Native vs. Invasive
Fourteen years of catch data reveal a regime shift — who's winning, who's losing, and how a single drought rewrote the estuary's fish community.
The data runs deeper
This exhibit is one layer. WRMP's monitoring lives inside a larger data ecosystem — from the Bay-wide EcoAtlas toolset to the raw datasets scientists work with every day.
Explore the data ecosystem
237 Species Call It Home
The San Francisco Estuary supports incredible biodiversity. From sharks to shrimp, salmon to sponges — 237 species of fish and invertebrates have been documented across the monitoring network.
These 119 monitoring stations are the eyes and ears of the estuary — each one a window into the community of species that lives there.
The Home Team
151 native species have been documented in the estuary. From 9 species of shark to 7 species of smelt, these animals evolved with the estuary over thousands of years.
Many are uniquely adapted to estuarine life — tolerating the daily swings in salinity, temperature, and turbidity that make this habitat so challenging.
The Uninvited
50 invasive species have been documented in the estuary. They arrive through ballast water, aquaculture, and intentional introduction. 7 species from Japan alone.
Some, like Striped Bass, were introduced intentionally in the 1870s for sport fishing. Others hitchhiked in ship ballast tanks from ports around the world.
Where They Meet
Zoom into Alviso Marsh — 21 monitoring stations where scientists track which species use restored and natural habitats.
This is where native and invasive species share the same slough channels. Every trawl sample records what's there.
Counting the Balance
Monitoring tracks the balance between native and invasive species across every habitat type. The ratio tells us about ecosystem health.
WRMP's network provides the data to understand whether the balance is shifting. Quarterly surveys across the estuary reveal the patterns that matter most.