Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fish and Wildlife Service

Serpa, Larry. 1996. California Freshwater Shrimp: A Ghost-like Crustacean We Can't Afford to Lose. Tideline Vol.16 No. 2 1-3.

The California Freshwater Shrimp
A ghost-like crustacean we can't afford to lose

by Larry Serpa

Photo by Larry Serpa

Why should we be concerned about a crustacean that is less than 2.5 inches long, and will never be abundant enough to serve on the top of a pizza? Even if you took the trouble to stick your head beneath the surface of the water, you probably wouldn’t be able to see one as these creatures are elusive and hard to find. Would it really matter if they just disappeared?

Yes it would. Ecologically, the California freshwater shrimp occupy a role as detritus feeders that no other stream animal could fill. When you rip an important strand out of a food web, there’s no way to know how much damage will be done. The shrimp’s presence, or absence, can also tell us a lot about the streams. Flowing water is their home, and they are mute witnesses to the condition and history of the streams they inhabit. Continually bathed by the water, they must face whatever flows toward them. Pollution, siltation, introduced species, and other factors will all affect them to some extent. If they disappear, we can be sure that something detrimental has happened to the stream. We will have lost much more than just the shrimp.

Last updated: May 27, 2008

SF Bay Complex Home