento River, including indication of hot-spots of mortality, where predation may claim many juvenile salmon before they enter the ocean.

¹Humboldt State University

*Funded by the US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Rene Henery¹, Dr. Natalie Stauffer-Olsen¹, Gary Bobker², Rafael Silberblatt³, Dr. Noble Hendrix⁴, Dr. Mark Tompkins⁵, Dr. Eric Danner⁶, Dan Ohlson⁷, Sally Rudd⁷, Alison Collins⁸, Frances Brewster⁹

Salmon of California’s Central Valley are culturally and ecologically valuable but are subject to numerous stressors. This study will use sociological and ecological methodologies to develop an integrated, collective, and strategic approach for recovering Central Valley salmonid populations. The project will do this by leveraging existing collaborative efforts and decision-support tools to create a common, shared vision, and a common set of scientifically-based priorities for action that are both implementable and impactful.

¹Trout Unlimited

²The Bay Institute

³Kearns & West

⁴QEDA Consulting

⁵FlowWest

⁶National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; University of California, Santa Cruz

⁷COMPASS

⁸Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

⁹Valley Water

*ISES; Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Rebecca Buchanan¹, Dr. Russell Perry²

Predation of tagged fish (i.e., consumption of tagged fishes by predators) complicates analysis of juvenile salmon telemetry studies and can bias results, delay timely reporting, and prevent effective data synthesis. This project seeks to address these issues by characterizing predatory fish movement patterns from existing telemetry data in the Delta, developing a standard operating procedure for diagnosing and handling detections of predated tags in salmon telemetry studies, and implementing the recommendations in an R software package that includes code, a “library” of expected predator behaviors, and example vignettes. The R package will be freely available for download at www.cbr.washington.edu

¹University of Washington

²United States Geological Survey

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Letitia Grenier¹, Dr. Lydia Vaughn¹

Suisun Marsh faces changes to its ecological, social, and economic systems due to interacting impacts of climate change and land and water management. Sustaining a functioning marsh that supports fish, waterfowl, recreation, and other benefits requires thoughtful planning and coordination among landowners, resource managers, and other stakeholders. To support these efforts, Suisun Landscapes will develop a synthetic and inclusive set of resources for conservation planners and managers that describe: the Marsh’s historical ecology; the drivers, pathways, and impacts of change over time; and community uses and priorities. Resources will include maps, quantitative metrics, written reports, and tools for scenario planning

¹San Francisco Estuary Institute, Aquatic Science Center

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. John Takekawa¹, Dr. Karen Kettenring², Dr. Virginia Matzek³, Dr. Zhao Ma⁴, Dr. Richelle Tanner⁵

Suisun Marsh—a large area of wetlands—supports a variety of birds, fish, invertebrates, and plants, and provides recreation opportunities for hunters, fishers, birdwatchers, and boaters. The area has been invaded by nonnative, invasive Phragmites australis, a tall reed that grows in dense stands and impedes navigation, reduces fish and wildlife movements, decreases biodiversity, and creates fire hazards. Phragmites has spread rapidly over the last 25 years, including in recently restored tidal wetlands. This project will study social, cultural, and ecological factors that affect invasive species control, combining natural and social science data to develop a durable integrated control plan for Phragmites.

¹Suisun Resource Conservation District

²Utah State University

³Santa Clara University

⁴Purdue University

⁵Chapman University

*ISES; *Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council

Dr. Peter Hernes¹, Dr. Brian Bergamaschi², Dr. Tamara Kraus²

A Delta ecosystem that is healthy for fish is healthy for everyone. However, zooplankton resources for fish are scarce, thus, this project focuses on different food sources for increasing zooplankton, including known phytoplankton sources, but also wetland plant particles, which have only recently been identified as a zooplankton food source in the Delta. This project aims to determine and map all particle types that are beneficial to zooplankton in the Delta by coupling laboratory analyses of food quality with boat sensor measurements, thereby providing important tools for guiding management decisions to increase beneficial particles.

¹University of California, Davis

²United States Geological Survey

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and State Water Contractors

Dr. Raman Nagarajan¹, Dr. Andrea Schreier¹

Extensive tidal wetland restorations are ongoing in the Bay-Delta. To understand which species are using these habitats, this project will use environmental DNA (eDNA) methods that indirectly detect species presence via DNA shed in the environment. In parallel with existing monitoring programs that use nets to catch and identify fish, this project will collect non-invasive water samples and perform eDNA assays to determine the presence or absence of fish and potentially other organisms. Successful completion of this project will establish eDNA monitoring as a complementary, cost-effective tool to help resource managers evaluate the success of restoration efforts.

¹University of California, Davis

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Dr. Michelle Jungbluth¹, Jason Hassrick²

In the Bay-Delta, massive wetland restoration efforts are underway to help our declining aquatic species. However, it continues to be unclear what aquatic species, under the water surface, these efforts support. This project will use molecular methods to identify a subset of species ranging from “microbes to zooplankton” that are indicative of wetland conditions, in different stages of restoration. The project will also measure the foodweb resources provided by the wetlands to larval fish. This information will help managers prioritize restoration efforts that are most likely to directly help declining aquatic species.

¹San Francisco State University, Estuary and Ocean Science Center

²ICF

*Funded by the Delta Stewardship Council and US Bureau of Reclamation

Scott Brandenberg, University of California, Los Angeles

In June 2004, a 350-foot levee section gave way west of Stockton, flooding crops and more than a dozen homes, and challenging state officials to protect the state's water supply. What is the risk of that happening again somewhere in the Delta? In light of agricultural fields sinking, the sea level rising, more frequent and severe floods occurring, and earthquakes looming, improvements are estimated to cost $3.8 - $4.3 billion over the next few decades.

This study combines 3-D representations with information on the levee’s structure to analyze how different levees respond to floods, sea level rise, and earthquakes. State officials released the last Delta Risk Management Strategy a decade ago. Since then, scientists have collected significant amounts of data and have developed new procedures to compute the risk of failure. This work will produce new Delta-wide data sets important for characterizing the hazards coming from floods and earthquakes. It will also develop the best method to conduct levee hazard assessments. Applying this new method will ensure wise investments and effective threat mitigation Delta-wide.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Sandra Bachand, Bachand and Associates

Steve Deverel, Hydrofocus, Inc

Stephen Andrews, RMA Inc.

Peter Nico, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Philip Bachand, Bachand and Associates

Baptiste Dafflon, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Erika Gasperikova, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jonathan Stewart, University of California, Los Angeles

Sebastian Uhlemann, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Craig Ulrich, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Paolo Zimmaro, University of California, Los Angeles

Susanne Brander, Oregon State University

Pyrethroids are a type of insecticide frequently detected in the San Francisco Bay and Delta (SFBD). They are highly toxic to fishes and may contribute to their decline. The Central Valley Water Resources Control Board has adopted regulations for many pyrethroids. These concentration goals for Delta surface waters are quite stringent. However, they do not take into account non-lethal effects in fishes, particularly during the early life stages and at the salinity conditions we see in the SFBD. Understanding non-lethal effects in fish is vital to influencing population health.

This study investigates pyrethroid toxicity on Delta smelt and Inland Silverside embryos, while accounting for changing SFBD salinity and other factors such as sediment. Results will inform the development of pesticide regulation criteria and control efforts, furthering the protection of SFBD fishes.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Michelle Hladik, U.S. Geological Survey

Richard Connon, University of California, Davis

This project is partially funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Joseph Dietrich, NOAA Fisheries

The decline of native salmon species has resulted in their protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act. Disease and predation are primary drivers of mortality as salmon migrate. Multiple stressors, such as exposure to contaminants and elevated temperature, can impact rates of disease and predation of salmon as they migrate to the ocean.

This study examines how contaminant exposures at different temperatures affects salmon health. Specifically, the study investigates the sensitivity of salmon to a contaminant mixture of bifenthrin (a pyrethoid pesticide) and triclosan (an antibacterial added to personal care products). Both contaminants can alter fish swimming behavior and critical physiological functions. Similarly, temperature stress can impact fish physiology and behavior, as well as exacerbate the adverse effects of contaminants.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Mary Arkoosh, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Andrew Hein, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Mary Beth Rew Hicks, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Benjamin Martin, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Brian Wells, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Wim Kimmerer, San Francisco State University

Much research in the Delta has focused on foodweb dynamics, stimulated by evidence that low productivity of plankton is linked to declines in several fish species including the endangered delta smelt. Pseudodiaptomus forbesi is the most abundant copepod (small crustaceans) in the Delta in summer. It is an important food source for many fishes and makes up about half of the food of delta smelt.

This study focuses on the feeding, reproduction, and growth of copepods as essential foodweb support for fishes. This work investigates four diverse habitats including two open-water channels and two shallow habitats. The researchers will measure copepods´ feeding rates on microscopic plants and animals, and relate feeding to their rates of growth and reproduction. Computer models will be used to estimate their movement and death rates. These results will show the sources of nutrition used for growth and reproduction of these key organisms. Results will inform how food webs respond to large scale changes in the Delta ecosystem, for example, restoration and the Sacramento wastewater treatment plant upgrade.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Stephen Andrews, RMA, Inc.

Ed Gross, RMA, Inc.

Michelle Jungbluth, San Francisco State University

Benjamin Saenz, RMA, Inc.

Tamara Kraus, U.S. Geological Survey; Tomofuri Kurobe, University of California, Davis; David Senn, San Francisco Estuary Institute - Aquatic Science Center

Nutrients in sediment play a large role in influencing food webs, harmful algal blooms, aquatic vegetation, and drinking water quality. This study will investigate the amount, types, and dynamics of nutrients in Delta sediments. It will also examine sediment microbial communities that mediate these processes.

Results of this study will help determine how the planned reduction in nutrient inputs to the Delta will effect sediment nutrients and microbial communities following the upgrade of the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District’s wastewater treatment plant. Data will also inform how wetland restoration and invasive aquatic vegetation influence sediment nutrients and microbial communities. These data will contribute to improving computer models that inform large-scale nutrient management actions.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Tomofuri Kurobe, University of California Davis

David Senn, San Francisco Estuary Institute - Aquatic Science Center

Brian Bergamaschi, U.S. Geological Survey

Bryan Downing, U.S. Geological Survey

John Warden, U.S. Geological Survey

Michael MacWilliams, Anchor QEA via State Water Contractors

This study combines detailed model predictions with salmonid tracking data to inform how river flows affect steelhead movement through the Delta. This project leverages an existing 6-year data set to support analysis of salmonid behavioral responses across a broad range of water years. The study will evaluate behavior relative to flow under existing regulatory requirements (Old and Middle River Flow and the Inflow to Export ratio), evaluate five new potential water management metrics identified by the Collaborative Adaptive Management Team Salmonid Scoping Team, and improve the understanding of what conditions affect survival.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Noah Adams, U.S. Geological Survey

Elizabeth Appy, Anchor QEA

Aaron J. Bever, Anchor QEA

John Ferguson, Anchor QEA

Sydney Gonsalves, Anchor QEA

John Plumb, U.S. Geological Survey

Carolyn Roper, Anchor QEA

This project is funded by the U.S Bureau of Reclamation.

Virginia Matzek, Santa Clara University

Ecological restoration in the Bay-Delta watershed provides increased access to hunting opportunities for recreational hunters in the region in addition to benefitting native flora and fauna. While increased hunting is not always considered an economic benefit, it is a dividend from investments in habitat restoration. This research will quantify in dollars the economic impact of restoring sites and opening them for hunting. The study will survey members of the public at restored sites in the Bay-Delta and Sacramento River regions that have resulted in new and/or improved hunting access. In addition to the economic analysis, the survey will shed light on two other issues: 1) whether there is a tradeoff among recreational usage, carbon storage, and habitat quality for restored sites, and 2) whether current users perceive an unmet need for recreational access in the region. These analyses will be useful in explaining multi-benefit restoration projects to stakeholders and policymakers, and informative to future decision-making.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Mariah Meek, Michigan State University

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.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Melinda Baerwald, CA Department of Water Resources

Pascale Goertler, CA Department of Water Resources

Peter Dudley, University of California, Santa Cruz

Green sturgeon is a listed species under the federal Endangered Species Act. This project supports the recovery and management of the southern distinct population segment of green sturgeon by improving population and migration monitoring. Improved monitoring is recommended in multiple initiatives to help protect this species, such as the Green Sturgeon Recovery Plan. There is some uncertainty on whether the most appropriate green sturgeon monitoring techniques are being used.

This project compares the different estimation and monitoring techniques to identify the superior protocol. To compare the effectiveness of different techniques, scientists will monitor green sturgeon in the Sacramento River using sonar technology. Monitoring data will be used to estimate the population size and death rates due to by-catch. This project will also review and synthesize past acoustic telemetry data to determine if the data can be modeled to improve population size estimates.

Additional project details will be available soon.

This project is funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Peggy O’Day, University of California, Merced

Mercury, salinity, and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are major contaminants of concern and are an understudied source of water quality impairment to the Delta. This study will (1) examine seasonal variation and transfer of salt, nutrients, and mercury out of managed wetlands; (2) establish and verify whether other routinely monitored water components can serve as reliable alternatives (proxies) for detecting mercury and nutrients; (3) integrate monitoring data and proxy relationships to estimate levels of contaminants; and (4) develop science-based strategies for adaptive co-management of salt, nutrients, and mercury from seasonal wetlands to improve water quality in the Delta.

Outcomes from this study will provide improved best practices and guidelines for management of salt, nutrients, and mercury in wetlands. Results will also address key knowledge gaps identified in the Delta Nutrient Research Plan and provide support for the Delta Mercury Control Plan.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Nigel Quinn, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/University of California Merced

Marc Beutel, University of California Merced

Stephen Hart, University of California Merced

Peter Nico, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Liying Zhao, University of California Merced

Stefanie Helmrich, University of California Merced

Patty Oikawa, California State University East Bay

Tidal marshes are important ecosystems in the San Francisco-Bay Delta. They remove carbon from the atmosphere, build up soils that buffer our communities from sea level rise, mitigate excessive nutrients (like nitrogen), and provide critical habitat and food resources for a diversity of species. It is difficult to predict how tidal marshes change naturally over time versus as a response to climate change, restoration and water quality changes. This project provides the first ever multi-year dataset of the complete carbon budget of a tidal marsh. This dataset will be used to predict seasonal and annual carbon budgets in tidal marshes over a range of salinities. The model will assess the sustainability of existing and potential restored tidal wetland benefits over the next 100 years using remote sensing data. The model will be an open-source tool designed for use by wetland managers and decision makers in the Bay-Delta region. This project supports ongoing initiatives to restore tidal wetlands in the Delta and our ability to manage them in a changing world.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Sara Knox, University of British Colombia

Lisamarie Windham-Myers, U.S. Geological Survey

Iryna Dronova, University of California, Berkeley

Brian Bergamaschi, U.S. Geological Survey

Frank Anderson, U.S. Geological Survey

Russel Perry, U.S. Geological Survey

The purpose of this project is to quantify how tides in the Delta influence survival of juvenile salmon. Juvenile salmon survival increases when there is more flow and the river is less tidally influenced. We hypothesize that the increase in survival is because of reduced travel times causing less exposure to predators. This project will test this hypothesis using multiple models including ones that can predict how management actions that modify tidal patterns affect juvenile salmon survival.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Jon Burau, U.S. Geological Survey

Adam Pope, U.S. Geological Survey

Dalton Hance, U.S. Geological Survey

Paul Stumpner, U.S. Geological Survey

Aaron Blake, U.S. Geological Survey

Christina Pondell, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

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.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Andrew Rypel, University of California, Davis

Salmon and other native California fishes are in decline and increasingly targeted for enhanced conservation. Acoustic telemetry technologies have emerged, allowing researchers to track fish routes through the Central Valley. Yet while the use of acoustic telemetry has widened, little synthesis has occurred on the large, growing, and expensive datasets that already exist. This project performs a synthesis of existing acoustic telemetry data and explores new frameworks to make sense of it. The project includes a Technical Advisory Group, composed of members of multiple conservation teams. The group will inform each step of study, strengthen syntheses, and enable rapid communication of results to decision makers. In total, the project analyzes 10 to 15 high-quality telemetry datasets encompassing a range of native fishes and life stages. This synthesis will yield major insights into water management practices that could help improve survival of native fish.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Dan Reuman, University of Kansas

This project is funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Susan Ustin, University of California, Davis

Invasive aquatic vegetation (IAV) acts as an ecosystem engineer by changing habitat conditions and water quality. This negatively affects the survival of native species. Over the past 15 years, IAV has more than doubled its footprint in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta waterways. The State of California spends millions of dollars each year to control IAV in the Delta-Suisun region and costs are likely to continue to rise. Gaining a better understanding of the spread, life history characteristics, and potential vulnerabilities of these species can lead to more effective control strategies.

The recent launch of the Sentinel-2 satellite can fill temporal gaps left by annual airborne surveys. This study will create a data pipeline for sustained, low-cost satellite-based monitoring of aquatic and marsh vegetation year-round. To quantify one of the Delta Plan performance measures, the time and degree of floodplain inundation for the Yolo Bypass will be measured. This study will result in new metrics to measure progress toward habitat goals in several restoration sites.

Additional project details will be available soon.

Collaborators:

Shruti Khanna, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife

Erin Hestir, University of California Merced

Christiana Ade, University of California Merced

Mui Lay, University of California Davis