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Fish Assemblages in Reference and Restored Tidal Freshwater Marshes of the San Francisco Estuary

Abstract

We examined the spatial and temporal distributions of fishes at a reference and three restored marshes between April 1998 and July 1999 in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, to determine the factors that influence fish assemblages in space and time. Shallow-water fishes were sampled using beach seines with and without block-net enclosures in open-water shoals and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Purse seining was used to sample fishes in deep water, including offshore, tidal slough, and marsh-edge habitats. Overall, fish assemblages in reference and restored marshes were dominated by introduced species. One-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) did not reveal study site differences in fish assemblages in either data set. However, nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling (NMS) and ANOSIM tests of the shallow-water collections revealed differences in fish assemblages using habitats with and without SAV. Introduced fishes, including predatory centrarchid fishes, were abundant in SAV. NMS and ANOSIM tests of the deep-water collections revealed differences in fish assemblages between offshore and nearshore (marsh-edge and tidal slough) habitats. Notably, native fishes were abundant in tidal sloughs. Temporal analyses revealed a suite of species more common in winter and spring, versus another group of introduced species that were more common in summer and fall. Our study findings indicate that newly restored habitats in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta will be invaded by introduced fishes. To promote native fish habitat, restoration planning should focus on areas and regions of the Delta where tidal marshes can be restored with little intervention, and where invasive SAV is less likely to colonize.

 

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