Diving Ducks in San Francisco Bay

Understanding estuarine subtidal habitat quality for wildlife: carrying capacity of diving ducks in the San Francisco Bay estuary

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San Francisco Bay habitats are important for diving duck populations. © Natalie Wilson, USGS

Project Description

Diving ducks are in decline and their management historically has been overlooked in San Francisco Bay due to the difficulty of determining their habitat requirements. Our primary goal is to estimate the total number of wintering diving ducks that can be supported in the San Francisco Bay estuary based on their daily food requirements and the availability of quality underwater habitat.

In the future, our models may also assist managers predict changes in diving duck population size under different scenarios of human-related changes including sea level rise, geomorphologic change, increased disturbance, and habitat restoration.

We are currently completing a compilation of invertebrate prey datasets. This information will be geographically displayed and used to determine food densities for our models. We expect to complete our preliminary model during Fall 2010.

Funding and Support

USGS, Western Ecological Research Center

Project People
Susan Wainwright-De la Cruz, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center
John Takekawa, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center
Jim Lovvorn, Southern Illinois University
Aariel Rowan, Graduate Student, San Francisco State University

 

Corbicula fluminea, asiatic clam, is a common prey species of Greater Scaup. © USGS	Macoma balthica: Baltic Macoma is an important diet item in the estuary. © Hans Hillewaert, Creative Commons license

Contacts
Susan Wainwright-De la Cruz, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center
Hannah Nevins, Oikonos

More resources and information coming soon...
San Francisco Bay Joint Venture