Species and Habitat
Species and Habitat
USGS provides essential science on ecosystem function to inform species survival and recovery and habitat restoration in the Bay-Delta. Studies include monitoring the health and status of crucial species and understanding the impacts of habitat loss, contaminants, invasive species, sea-level rise, and changes in temperature and salinity.
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Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments
Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural...
Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay
We investigate mechanisms of sediment transport, resuspension dynamics in shoals, wave evolution in the shallows, wave attenuation in marshes, and transport of sediment between mudflats and marshes. We produce data sets for calibration of and comparison with sediment transport models, including wave parameters, suspended sediment concentration, and sediment flux.
Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
Research on bed sediment grain size, bedform morphology, vegetation characteristics, and sediment resuspension and transport.
Ecosystem Engineers: Impacts of Invasive Aquatic Vegetation on the Delta’s Critical Ecosystems
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is home to a diverse community of plants and animals and is the hub of California’s freshwater delivery system. The Delta supplies water for over 25 million Californians and supports millions of acres of farming, commercial and sport fishing, shipping and ports, and recreational boating.
Avian Studies
The marshes, floodplains, and riparian corridors (areas along streams and rivers) of the Bay-Delta are key wintering destinations for migratory waterbirds and serve as a crucial stopover on the Pacific Flyway (a major north-south route for birds, extending from Alaska to the tip of South America). The mosaic of wetland habitat types within the Bay-Delta is essential for the millions of shorebirds...
Fish Studies
USGS actively participates in fish research in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Bottom-Dwelling (Benthic) Invertebrates
In addition to studying birds and fish, the USGS monitors benthic (bottom dwelling) invertebrate communities (crustaceans, worms, and bivalves, including invasive clams) in the Bay-Delta.
Protected Terrestrial Species
Large-scale conversion of wetland habitats to agricultural and other uses in the Bay-Delta and California’s Central Valley is the major threat to species that rely on these habitats.
Habitat Restoration
USGS research in the Bay-Delta assesses and informs habitat-restoration activities and contributes to comprehensive ecosystem planning documents for the Bay-Delta, such as the Delta Plan.
Marsh Sustainability
USGS scientists are studying sediment transport (including the supply, movement, and deposition of sediment) in the Bay-Delta system.