Larval Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi) Survival in Suspended Sediment

Pacific herring early life stages provide good model systems for studying effects of suspended sediments on estuarine organisms. To investigate effects on the herring larval stage, we used environmentally relevant particle concentrations for San Francisco Bay (200–400 mg/L of particles <50 μm in size) and exposure times of 16 h in a novel two-pump sediment suspension mesocosm. There were no mortalities during the 16-h suspended sediment incubation. Following sediment exposure, larvae were cultured in sediment-free water for up to 10 days during which survival and condition were measured. None were affected by previous sediment treatment. Four criteria for larval condition included growth, heart rate, prey capture, and critical swimming velocity. These results provide a framework for implementing regulatory decisions on anthropogenic activities such as dredging.