| SS9.01 Ecosystem Science Practiced in an Urbanized Estuary: South San Francisco Bay |
| Bollens, S, M, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA, sbollens@sfsu.edu |
| Avent, S, A, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA, avent@sfsu.edu |
| Hooff, R, , Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, USA, rian.hooff@oregonstate.edu |
| Gewant, D, , San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA, darreng@sfsu.edu |
| Rollwagen Bollens, G, C, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA, rollboll@sfsu.edu |
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| ZOOPLANKTON DYNAMICS IN THE LOWER SAN FRANCISCO ESTUARY: ROLE OF MESO- AND MACROZOOPLANKTON |
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| Many components of the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) ecosystem are highly disturbed and impacted, including the plankton. For instance several non-indigenous copepod species have become established in the SFE and now dominate the zooplankton assemblage of the lower estuary (Bollens et al., 2002, Hydrobiologia, 480: 87-110). However, much less is known about trophic interactions within the planktonic food web. Here we report on the combined results of several multi-year field and experimental studies to address three heretofore understudied aspects of the dynamics of meso- and macrozooplankton in South SFE: 1) the role of mesozooplankton as grazers on phytoplankton, including seasonal and spatial variability thereof; 2) predation mortality on mesozooplankton, especially by the carnivorous, invasive copepod Tortanus dextrilobatus; and 3) the role of gelatinous zooplankton, including larvaceans, medusae and ctenophores. |
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