Meeting Abstract
S9-2.2 Monday, Jan. 7 Physiological and behavioral responses to multiple environmental stressors in San Francisco Bay-Delta fishes: linking mechanism to management FANGUE, Nann A; HASENBEIN, Matthias; KOMOROSKE, Lisa; CONNON, Richard E*; Univ. of California Davis; Univ. of California Davis; Univ. of California Davis; Univ. of California Davis nafangue@ucdavis.edu
An important goal of aquatic conservation biology is to understand how environmental factors, both natural and anthropogenic, influence physiological performance, and further whether or not these physiological effects contribute to changes in the distribution, abundance, survival, and overall health of conservation-relevant species. In the San Francisco Bay-Delta (SFBD), many native fishes are in rapid decline and multiple stressors such as entrainment (i.e. fish drawn through intakes) at water pumping stations, loss of critical habitat, competition with and predation from non-native species, as well as contaminants and poor water quality have been attributed to this decline. This presentation will draw from our recent studies on ESA-listed fish species: delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The delta smelt is an endemic SFBD species with an annual life cycle and distinct life stages each with unique tolerances to salinity, turbidity, temperature and these factors in combination. Both green sturgeon and Chinook salmon are anadromous species that migrate through the SFBD and spawn in the associated watersheds. Adults and young-of-the-year encounter small- and large-scale agricultural and/or municipal water diversions during migration and entrainment risk is an understudied but significant source of mortality. We will highlight how physiological and behavioral studies that consider multiple and potentially interacting stressors are not only mechanistically revealing, but are necessary to define the habitat requirements of endangered species to aid resource managers in making informed decisions in support of fish conservation.
