On a biological scale, 20 years is like the blink of an eye — if not faster.
But for San Francisco marine biology researchers, 20 years is priceless in what it can tell about the changing nature of the bay’s wildlife, especially in the face of a changing climate.
These long-term databases are rare for the region, but the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Tiburon has accomplished this milestone as of this year. The now 20-year-old study by the center’s Marine Invasions Lab has been tracking the presence of invasive and native species, mainly invertebrates, throughout the bay and delta, giving researchers like Andy Chang insights into how extremes such as droughts, heavy storms and warming waters can affect our backyard ecosystems.