Figure 2c
Juvenile striped bass, although itself an introduced species, is
considered to be an
indicator species for San Francisco Bay, and its
populations are greatly in decline. Striped bass depend upon
mysids as their primary food source and the mysid
population has been depressed due to the immense water
filtering capacity of a more recently introduced Asian
clam Potamocorbula amurensis which has depleted the
standing stock of phytoplankton (Orsi and Mecum 1996,
Nichols 1988). The introduction of large numbers of
mitten crab zoeae may act as a food source for
planktivorous juvenile striped bass, but they too would be
reduced in numbers by the diminished phytoplankton stocks
as hypothesized in Figure 2c. Thus any ecological
impacts of mitten crab zoeae are masked by the total
ecosystem change caused by the Asian clam.
amended 6/10/98