A shallow bay area with green algae visible on the water and small cages set out at intervals — A study site in Tomales Bay, where UC Davis researchers deployed caged and uncaged treatments to better understand how climate change affects predator-prey dynamics in the estuary. (Ben Rubinoff, UC Davis)

Invasive Species and Climate Change Impact Coastal Estuaries

Biological Invasions Interact with Changing Climate in Unpredictable Ways

by Kat Kerlin
May 06, 2022

Native species in California’s estuaries are expected to experience greater declines as invasive species interact with climate change, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

The study, published in the Ecological Society of America’s journal, Ecology, said these declines are expected not only because of climate-related stressors, but also because of the expanding influence of new invasive predators whose impacts are occurring much farther up the estuary.