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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311046
Title: Estimating long-term trends in population declines of two ecosystem engineering burrowing shrimps in Pacific Northwest (USA) estuaries

Author
item Dumbauld, Brett
item McCoy, Lee
item DEWITT, THEODORE - Us Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
item CHAPMAN, JOHN - Oregon State University

Submitted to: Hydrobiologia
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/26/2020
Publication Date: 2/15/2021
Citation: Dumbauld, B.R., McCoy, L.M., Dewitt, T.H., Chapman, J.W. 2021. Estimating long-term trends in population declines of two ecosystem engineering burrowing shrimps in Pacific Northwest (USA) estuaries. Hydrobiologia. 848. 993-1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04544-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04544-7

Interpretive Summary: The density and distribution of two species of burrowing shrimp, ghost or sand shrimp (Neotrypea californiensis) and mud shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis), were surveyed and compared over time in two estuaries along the West coast of the United States. These shrimp construct deep burrows in the sand and mud and are recognized as important ecosystem engineers and as pests to the shellfish aquaculture industry because their burrowing activity causes important changes to these systems. Previous studies have quantified abundance and change over time at only a few individual locations. We used a rapid assessment of these shrimps burrow openings and quantified the relationship between burrow openings and shrimp density (1.5 and 1.7 burrow openings per shrimp for Neotrypaea and Upogebia respectively) to estimate population abundance over broader scales. Burrow counts were collected using a gridded survey design in portions of these estuaries from 2006 to 2010 and compared with data collected from individual monitoring locations over a longer period. The Neotrypaea population on two large tide flats in Yaquina Bay, Oregon declined by 23% between 2008 and 2010 and by 48% on a large tide flat in Willapa Bay, Washington from 2006 to 2009. Upogebia had already disappeared from Willapa Bay by 2006 and declines were also observed in Yaquina Bay. These shrimp population declines were similar to trends in density observed at discrete sampling locations over the same period and equate to very large changes in secondary production and food webs in these estuaries.

Technical Abstract: Population density and distribution of two species of burrowing thalassinid shrimp, Neotrypea californiensis and Upogebia pugettensis, were surveyed and compared over time in two estuaries along the West coast of the United States (USA) where these shrimp have been recognized as important ecosystem engineers. Since these shrimp construct deep burrows in the sediment, previous population studies have quantified abundance and temporal change at only a few discrete locations, potentially mischaracterizing true population trends. We used a rapid assessment of burrow openings and quantified the relationship between burrow openings and shrimp density (1.5 and 1.7 burrow openings per shrimp for Neotrypaea and Upogebia respectively) to estimate population abundance over broader scales. Burrow counts were collected using a gridded survey design in portions of these estuaries from 2006 to 2010 and compared with data collected from individual monitoring stations over a longer time frame. The Neotrypaea population on two large tide flats in Yaquina Bay, Oregon declined by 23% between 2008 and 2010 and by 48% on a large tide flat in Willapa Bay, Washington from 2006 to 2009. Upogebia had already disappeared from Willapa Bay by 2006 and declines were observed in Yaquina Bay, but the magnitude and long-term trajectory are not as clear for this species in this estuary.