Abstract
Maritime Spartina spp. are powerful ecosystem engineers that accrete sediment, define shorelines, create habitat, and generate prodigious primary productivity both where they are native and where they have been introduced. Invasive Spartina spp. can compete vigorously with native species, diminish biota, change hydrology, and confound human uses of estuaries. Herbicides have been effective in controlling several Spartina spp. invasions. One of the most recent successes is a 15-year campaign that has virtually eliminated S. alterniflora from the large, century-old invasion in Willapa Bay, WA, USA. Hybridization between native and introduced Spartina spp. has created new species and hybrid swarms. In San Francisco Bay, CA, USA (SF Bay) a complicated situation continues to play out from the purposeful introduction of S. alterniflora, which hybridized with native California cordgrass, S. foliosa. The hybrids spread rapidly and led to a long list of environmental problems, which led to an herbicide program that was successful in greatly diminishing the hybrid and saving the open mud habitat of migratory shorebirds. However, it was belatedly realized that the non-migratory, endangered Ridgeway’s rail uses the tall, dense hybrid Spartina as a surrogate for habitat that was lost during the twentieth century to urbanization and agricultural transformation of marshes around SF Bay. This realization has made difficult the simultaneous management of hybrid Spartina, wildlife conservation, and marsh restoration in San Francisco Bay. Restoration of native vegetation could satisfy the multiple goals of preserving open mud and conserving Ridgeway’s rail.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackerman JT, Overton CT, Casazza ML, Takekawa JY, Eagles-Smith CA, Keister RA, Herzog MP (2012) Does mercury contamination reduce body condition of endangered California clapper rails? Environ Pollut 162:439–448
Adams JB, Grobler A, Rowe C, Riddin T, Bornman TG, Ayres DR (2012) Plant traits and spread of the invasive salt marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora Loisel., in the Great Brak Estuary, South Africa. Afr J Mar Sci 34:313–322
Ainouche M, Chelaifa J, Ferreira S, Bellot A, Ainouche A, Salmon A (2012) Polyploid evolution in Spartina: dealing with highly redundant hybrid genomes. In: Soltis PS, Soltis DE (eds) Polyploidy and genome evolution. Springer, Berlin, pp 225–243
An S, Qing Y, Xiao C, Zhou Z, Wang Z, Deng Y, Shi Y, Chen L (2007) Spartina in China: introduction, history, current status, and recent research. In: Ayres DA, Kerr DW, Ericson SD, Olofson PR (eds) Proceedings of the third international conference on invasive Spartina, 2004. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project Oakland, CA, pp 65–71
Anonymous (2003) Final programmatic environmental impact statement/environmental impact report. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project: Spartina Control Program, Oakland, CA, pp 454
Ayres DA, Strong DR (2010) Hybrid cordgrass (Spartina) and tidal marsh restoration in San Francisco Bay: if you build it, they will come. In: Ayres DA, Kerr DW, Ericson SD, Olofson PR (eds) Proceedings of the third international conference on invasive Spartina, 2004. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project Oakland, CA, pp. 125-126
Ayres DR, Garcia-Rossi D, Davis HG, Strong DR (1999) Extent and degree of hybridization between exotic (Spartina alterniflora) and native (S. foliosa) cordgrass (Poaceae) in California, USA determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs). Mol Ecol 8:1179–1186
Ayres DR, Baye P, Strong DR (2003) Spartina foliosa—A common species on the road to rarity? Madroño 50:209–213
Ayres DA, Zaremba K, Sloop CM, Strong DR (2008) Sexual reproduction of cordgrass hybrids (Spartina foliosa × alterniflora) invading tidal marshes in San Francisco Bay. Divers Distrib 14:187–195
Booker MM (2013) Down by the Bay: San Francisco’s history between the tides. University of California Press, Berkeley
Bortolus A, Carlton JT, Schwindt E (in press) Reimagining South American coasts: unveiling the hidden invasion history of an iconic ecological engineer. Divers Distrib 1–17
Castillo JM, Fernandez-Baco L, Castellanos EM, Luque CJ, Davy AJ (2000) Lower limits of Spartina densiflora and S-maritima in a Mediterranean salt marsh determined by different ecophysiological tolerances. J Ecol 88:801–812
Castillo JM, Leira-Doce P, Rubio-Casal AE, Figueroa ME (2008) Spatial and temporal variations in aboveground and belowground biomass of Spartina maritima (small cordgrass) in created and natural marshes. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 78:819–826
Castillo JM, Ayres DR, Leira-Doce P, Bailey J, Blum M, Strong DR, Luque T, Figueroa E (2010) The production of hybrids with high ecological amplitude between exotic Spartina densiflora and native S. maritima in the Iberian Peninsula. Divers Distrib 16:547–558
Cayan D, Tyree M, Dettinger M, Hidalgo H, Das, T, Maurer E, Bromirski P, Graham N, Flick R (2009) Climate change scenarios and sea level rise estimates for the California 2009 climate change scenarios assessment. http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009publications/CEC-500-2009-014/CEC-500-2009-014-F.PDF. Accessed 1 Mar 2015
Chung CH (1990) Twenty-five years of introduced Spartina anglica in China. In: Gray AJ, Benham PEM (eds) Spartina anglica: a research review, vol 2. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Research Publication, HMSO, London, pp 72–74
Civille JC, Sayce K, Smith SD, Strong DR (2005) Reconstructing a century of Spartina alterniflora invasion with historical records and contemporary remote sensing. Ecoscience 12:330–338
Conte FS (1995) California oyster culture. http://aqua.ucdavis.edu/dweb/outreach/aqua/ASAQ-A07.PDF
Crosby AW (1986) Ecological imperialism: the biological expansion of Europe, 900–1900. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Cutajar J, Shimeta J, Nugegoda D (2012) Impacts of the invasive grass Spartina anglica on benthic macrofaunal assemblages in a temperate Australian saltmarsh. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 464:107–120
Daehler CC, Strong DR (1997) Hybridization between introduced smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora; Poaceae) and native California cordgrass (S. foliosa) in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Am J Bot 84:607–611
Evens J, Zaremba K, Albertson J (2010) Non-native cordgrass and the california clapper rail: biogeographical overlap between an invasive plant and an endangered bird. In: Ayres DA, Kerr DW, Ericson SD, Olofson PR (eds) Proceedings of the third international conference on invasive Spartina, 2004. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project of the California State Coastal Conservancy, Oakland CA, pp 185–190
Facelli JM, Pickett STA (1991) Indirect effects of litter on woody seedlings subject to herb competition. Oikos 62:129–138
Farrer EC, Goldberg DE (2009) Litter drives ecosystem and plant community changes in cattail invasion. Ecol Appl 19:398–412
Gray AJ, Marshall DF, Raybould AF (1991) A century of evolution in Spartina anglica. Adv Ecol Res 21:1–62
Grinnell JH, Miller AH (1994) The distribution of the birds of California. Pacific Coast Avifauna 27:1–608
Grosholz ED, Levin LA, Tyler AC, Neira C (2009) Changes in community structure and ecosystem function following Spartina alterniflora invasion of Pacific estuaries. In: Silliman BR, Bertness M, Grosholz E (eds) Human impacts on salt marshes: a global perspective. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 23–40
Hogle I (2011) San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project 2010 monitoring report. In: State Coastal Conservancy, San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project. http://www.Spartina.org/project_documents/2010_Monit_Rpt_final_combined.pdf
Kaproth MA, Eppinga MB, Molofsky J (2013) Leaf litter variation influences invasion dynamics in the invasive wetland grass Phalaris arundinacea. Biol Invasions 15:1819–1832
Kennerly CBR (1859) Report on the birds collected on the route. Pacific railroads reports
Kerr D (2014) Management of invasive Spartina in San Francisco Bay, USA: attaining an eradication trajectory within 50,000 acres of urban estuary. In: Ainouche M (ed) Proceedings of the fourth international conference on invasive Spartina, 2014. Rennes, France
Kittelson PM, Boyd MJ (1997) Mechanisms of expansion for an introduced species of cordgrass, Spartina densiflora, in Humboldt Bay, California. Estuaries 20:770–778
Liu LW, Nur J, Salas N, Jongsomjit L (2012) California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) population monitoring: 2005–2011. Technical report to the California Department of Fish and Game. Point Reyes Bird Observatory (Point Blue), Petaluma, CA, pp 81
Macdonald KB (1977) Coastal salt marsh. In: Major J, Barbour MG (eds) Terrestrial vegetation in California. Wiley, NY, pp 263–294
Marris E, Aplet G (2014) How to mend the conservation divide. The New York Times, New York Times Co., NY
Morris JT, Sundareshwar PV, Nietch CT, Kjerfve B, Cahoon DR (2002) Responses of coastal wetlands to rising sea level. Ecology 83:2869–2877
Orensanz JML, Schwindt E, Pastorino G, Bortolus A, Casas G, Darrigan G, Elias R, Lopez Gappa JJ, Obenat S, Pascual M, Penchaszadeh P, Piriz ML, Scarbino F, Spivak ED, Vallarino EA (2002) No longer the pristine confines of the world ocean: survey of exotic marine species in the southwestern Atlantic. Biol Invasions 4:115–143
Overton CT, Casazza ML, Takekawa JY, Strong DR, Holyoak M (2014) Tidal and seasonal effects on survival rates of the endangered California clapper rail: Does invasive Spartina facilitate greater survival in a dynamic environment? Biol Invasions 16:1897–1914
Overton CT, Takekawa JY, Casazza ML, Bui TD, Holyoak M, Strong DR (2015) Sea-level rise and refuge habitats for tidal marsh species: Can artificial islands save the California Ridgway’s rail? Ecol Eng 74:337–344
Patten K (2002) Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) control with imazapyr. Weed Technol 16:826–832
Pennings SC, Bertness MD (2001) Salt marsh communities. In: Bertness MD, Gaines SD, Hay ME (eds) Marine community ecology. Sinauer, Sunderland, pp 1344–1359
Ranwell DS (1967) World Resources of Spartina townsendii (Sensu Lato) and economic use of Spartina marshland. J Appl Ecol 4:239–256
Redfield AC (1972) Development of a New England salt marsh. Ecol Monogr 42:201–237
Rogers P (2015) Ralph Robles dies. Manhattan Project physicist saved San Francisco wetlands. San Jose Mercury News, San Jose
Saarela JM (2012) Taxonomic synopsis of invasive and native Spartina (Poaceae, Chloridae) in the Pacific North West (British Columbia, Washington and Oregon), including the first report of Spartina × townsendii for British Columbia, Canada. PhytoKeys 10:25–82
Schwarzbach SE, Albertson JD, Thomas CM (2006) Effects of predation, flooding, and contamination on reproductive success of California clapper rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) in San Francisco Bay. Auk 123:45–60
Strahlberg D, Toniolo V, Page GW, Stenzel LE (2010) Potential impacts of Spartina spread on shorebird populations in south San Francisco Bay: In: Ayres DA, Kerr DW, Ericson SD, Olofson PR (eds) Proceedings of the third international conference on invasive Spartina, 2004. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project of the California State Coastal Conservancy, Oakland, CA, pp 175–84
Strong DR, Ayres DA (2009) Spartina introductions and consequences in salt marshes: arrive, survive, thrive, and sometimes hybridize. In: Silliman BR, Bertness M, Grosholz E (eds) Human impacts on salt marshes: a global perspective. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 3–22
Strong DR, Ayres DA (2013) Ecological and evolutionary misadventures of Spartina. Annu Rev Ecol Evol 44:389–410
Wilbur SR, Tomlinson RE (1976) The literature of the western clapper rails. Special scientific report—the literature of the western clapper rails. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, California Field Station, Ojai, California. United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Zenni RD, Nunez MA (2013) The elephant in the room: the role of failed invasions in understanding invasion biology. Oikos 122:801–815
Zhang YH, Huang GM, Wang WQ, Chen LZ, Lin GH (2012) Interactions between mangroves and exotic Spartina in an anthropogenically disturbed estuary in southern China. Ecology 93:588–597
Zuo P, Zhao SH, Liu CA, Wang CH, Liang YB (2012) Distribution of Spartina spp. along China’s coast. Ecol Eng 40:160–166
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Guest editors: Alan Gray and Malika Ainouche/Invasive Spartina.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strong, D.R., Ayres, D.A. Control and consequences of Spartina spp. invasions with focus upon San Francisco Bay. Biol Invasions 18, 2237–2246 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0980-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0980-6