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Pogonichthys Macrolepidotus) in the San Francisco Estuary: a Review

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Pogonichthys Macrolepidotus) in the San Francisco Estuary: a Review UC Davis San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science Title Biology and Population Dynamics of Sacramento Splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) in the San Francisco Estuary: A Review Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/61r48686 Journal San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 2(2) ISSN 1546-2366 Authors Moyle, Peter B Baxter, Randall D Sommer, Ted et al. Publication Date 2004 DOI 10.15447/sfews.2004v2iss2art3 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California MAY 2004 SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARYESTUARYESTUARY&WAT & WATERSHED&WATERSHEDERSHED Published for the San Francisco Bay-Delta SCIENCEScience Consortium by the John Muir Institute of the Environment Biology and Population Dynamics of Sacramento Splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) in the San Francisco Estuary: A Review Peter B. Moyle1, Randall D. Baxter2, Ted Sommer3, Ted C. Foin4, and Scott A. Matern5 1 Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA. 2 California Dept. of Fish and Game, Stockton, CA. 3 California Dept. of Water Resources, Sacramento, CA. 4 Dept. of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA. 5 Dept. of Biological Science, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA. ABSTRACT examine how the timing, magnitude, and duration of high flows contribute to the generation of strong year The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) classes, (2) to describe differences in YOY survival on is a cyprinid fish endemic to the Central Valley of the floodplain and in river margins from hatching to California with a range that centers on the San down-river migration, (3) explore the possible trophic Francisco Estuary. It is a state Species of Special effects of new invaders such as the overbite clam and Concern and was only recently (2003) delisted as a Siberian prawn, and (4) determine the response of threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife splittail populations to climate change and sea level Service. Splittail live 7-9 years, tolerate a wide range rise. of environmental conditions, and have high fecundity. Typically, adults migrate upstream in January and February and spawn on seasonally inundated flood- KEYWORDS plains in March and April. In May the juveniles Sacramento River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, migrate back downstream to shallow, brackish water Sutter Bypass, Yolo Bypass, floodplain, endangered rearing grounds, where they feed on detritus and fishes, Cyprinidae. invertebrates for 1-2 years before migrating back upstream to spawn. Seven long-term sampling pro- SUGGESTED CITATION grams in the estuary indicate that the splittail popula- tion is maintained by strong year classes resulting Moyle PB, Baxter RD, Sommer T, Foin TC, Matern SA. from successful spawning in wet years, although some 2004. Biology and population dynamics of Sacramento spawning occurs in all years. Modeling shows them to splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) in the San be resilient, but managing floodplains to promote fre- Francisco Estuary: a review. San Francisco Estuary quent successful spawning is needed to keep them and Watershed Science [online serial]. abundant. Additionally, it is important to provide safe Vol. 2, Issue 2 (May 2004), Article 3. migration corridors between spawning and rearing http://repositories.cdlib.org/jmie/sfews/vol2/iss2/art3 grounds as well as abundant high-quality brackish water rearing habitat. Key research needs are (1) to SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE INTRODUCTION Such tests should provide an excellent opportunity for the application of adaptive management, a major The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys component of CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Plan macrolepidotus) is a cyprinid fish endemic to the (ERP) projects. Therefore an important purpose of this Central Valley of California with a range that centers paper is to provide background and guidance for the on the San Francisco Estuary (Map 1, 2). Until 2003, design of modeling and management experiments. it was listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is considered to be a Species of Special Concern by the California HISTORY AND TAXONOMY Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). Therefore, managing processes and habitats in ways that favor Official History splittail is a high priority of the California Bay-Delta Splittail evolved in the Central Valley over millions of Authority’s (CALFED) Ecosystem Restoration Program years. They were harvested in small numbers by Native Plan (ERPP) and Multi-species Conservation Strategy. Americans for a few thousand years. Their formal his- The species is also a focus of various modeling efforts tory in relation to Western culture, however, does not to predict the impact of changing flow regimes on begin to be described until 1854 (Ayers 1854). The fol- native species. Therefore, the objectives of this paper lowing are milestones in their official history: are to: 1854 W. O. Ayres, a physician, formally describes, 1. Summarize what is known about the biology of in a San Francisco newspaper, Sacramento Sacramento splittail, including (a) history and tax- splittail as a new species based on fish pur- onomy, (b) distribution and abundance, and (c) chased from a local market. ecology and life history. 1908 C. Rutter finds splittail to be widespread in 2. Provide a conceptual model of splittail life history. the Central Valley, from the Sacramento River at Redding to the lower Merced River 3. List uncertainties in our knowledge of splittail, (Figure 1, Central Valley Map). expressed as a series of hypotheses. 1931 L. A. Walford describes splittail as being taken 4. Present a simulation model of splittail population in small numbers in commercial fisheries. dynamics to explore limiting factors, based on pres- ent knowledge. 1963-64 A 1-year CDFG survey captures 536 splittail in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and 5. Discuss potential effects of climate change and 291 in Suisun Bay (mostly adults). The study earthquakes on splittail. finds them to be common and widely dis- 6. Discuss management options. tributed but devotes only 10 lines of text to their biology in the published report (Turner The peer-reviewed literature on splittail is limited, so and Kelley 1966). this review depends heavily on unpublished data from various agency surveys, reports in the grey literature, 1973 J. Hopkirk describes the Clear Lake splittail and the on-going studies by three of the co-authors: as a separate species (P. ciscoides) but it is T. Sommer, R. Baxter, and P. Moyle. While an enor- apparently already extinct by the time the mous amount has been learned about splittail in the description is published. past few years, we are still in the hypothesis stage as 1974 M. Caywood finishes his M.S. thesis on split- to limiting factors, especially those related to human tail in the Delta, the first study of its life impacts on the San Francisco Estuary and its water- history, which remains unpublished. shed. Some of the key hypotheses relating to splittail management need to be tested with both hydrody- 1983 The first peer-reviewed life history study, namic models and large-scale field experiments con- based on splittail captured in Suisun Marsh, ducted in association with habitat restoration projects. is published (Daniels and Moyle 1983). Los Angeles Aqueduct Lake Tahoe Aqueduct r e v i R California . i n R u . oaq d J e n Lake c a Almanor S r ne R ne Folsom Lake e M Lake Oroville R. Cosumnes Tuolumne R. okelum Stanislaus R. Stanislaus M American R. American Feather River r Shasta e Lake v Sa Ri cramen to San Luis Reservoir SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE Central Valley watershed of California. Map 1. SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE RIVER AMERICAN Sacramento ss a yp B lo o Y Cosumnes R. NORTH BAY AQUEDUCT N Suisun P a e p Marsh r ta a e R iv lu Montezuma River Mokelumne R m iv Rio a e R r Suisun Vista • iv Marsh e Slough Salinity r Grizzly Control ento Bay Gates San Joaquin River San Pablo Honker Sacram Bay Bay Bay Sherman Suisun Island Chipps CANALIsland • Pittsburg Big Break • Antioch COSTA ✬ Stockton CONTRA Central San Francisco Bay Clifton Court Forebay Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant (SWP) Tracy Pumping San Francisco Plant (CVP) Pacific Ocean . s R au isl San Joaquin Rivern ta South S Bay Tu ol um n Riv e er N COYOTE CREEK Map 2. San Francisco Estuary and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California. SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY & WATERSHED SCIENCE 1989 January. USFWS included splittail as a 1998 December. In response to a suit by Category 2 Candidate Species for possible Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, a listing as endangered or threatened (Annual federal court orders USFWS to take action Notice of Review 54 FR 554). on splittail listing. 1989 The splittail is listed as a Species of Special 1999 February. USFWS lists splittail as threatened Concern by CDFG (Moyle and others 1995). species (USFWS 1999). 1992 Status and Trends Report from San 2000 June. In response to a lawsuit by San Luis Francisco Estuary Project documents wide- and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, a feder- spread decline of native species in estuary, al court determines that the splittail listing is including splittail (Herbold and others 1992). not justified and orders the USFWS to reverse the listing. The legal status of the 1992 November. USFWS receives a petition from splittail remains under review. G. A. Thomas of the Natural Heritage Institute and eight co-petitioning organiza- 2001 January, May, August. Comment period for tions to list splittail under the Endangered listing of splittail as a threatened species re- Species Act and to designate critical habitat opened three times by USFWS. based on information eventually published in Meng and Moyle (1995) (Natural Heritage 2002 March, October. Comment period for listing Institute 1992).
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