June 2001 Issues Online June 2007 April 2007 February 2007 December 2006 October 2006 August 2006 June 2006 April 2006 February 2006 December 2005 October 2005 August 2005 June 2005 April 2005 February 2005 December 2004 October 2004 August 2004 June 2004 April 2004 February 2004 December 2003 October 2003 August 2003 June 2003 April 2003 February 2003 December 2002 October 2002 August 2002 June 2002 April 2002 February 2002 December 2001 October 2001 August 2001 June 2001 April 2001 February 2001 December 2000 October 2000 August 2000 June 2000 April 2000 February 2000 December 1999 October 1999 August 1999 June 1999 April 1999 February 1999 December 1998 October 1998 August 1998 June 1998 April 1998 February 1998 December 1997 October 1997 August 1997 June 1997 April 1997 February 1997 December 1996 October 1996 August 1996 June 1996 April 1996 February 1996 December 1995 October 1995 August 1995 June 1995 April 1995 February 1995 December 1994 October 1994 August 1994 June 1994 April 1994 February 1994 December 1993 October 1993 August 1993 Select any issue from the menu in this bar.

Bay Species in a Nutshell

Did you know that one Bay species of harvest mouse can drink salt water? Or that a male threespine stickleback tears apart his nest of eggs just before they hatch to increase their survival? Or that beetles live in the Bay's salt ponds and snowy plovers eat inchworm moths?

These are only a few of the details readers will find in the newly published Baylands Ecosystem Species and Community Profiles - a 400-page companion document to the Habitat Goals report released last year. This one-of-a-kind local reference book on the plants, fish, insects, amphibians, birds and mammals that live in the Baylands profiles 94 species, from river otters to ruddy ducks, from brine flies to mudsuckers, giving information about their reproductive habits, growth and development, food, distribution in the region (maps), population status and habitat needs, among other things.

"No other document has all these species in one place," says native plant expert Phyllis Faber, one of 52 local scientists who wrote the profiles. "The Goals report provides a sense of place about our wetlands, their history and restoration. The Profiles report fills in the details of the picture, providing the facts, not just romantic ideas, about how our ecosystem works and who lives in it. Every library in California should have two copies."

The report is one of the first comprehensive, S.F. Bay-region-specific, technical works on this subject written by locally recognized experts. "Regional information is often hidden in scientific reports," says waterfowl expert John Takekawa, also a contributor. "This report summarizes many sources of information, including some that are unpublished or not readily available, making it an invaluable guide to the Estuary." For the layperson or student or reporter, it is a fast, close up view of local wildlife. For the expert, it's helpful as a link to species outside their own fields, and as a reference list for original research. For the planner, it provides distribution maps and habitat information for species that may be present in shoreline developments.

The S.F. Regional Board's Peggy Olofson, who edited the report, says it is full of special things. Among her personal favorites are: complete localized histories of plant communities in salt marshes, diked baylands, salt ponds etc; details on proximal species (predator/prey/competitors/hosts); fifteen chapters on bugs; and unique web diagrams of organisms associated with various habitats.

"These two documents provide a future model for the Bay ecosystem as a whole, a new paradigm based on a vision of restoration and species recovery to replace the old one of degradation and decline," sums up contributor and bird expert Jules Evens.

Contact: Peggy Olofson (510) 622-2402 ARO

«To @@(newsletter_title)@@ Index

[ ABAG HOME | SFEP HOME ]

Copyright © 2002, San Francisco Estuary Project