Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: CA/San Francisco Bay 'where the salinity was lowest' (1913, Esterly 1924)
Genetic studies by Lee (2000) indicate that San Francisco Bay populations belonged to the Atlantic subclade (now named E. caroleeae), and were distinct from most other populations on the Pacific coast of North America, but closely related to Atlantic Coast populations, providing evidence that these populations are introduced (Orsi 2002)
Geographic Extent
CA/San Francisco Bay 'where the salinity was lowest' (1913, Esterly 1924); Collinsville/CA/Sacramento River (1972-1978, Orsi and Mecum 1986); Rio Vista/CA/CA/Sacramento River (1972-1978, Orsi and Mecum 1986); Antioch/CA/San Joaquin River (1972-1978, Orsi and Mecum 1986); Stockton/CA/San Joaquin River (1972-1978, Orsi and Mecum 1986); South Bay; San Pablo Bay; Carquinez Straits; Suisun Bay; Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Ambler et al. 1986; Lee 2000, Orsi 2001); CA/San Pablo Bay-Central San Francisco Bay (during periods of high river flow, Bollens et al. 2011); Carl's Marsh/CA/Petaluma River (2003-2005, Bollens et al. 2014); Bull Island/CA/Napa River (2003-2005, Bollens et al. 2014)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Alternate | Fisheries Accidental (not Oyster) |
| Alternate | Oyster Accidental |
| Alternate | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| Eurytemora carolleeae was a numerically dominant copepod in the tidal-fresh to mesohaline regions of the San Francisco Bay estuary (Esterly 1924; Ambler et al. 1986). It provided a major food source for mysids (Neomysis mercedis), in turn providing a major food source for juvenile fishes. but was largely replaced by introduced Asian copepods (Sinocalanus doerri, Pseudodiaptomus forbesi), beginning in the 1970s, with the invasion of S. doerri (Bryant and Arnold 2007). The invasion of the clam Corbula amurensis resulted in a dramatic decline in zooplankton abundance, due in part to the clam filtering out nauplii (Kimmerer et al. 1994). In feeding experiments with larval Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis), E. carolleeae was eaten at rates than the introduced P. forbesi or S. doerri (Meng and Orsi 1991). Eurytemora affinis was also a dominant food organism of the endangered Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus and the threatened Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and considered a superior food to P. forbesi (Moyle et al. 1992; Nobriga 2002). The effects of introduced copepods are additionally complex, because of the varying size of the life-stages, and the interaction of different species of fish predators (Sullivan et al. 2016). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Herbivory | |
| Eurytemora carolleeae was a numerically dominant copepod in the tidal-fresh to mesohaline regions of the San Francisco Bay estuary (Esterly 1924; Ambler et al. 1986). It was a major grazer on phytoplankton populations in the estuary, until its decline due to competition with introduced copepod species Sinocaanus doerri, Pseudodiaptomus forbesi), and the invasion of the suspension-feeding clam Corbula amurensis (Kimmerer et al. 1994; Hamilton et al. 2020). | ||