Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The fish community of a newly restored southern California estuary: ecological perspective 3 years after restoration

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bays and estuaries are considered essential fish habitat, yet in many parts of the world, these areas have been degraded or destroyed. In southern California, habitat restoration has become a widely used approach for protecting coastal ecosystems; however, there is little information available on the success of these efforts. Monthly abundance surveys were employed to examine spatial and temporal trends in the fish assemblages 3 years after the restoration of the Bolsa Chica Full Tidal Basin (BCFTB). This was used as a short-term success assessment of the BCFTB restoration, as well as an important baseline against which future studies can determine the long-term trajectory of the restoration. Forty-four species of fish were caught inside the BCFTB, at an average density of 116.8 fish 100 m−2 and an average biomass of 4.2 kg 100 m−2. There was a seasonal pattern in fish abundances but no overall increase or decrease in abundances during the entire study period. Marine, estuarine and migrant fish species were found in the BCFTB, each showing different seasonal patterns in abundance, similar to nearby estuaries, with 14 species driving these patterns. Water temperature and season were the most influential factors on the species composition of the fish community in the BCFTB. Therefore, 3 years after restoration the BCFTB is providing habitat for coastal fish species where none existed previously, and shows a community structure similar to natural estuaries in southern California. The BCFTB restoration has been initially successful but needs to be monitored periodically to assess its long-term success.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Able KW, Nemerson DM, Grothues TM (2004) Evaluating salt marsh restoration in Delaware Bay: analysis of fish response at former salt hay farms. Estuaries 27:58–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Able KW, Grothues TM, Hagan SM, Kimball ME, Nemerson DM, Taghon GL (2008) Long-term response of fishes and other fauna to restoration of former salt hay farm: multiple measures of restoration success. Rev Fish Biol Fish 18:65–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen LG (1982) Seasonal abundance, composition, and productivity of the littoral fish assemblage in Upper Newport Bay, California. Fish Bull NOAA 80:769–790

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen LG, Findlay AM, Phalen CM (2002) Structure and standing stock of fish assemblages of San Diego Bay, California from 1994 to 1999. Bull South Calif Acad Sci 101:49–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen LG, Yoklavich MM, Cailliet GM, Horn MH (2006) Bays and estuaries. In: Allen LG, Pondella DJ II, Horn MH (eds) The ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 119–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry JP, Yoklavich MM, Cailliet GM, Ambrose DA, Antrim BS (1996) Trophic ecology of the dominant fishes in Elkhorn Slough, California, 1974–1980. Estuaries 19:115–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borja A, Dauer DM, Elliott M, Simenstad CA (2010) Medium- and long-term recovery of estuarine and coastal ecosystems: patterns, rates and restoration effectiveness. Estuar Coasts 33:1249–1260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campos BR, Fish MA, Jones G, Riley RW, Allen PJ, Klimley PA, Cech JJ, Kelly JT (2009) Movements of brown smooth-hounds, Mustelus henlei, in Tomales Bay, California. Environ Biol Fish 85:3–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlberg DM (2009) Bolsa Chica: its history from prehistoric times to the present. Amigos de Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlisle AB, Starr RM (2009) Habitat use, residency, and seasonal distribution of female leopard sharks Triakis semifasciata in Elkhorn Slough, California. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 380:213–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman DD, Babcock EA, Gruber SH, Dibattista JD, Franks BR, Kessel SA, Guttridge T, Pikitch EK, Feldheim KA (2009) Long-term natal site-fidelity by immature lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) at a subtropical island. Mol Ecol 18:3500–3507

    Google Scholar 

  • Crain CM, Albertson LK, Bertness MD (2008) Secondary succession dynamics in estuarine marshes across land-scale salinity gradients. Ecology 89:2889–2899

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott M, Hemingway KL, Costella MJ, Duhamel S, Hostens K, Labropoulou M, Marshall S, Winkler H (2002) Links between fish and other trophic levels. In: Elliott M, Hemingway KL (eds) Fishes in estuaries. Blackwell Science, London

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eschmeyer WN, Herald ES, Hammann H (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Espinoza M, Farrugia TJ, Lowe CG (2011a) Habitat use, movements and site fidelity of the gray smooth-hound shark (Mustelus californicus Gill 1863) in a newly restored southern California estuary. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 401:63–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espinoza M, Farrugia TJ, Webber DM, Smith F, Lowe CG (2011b) Testing a new acoustic telemetry technique to quantify long-term, fine-scale movements of aquatic animals. Fish Res 108:364–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia TJ, Espinoza M, Lowe CG (2011) Abundance, habitat use and movement patterns of the shovelnose guitarfish (Rhinobatos productus) in a restored southern California estuary. Mar Freshw Res 62:648–657

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fodrie FJ, Herzka SZ (2008) Tracking juvenile fish movement and nursery contribution within arid coastal embayments via otolith microchemistry. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 361:253–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartz R (2004) Length-weight relationships for 18 fish species common to the San Francisco estuary. IEP Newsl 17:49–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillanders BM, Able KW, Brown JA, Eggleston DB, Sheridan PF (2003) Evidence of connectivity between juvenile and adult habitats for mobile marine fauna: an important component of nurseries. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 247:281–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks JN, Horn MH (2008) Foraging ecology of the Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve with new full tidal basin. Bull South Calif Acad Sci 107:116

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzka SZ (2005) Assessing connectivity of estuarine fishes based on stable isotope ratio analysis. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 64:58–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs RJ, Norton DA (1996) Towards a conceptual framework for restoration ecology. Restor Ecol 4(2):93–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins TE, Cech JJ (2003) The influence of environmental variables on the distribution and abundance of three elasmobranchs in Tomales Bay, California. Environ Biol Fish 66:279–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn MH, Allen LG (1981) Ecology of fishes in upper Newport Bay, California: seasonal dynamics and community structure. Calif Fish Game 45:101

    Google Scholar 

  • Irlandi EA, Crawford MK (1997) Habitat linkages: the effect of intertidal saltmarshes and adjacent subtidal habitats on abundance, movement, and growth of an estuarine fish. Oecologia 110:222–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennish MJ (2002) Environmental threats and environmental future of estuaries. Environ Conserv 29:78–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirsten DS (2005) Economic consequences of wetland degradation for local populations in Africa. Ecol Econ 53:177–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp P, Peterson B (2011) Western snowy plover nesting at Bolsa Chica, Orange County, California. Bolsa Chica Restoration http://www.bolsachicarestoration.org/admincms/lib/fckeditor/uploads/file/Reports/2011%20Bolsa%20Chica%20WSP%20Report.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2012

  • Kwak TJ, Zedler JB (1997) Food web analysis of southern California coastal wetlands using multiple stable isotopes. Oecologia 110:262–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapointe NWR, Thiem JD, Doka SE, Cooke SJ (2013) Opportunities for improving aquatic restoration science and monitoring through the use of animal electronic tagging technology. Bioscience 63(5):390–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latimer JS, Boothman WS, Pesch CE, Chmura GL, Pospelova V, Jayaraman S (2003) Environmental stress and recovery: the geochemical record of human disturbance in New Bedford Harbor and Apponagansett Bay, Massachusetts (USA). Sci Total Environ 313:153–176

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe CG, Bray RN (2006) Fish movement and activity patterns. In: Allen LG, Pondella DJ II, Horn MH (eds) The ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 119–148

  • Mann KH (2000) Ecology of coastal waters with implications for management. Blackwell Science, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Matern SA, Cech JJ, Hopkins TE (2000) Diel movements of bat rays, Myliobatis californica, in Tomales Bay, California: evidence for behavioral thermoregulation? Environ Biol Fish 58:173–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merkel and Associates (2008) Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration Project. Monitoring Program Annual Report. http://www.bolsachicarestoration.org/admincms/lib/fckeditor/uploads/file/Reports/Bolsa_Chica_Restoration_2008_Report.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2012

  • NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) (1990) Estuaries of the United States, statistics of a national resource base. Special NOAA 20th Anniversary Report, Strategic Assessment Branch, Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, Washington, DC

  • Pondella DJ, Allen LG, Craig MT, Gintert B (2006) Evaluation of eelgrass mitigation and fishery enhancement structures in San Diego Bay, California. Bull Mar Sci 78:115–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter HL, Hyndes GA (1994) Composition of the fish fauna of a permanently open estuary on the southern coast of Australia, and comparisons with a nearby seasonally closed estuary. Mar Biol 121:199–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2005) R: a language and environment of statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, ISBN 3-900051-07-0

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray GC (2005) Connectivities of estuarine fishes to the coastal realm. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 64:18–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts L (1993) Wetland trading is a losing game, say ecologist. Science 260:1890–1892

    Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak Cajo JF (1994) Canonical community ordination. Part I: basic theory and linear methods. Ecoscience 1:127–140

    Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak Cajo JF, Verdonschot FM (1995) Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquat Sci 57:255–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner KR, van den Bergh CJM, Soderqvist T, Barendregt A, van der Straaten J, Malby E, Ierland E (2000) Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands: scientific integration for management and policy. Ecol Econ 35:7–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Cleve FB, Leschine T, Klinger T, Simenstad C (2006) An evaluation of the influence of natural science in regional-scale restoration projects. Environ Manag 37:367–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyke E, Wasson K (2005) Historical ecology of a central California estuary: 150 years of habitat change. Estuaries 28:173–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren RS, Fell PE, Rozsa R, Brawley AH, Orsted AC, Oldon ET, Swamy V, Niering WA (2002) Salt marsh restoration in Connecticut: 20 years of science and management. Res Ecol 10:497–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West JM, Williams GD, Madon SP, Zedler JB (2003) Integrating spatial and temporal variability into the analysis of fish food web linkages in Tijuana estuary. Environ Biol Fish 67:297–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood S (2006) Generalized additive models: an introduction with R. Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB (1996) Coastal mitigation in southern California: the need for a regional restoration strategy. Ecol Appl 6:84–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB, Callaway JC (1999) Tracking wetland restoration: do mitigation sites follow desired trajectories? Res Ecol 7:69–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB, Williams GD, Desmond JS (1997) Wetland mitigation: can fishes distinguish between natural and constructed wetlands? Fisheries 22:26–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB, Callaway JC, Sullivan G (2001) Declining biodiversity: why species matter and how their functions might be restored in Californian tidal marshes. Bioscience 51:1005–1017

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Kelly O’Reilly (California Department of Fish and Game) for granting access to the BCFTB, and the two anonymous reviewers whose comments on the previous version of this manuscript greatly ameliorated the final publication. Funding was generously provided by University of Southern California SeaGrant, the Southern California Tuna Club, the Southern California Academy of Sciences, California State University Long Beach and the PADI Foundation Project AWARE. All procedures involving the vertebrates in this study were approved by the CSULB IACUC committee (protocol #254).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Thomas J. Farrugia

    Present address: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Thomas J. Farrugia, Mario Espinoza & Christopher G. Lowe

Authors
  1. Thomas J. Farrugia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mario Espinoza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christopher G. Lowe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas J. Farrugia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Farrugia, T.J., Espinoza, M. & Lowe, C.G. The fish community of a newly restored southern California estuary: ecological perspective 3 years after restoration. Environ Biol Fish 97, 1129–1147 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0203-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0203-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation