California Sea Grant College Program

Although California’s wetlands are known to be vulnerable to exotic invasions, few studies have sought to evaluate, in detail, the ecological consequences of non-native species.The purpose of this study was to examine closely the effects of the mat-forming Asian mussel (Musculista senhousia) and the burrowing Australian isopod (Sphaeroma quoyanum) on natural and re-created marshlands and tidal flats in Mission Bay in San Diego, San Diego Bay, and San Francisco Bay.