Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Salinity Tolerance and Competition Drive Distributions of Native and Invasive Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Upper San Francisco Estuary

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Both abiotic and biotic factors govern distributions of estuarine vegetation, and experiments can reveal effects of these drivers under current and future conditions. In upper San Francisco Estuary (SFE), increased salinity could result from sea level rise, levee failure, or water management. We used mesocosms to test salinity effects on, as well as competition between, the native Stuckenia pectinata (sago pondweed) and invasive Egeria densa (Brazilian waterweed), species with overlapping distributions at the freshwater transition in SFE. Grown alone at a salinity of 5, E. densa decreased fivefold in biomass relative to the freshwater treatment and decomposed within 3 weeks at higher salinities. In contrast, S. pectinata biomass accumulated greatly (~4× initial) at salinities of 0 and 5, doubled at 10, and was unchanged at 15. When grown together in freshwater, S. pectinata produced 75 % less biomass than in monoculture and significantly more nodal roots (suggesting increased nutrient foraging). At a salinity of 5, a decline in E. densa performance coincided with a doubling of S. pectinata shoot density. Additional experiments on E. densa showed elevated temperature (26 and 30 °C) suppressed growth especially at higher salinities (≥5). We conclude that salinity strongly influences distributions of both species and that competition from E. densa may impose limits on S. pectinata abundance in the fresher reaches of SFE. With a salinity increase of 5, S. pectinata is likely to maintain its current distribution while spreading up-estuary at the expense of E. densa, especially if increased temperature also reduces E. densa biomass.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson LWJ., 1990. Aquatic weed problems and management in the western United States and Canada. In Pieterse AH, Murphy KJ, Aquatic weeds: the ecology and management of nuisance aquatic vegetation pp 371–pp 391. Oxford: Oxford University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Barko J.W., and M.R. Smart. 1981. Comparative influences of light and temperature on the growth and metabolism of selected submersed freshwater macrophytes. Ecological Monographs 51: 219–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becerra, L. 2011. Egeria densa Control Program 2011 Report. State of California Department of Boating and Waterways. Retrieved November 15, 2013 from http://www.dbw.ca.gov/PDF/Reports/EDCP-2011_Annual_Report.pdf.

  • Borgnis, E. 2013. Predicting impacts of salinity and temperature on native and invasive submerged aquatic vegetation in the San Francisco Estuary. Master’s thesis, San Francisco State University, San Francisco.

  • Boyer K.E., J.T. Lewis, W.J. Thornton, and R.S. Schneider. 2012. San Francisco Bay expanded inventory of submerged aquatic vegetation. Maps: available at http://online.sfsu.edu/katboyer/Boyer_Lab/Pondweeds!.htmlFinal Report for National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Southwest Fisheries.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloern J.E., and A.D. Jassby. 2012. Drivers of change in estuarine-coastal ecosystems: discoveries from four decades of study in San Francisco Bay. Reviews of Geophsyics 50: 397–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen A.N., and J.T. Carlton. 1998. Accelerating invasion in a highly invaded estuary. Science 279: 555.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Connell J.H. 1972. Community interactions on marine rocky intertidal shores. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 3: 169–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Contra Costa Water District Water Resources. 2009. Historical freshwater and salinity conditions in the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay. Retrieved November 27th, 2013 from http://www.ccwater.com/salinity/HistoricSalinityhighlights.pdf.

  • Crain C.M., B.R. Silliman, S.L. Bertness, and M.D. Bertness. 2004. Physical and biotic drivers of plant distribution across estuarine salinity gradients. Ecology 85: 2539–2549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunson W.A., and J. Travis. 1991. The role of abiotic factors in community organization. The American Naturalist 5: 1067–1091.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enright C., and S.D. Culberson. 2009. Salinity trends, variability, and control in the northern reach of the San Francisco Estuary. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 7: 1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson D.J., J. J. Connolly, D.C. Bartnett, and D. Weidenhamer. 1999. Designs for greenhouse studies of interactions between plants. Journal of Ecology 87: 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall L.W., R.D. Anderson, and M.S. Ailstock. 1997. Chronic toxicity of atrazine to sago pondweed at a range of salinities: implications for criteria development and ecological risk. Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 33: 261–267.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haramoto T., and I. Ikusima. 1988. Life cycle of Egeria densa Planch., an aquatic plant naturalized in Japan. Aquatic Botany 30: 389–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper J.L. 1977. Population biology of plants. Population biology of plants.

  • Hauenstein E., and C. Ramirez. 1986. The influence of salinity on the distribution of Egeria densa in the Valdivia river basin, Chile. Arch. Hydrobiol 107: 511–519.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershner C., and K.J. Havens. 2008. Managing invasive aquatic plants in a changing system: strategic consideration of ecosystem services. Conservation Biology 22: 544–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstra D.E., J. Clayton, J.D. Green, and M. Auger. 1999. Competitive performance of Hydrilla verticillata in New Zealand. Aquatic Botany 63: 305–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussner A., and R. Lösch. 2005. Alien aquatic plants in a thermally abnormal river and their assembly to neophyte-dominated macrophyte stands. Limnologica 35: 18–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson M.B. 1990. Hormones and developmental-change in plants subjected to submergence or soil waterlogging. Aquatic Botany 38: 49–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Z., J. Liu, J. Chen, Q. Chen, X. Yan, J. Xuan, and J. Zeng. 2014. Responses of summer phytoplankton community to drastic environmental changes in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary during the past 50 years. Water Research 54: 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D., M. Carlock., and T. Artz 2006. Egeria densa Control Program second addendum to 2001 Environmental Impact Report with five-year program review and future operations plan. State of California Department of Boating and Waterways Open-File Report.

  • Kaplan Z. 2002. Phenotypic plasticity in Potamogeton (Potamogetonaceae). Folia Geobontanica 37: 141–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keddy P., L.H. Fraser, and I.C. Wisheu. 1998. A comparative approach to examine competitive response of 48 wetland plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science 9: 777–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer W.J. 2002. Physical, biological, and management responses to variable freshwater flow into the San Francisco Estuary. Estuaries 25: 1275–1290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowles N., and D.R. Cayan. 2002. Potential effects of global warming on the Sacramento/San Joaquin watershed and the San Francisco estuary. Geophysical Research Letters 29: 1891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lund J., E. Hanak, W. Fleenor, R. Howitt, J. Mount, and P. Moyle. 2007. Envisioning futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marin H.H., A. Tironi, L.E. Delgado, M. Contreras, F. Novoa, M. Torres-Gomez, R. Garreaud, I. Vila, and I. Serey. 2009. On the sudden disappearance of Egeria densa from a Ramsar wetland site of southern Chile: a climatic event trigger model. Ecological Modelling 220: 1752–1763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCollough C.D. 1997. A review of the aquatic macrophyte family Hydrochartitaceae (Agiospermae) in New Zealand. Tane 26: 181–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGowan M., and A. Marchi. 1998. Fishes collected in submerged aquatic vegetation, Egeria densa in the delta. Interagency Ecological Program Newsletter 11: 9–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Najjar R.G., C.R. Pyke, M.B. Adams, D. Breitburg, C. Hershner, M. Kemp, R. Howarth, M.R. Mulholland, M. Paolisso, D. Secor, K. Seliner, D. Wardrop, and R. Wood. 2010. Potential climate-change impacts on the Chesapeake Bay. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 86: 1–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols F.H., J.E. Cloern, S.N. Luoma, and D.H. Peterson. 1986. The modification of an estuary. Science 231: 567–573.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nobriga M., F. Feyrer, R. Baxter, and M. Chotkowski. 2005. Fish community ecology in an altered river delta: spatial patterns in species composition, life history strategies, and biomass. Estuaries 28: 776–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odum W.E. 1988. Comparative ecology of tidal freshwater and salt marshes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19: 147–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine R.T. 1974. Intertidal community structure. Oceologia 15: 93–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pilon J., and L. Santamaria. 2002. Clonal variation in the thermal response of the submerged aquatic macrophyte Potamogeton pectinatus. Journal of Ecology 90: 141–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purer E.A. 1942. Plant ecology of the coastal salt marshlands of San Diego County, California. Ecological Monographs 12: 81–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riis T., C. Lambertini, B. Olesen, J.S. Clayton, H. Brix, and B.K. Sorrell. 2010. Invasion strategies in clonal aquatic plants: are phenotypic differences cased by phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation?. Annals of Botany 106: 813–822.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rybicki N.B., D.G. McFarland, H.A. Ruhl, J.T. Reel, and J.W. Barko. 2001. Investigations of the availability and survival of submersed aquatic vegetation propagules in the tidal Potomac River. Estuaries 24: 407–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos M.J., W.A. Lars, and S.L. Ustin. 2011. Effects of invasive species on plant communities: an example using submersed aquatic plants at the regional scale. Biological Invasions 13: 443–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scavia D., J.C. Field, D.F. Boesch, R.W. Buddemeier, V. Burkett, D.R. Cayan, M. Fogarty, M.A. Harwell, R.W. Howarth, C. Mason, D.J. Reed, T.C. Royer, A.H. Sallenger, and J.C. Titus. 2002. Climate change impacts on U.S. coastal and marine ecosystems. Estuaries 25: 149–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen P.K. 1968. Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall’s tau. Journal of the American Statistical Association 63: 1379–1389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer D.F., and L.W.J. Anderson. 1986. Influence of photoperiod on growth, pigment composition and vegetative propagule formation for Potamogeton nodosus Poir. and Potamogeton pectinatus L. Aquatic Botany 28: 103–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Summers J.E., and M.B. Jackson. 1998. Light- and dark-grown Potamogeton pectinatus, an aquatic macrophyte, make no ethylene (ethane) but retain responsiveness to the gas. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 25: 599–608.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiebaut G. 2007. Invasion success of non-indigenous aquatic and semi-aquatic plants in their native and introduced ranges. A comparison between their invasiveness in North America and France. Biological Invasions 9: 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teeter J.W. 1965. Effects of sodium chloride on sago pondweed. The Journal of Wildlife Management 29: 838–845.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Titus J.G., R.A. Park, and S.P. Leatherman. 1991. Greenhouse effect and sea level rise: the cost of holding back the sea. Coastal Management 19: 171–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triest L., V. Tran Thi, D. Le Thi, T. Sierens, and A. Van Geert. 2010. Genetic differentiation of submerged plant populations and taxa between habitats. Hydrobiologia 656: 15–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vanderstukken M., N. Mazzeo, W. Van Colen, S. Declerck, and K. Muylaert. 2011. Biological control of phytoplankton by the subtropical submerged macrophytes Egeria densa and Potamogeton illineonsis: a mesocosm study. Freshwater Biology 56: 1837–1849.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk R.J. 1988. Ecological studies on Potamogeton pectinatus L. I. General characteristics, biomass production and life cycles under field conditions. Aquatic Botany 31: 211–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Zandt P.A., M.A. Tobler, E. Mouton, K.H. Hasenstein, and S. Mopper. 2003. Positive and negative consequences of salinity stress for the growth and reproduction of the clonal plant, Iris hexagona. Journal of Ecology 91: 837–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P.M., C.M. D’Antonio, L. Loope, M. Rejmanek, and R. Westbrooks. 1997. Introduced species: a significant component of human-caused global change. New Zealand Ecological Society 21: 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner W.R., W. Stacey, L.R. Brown, and M. Dettinger. 2011. Statistical models of temperature in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under climate-change scenarios and ecological implications. Estuaries and Coasts 34: 544–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walther G., E. Post, P. Convey, A. Menzel, C. Parmasean, T. Beebee, J. Fromentin, O. Hoegh-Guldberg, and F. Bairlein. 2002. Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416: 389–395.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Water Resources Department 2010. Historical fresh water and salinity conditions in the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay. Contra Costa Water District, Technical Memorandum WR10-001.

  • Wells R.D.S., M.D. de Winton, and J.S. Clayton. 1997. Successive macrophyte invasions within the submerged flora of Lake Tarawera, Central North Island, New Zealand. N Z J Marine Freshwater Resource 31: 449–459.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wersal R.M., J.D. Madsen, B.R. McMillan, and P.D. Gerard. 2006. Environmental factors affecting biomass and distribution of S. pectinata in the Heron Lake System, Minnesota, USA. Wetlands 26: 313–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkerson F.P., R.C. Dugdale, V.R. Hogue, and A. Marchi. 2006. Phytoplankton blooms and nitrogen productivity in San Francisco Bay. Estuaries and Coasts 29: 401–416.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Chris Raleigh, Jen Miller, and David Bell provided assistance with water quality monitoring and plant collections. We are grateful for the help with mesocosm experiment setup at the Romberg Tiburon Center by facility staff, especially John Rattana and Scott Kern. Jen Miller, Ace Crow, Rachel Cantor, and Serina Sebilian provided assistance with mesocosm experiment maintenance and data collection. This project was supported by grants to KEB from the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program/CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Delta Science Program, and the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. The Romberg Tiburon Center, Society of Wetland Scientists, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, San Francisco State University, and California State University’s Council on Ocean Affairs, Science, and Technology provided additional funding to E. Borgnis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies and Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 3150 Paradise Drive, Tiburon, CA, 94920, USA

    Evyan Borgnis & Katharyn E. Boyer

Authors
  1. Evyan Borgnis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katharyn E. Boyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Evyan Borgnis or Katharyn E. Boyer.

Additional information

Communicated by Richard C. Zimmerman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Borgnis, E., Boyer, K.E. Salinity Tolerance and Competition Drive Distributions of Native and Invasive Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Upper San Francisco Estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 39, 707–717 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-0033-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-0033-5

Keywords