Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Invasive ...

<strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Third</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Invasive SpartinaChapter 1: Spartina BiologyCALIFORNIA CORDGRASS (SPARTINA FOLIOSA), AN ENDEMIC OF SALT MARSH HABITATSALONG THE PACIFIC COAST OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICAM.C. VASEYDepartment <strong>of</strong> Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132; andDepartment <strong>of</strong> Environmental Studies, University <strong>of</strong> California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064; mvasey@sfsu.eduCalifornia cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) is an endemic <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> California Floristic Province in westernNorth America. This paper reviews its historic and contemporary distribution, pr<strong>of</strong>iles its habitatcharacteristics including key adaptive traits, and makes <strong>the</strong> case that S. foliosa should be recognizedas a foundation species within salt marshes characteristic <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> California Floristic Province. Thisinformation is <strong>the</strong>n considered in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> introgressive hybridization between S. foliosa and<strong>the</strong> closely related Spartina alterniflora. Clearly, <strong>the</strong> hybrid between S. foliosa and S. alterniflora isprogressively spreading genes <strong>of</strong> S. alterniflora into pure stands <strong>of</strong> S. foliosa throughout <strong>the</strong> SanFrancisco Bay estuary. While this raises a concern about <strong>the</strong> potential “extinction” <strong>of</strong> S. foliosa as adistinct genotype, it is suggested that a greater problem may be <strong>the</strong> ecological implications <strong>of</strong> thisintrogression for salt marshes in <strong>the</strong> San Francisco Bay estuary. Ra<strong>the</strong>r than eradication per se, it issuggested that focused containment may be <strong>the</strong> best strategy for minimizing <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> thishybrid on salt marshes in <strong>the</strong> California Floristic Province <strong>of</strong> this region. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, continued adaptivemanagement studies that evaluate <strong>the</strong> impacts <strong>of</strong> this species on salt marsh restoration arerecommended.INTRODUCTIONIn this review, I will examine what we know aboutCalifornia cordgrass and attempt to frame this discussion in<strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> conservation management challenges thatinvasive Spartina alterniflora pose to <strong>the</strong> San Francisco Bayestuary. The approach will be to discuss what is known <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> historic and contemporary distribution <strong>of</strong> Spartinafoliosa, to focus on <strong>the</strong> suite <strong>of</strong> adaptive traits that makes S.foliosa such an important component <strong>of</strong> low marsh habitatsin west coast estuaries, and to pr<strong>of</strong>ile S. foliosa as a“foundation species” in this environment. I will <strong>the</strong>nsummarize this information in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> threats posedby hybridization <strong>of</strong> S. foloiosa with <strong>the</strong> invasive Spartinaalterniflora.HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY DISTRIBUTION OFSPARTINA FOLIOSAMacDonald and Barbour (1974) conducted a survey <strong>of</strong>salt marsh vegetation along <strong>the</strong> North American Pacificcoast ranging from Point Barrow, Alaska to Cabo San Lucas,Baja California. In general, <strong>the</strong>y found three dominant saltmarsh vegetation communities over this extensive range: anarctic, boreal, and north temperate assemblage is dominatedby nor<strong>the</strong>rn grasses such as Deschampsia caespitosa andsedge species such as Carex lygnbyei, which ranges from <strong>the</strong>Seward Peninsula down to Drake’s Estero in Marin County;a south temperate and subtropical assemblage ranges fromSan Francisco Bay to Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California,which is <strong>the</strong> assemblage occupied by S. foliosa; and south <strong>of</strong>this region, tropical mangrove forests and scrub assemblagesdominate estuarine tidal wetlands.The historic distribution <strong>of</strong> S. foliosa occurs in thisintermediate zone, also known as <strong>the</strong> California FloristicProvince (Raven and Axelrod 1978). The California FloristicProvince occurs along a cismontane region from sou<strong>the</strong>rnOregon down through nor<strong>the</strong>rn Baja California. It ischaracterized by a Mediterranean-type climate consisting <strong>of</strong>long, hot and dry summers punctuated by short, wet and coldwinters. The California Floristic Province has recently beenrecognized as one <strong>of</strong> twenty-five global “biodiversity hotspots,” with over 48% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> plant species being endemics(Myers et al. 2000; Calsbeek et al. 2003). Spartina foliosa isamong <strong>the</strong>se endemic species.The particular distribution <strong>of</strong> S. foliosa occurs in twomajor disjunct regions: (1) nor<strong>the</strong>rn California (SanFrancisco Bay region) and, approximately 565 kilometersaway, (2) a series <strong>of</strong> geographically proximal populationsfrom Orange County in sou<strong>the</strong>rn California through southcentralBaja California. The historic nor<strong>the</strong>rn Californiadistribution has been confused by one case <strong>of</strong>misidentification and two o<strong>the</strong>r cases <strong>of</strong> relatively recentnor<strong>the</strong>rn range extensions. The case <strong>of</strong> misidentification wasfirst recognized by P. Faber (personal communication) whoperceived that <strong>the</strong> extensive stands <strong>of</strong> Spartina longrecognized in Humboldt Bay wetlands were actuallySpartina densiflora (a caespitose species from SouthAmerica) ra<strong>the</strong>r than S. foliosa. Later, Spicher and Josselyn(1985) published a confirmation <strong>of</strong> this observation.Barnhart et al. (1992) speculate that S. densiflora may havebeen introduced to Humboldt Bay as long ago as <strong>the</strong> 1860sas part <strong>of</strong> shingle or dry ballast deposited during <strong>the</strong> height<strong>of</strong> shipping activities in this formerly bustling port. Spicher-3-