Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Invasive ...

Chapter 3: Ecosystem Effects <strong>of</strong> Invasive Spartina<strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Third</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Invasive Spartinainvaded by hybrid Spartina could see a potential eightfoldincrease at Elsie Roemer and a fourfold expansion atRobert’s Landing. We emphasize that this is likely to be anupper estimate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> area invaded, given that it assumes thathybrid Spartina could withstand being inundatedapproximately 75% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time, which is beyond currentestimates <strong>of</strong> tidal inundation tolerance. However, <strong>the</strong>seestimates are based in part on present distributions, whichare subject to change. These estimates also do not considerthat this tolerance may be under strong selection and mayevolve significantly over time. In any case, our data suggestthat much <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most important foraging habitat formigratory shorebirds in San Francisco Bay that lies between0.6-1.1 m MLLW may be lost over <strong>the</strong> next several years.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe would like to thank R. Blake, C. Love, U. Mahl, and C.Tyler for <strong>the</strong>ir help and labor.REFERENCESAyres, D.R., D.L. Smith, K. Zaremba, S. Klohr, and D.R. Strong.2004. Spread <strong>of</strong> exotic cordgrasses and hybrids (Spartina sp.) in<strong>the</strong> tidal marshes <strong>of</strong> San Francisco Bay, California, USA.Biological Invasions 6:221-231.Cohen, A.N. and J.T. Carlton. 1998. Accelerating invasion rate in ahighly invaded estuary. Science 279:555-558.Daelher, C.C., and D.R. Strong. 1997. Hybridization betweenintroduced smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora; Poaceae)and native California cordgrass (S. foliosa) in San Francisco Bay,California, USA. American Journal <strong>of</strong> Botany 84:607-611.Goss-Custard, J.D., and M.E. Moser. 1988. Rates <strong>of</strong> change in <strong>the</strong>numbers <strong>of</strong> Dunlin Calidris-alpina wintering in British estuariesin relation to <strong>the</strong> spread <strong>of</strong> Spartina anglica. Journal <strong>of</strong> AppliedEcology 25:95-110.Levin, L.A., C. Neira and E.D. Grosholz. 2006. Invasive cordgrassmodifies wetland trophic function. Ecology 87:419-432.Neira, C., L.A. Levin, and E.D. Grosholz. 2005. Benthicmacr<strong>of</strong>aunal communities <strong>of</strong> three Spartina-hybrid invaded sitesin San Francisco Bay, with comparison to uninvaded habitats.Marine Ecology Progress Series 292:111-126.Neira, C., E.D. Grosholz, L.A. Levin, and R. Blake. 2006.Mechanisms generating modification <strong>of</strong> benthos following tidalflat invasion by a Spartina (alterniflora x foliosa) hybrid.Ecological Applications 16:1391-1404.Page, G.W., L.E. Stenzel, and J.E. Kjelmyr. 1999. Overview <strong>of</strong>shorebird abundance and distribution in wetlands <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PacificCoast <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> contiguous United States. Condor 101:461-471.Stralberg, D., V. Toniolo, G.W. Page and L.E.Stenzel. 2010. Potentialimpacts <strong>of</strong> Spartina spread on shorebird populations in SouthSan Francisco Bay. In: Ayres, D.R., D.W. Kerr, S.D. Ericson andP.R. Ol<strong>of</strong>son, eds. <strong>Proceedings</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Third</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Conference</strong>on Invasive Spartina, 2004 Nov 8-10, San Francisco,CA, USA. San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>California State Coastal Conservancy: Oakland, CA (this volume).Zaremba, K. and M.F. McGowan. 2004. San Francisco EstuaryInvasive Spartina Project Monitoring Report for 2003. SanFrancisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project. (available fromhttp://www.spartina.org/project.htm).- 174 -