The San Francisco Estuary Project

San Francisco Estuary Ecosystem

Greg Novak

BIO/315

10/21/18

DAVID ORMOND

     Estuaries are habitats to different varieties of species of plants and animals that our society depends on for food. According to "About Sfep"(n.d.),  "The San Francisco Estuary Partnership was established in 1988 by the State of California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act’s National Estuary Program when the San Francisco Estuary was designated as an estuary of national significance ” (ABOUT SFEP).  Because of the estuary,  water is transported from the San Joaquin Rivers & Sacramento into the Pacific Ocean. According to "About The Estuary"(n.d.),  " The Estuary’s watershed extends from the ridgeline of the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Golden Gate, including almost 60,000 square miles and nearly 40% of California ” (ABOUT THE ESTUARY).

Population Growth

Human beings are the main reason for the destruction of ecosystem today.  Human populations are continuing to rise in great numbers which in fact has a huge effect on our ecosystems today. Just because of the increased numbers in humans in the Bay area has huge effects on the estuary. Also, due to an ever growing population, more waste is being introduced to the estuary causing the water to be polluted

Because there are more humans, there is more exotic species being introduced. This is causing fish and other animals to die off, leading towards the death of this ecosystem. The food web is being disturbed, causing large volumes of different species to decline.

Habitat Fracture

     With all the fresh water flowing into the San Francisco Delta and Bay, it has caused a decline of many different fish species. According to "How Healthy Is The San Francisco Estuary?"(2018),  " Diversion of freshwater flows to the south for municipal and agricultural use have led to decreased freshwater entering the Bay and saltwater intrusion ” (What factors have caused the Estuary to be in decline?). As a result of the diversion of water it has caused the physical deletion of young fish by the pumps. The water flow is a huge supplier of organic matter that is a supporter of the productivity in the estuary.     According to "How Healthy Is The San Francisco Estuary?"(2018),  " Over time, as less fresh water has entered the system, the salinity gradient, also known as the X2 gradient, has migrated further into the Delta and increased the salinity of these areas, altering habitat conditions for species such as Bay shrimp.  In the face of climate change and sea-level rise, existing tidal marshes in the Bay Area are expected to flood and transition to open water habitat. Because the North and Central Bays are highly developed, there is little room upslope migration of marshes ” (What factors have caused the Estuary to be in decline?).