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Citizen Science And The Recovery Of The Salish Sea: How Volunteers Can Play A Vital Role Filling Unmet Scientific Needs., Maddie Foutch May 2014

Citizen Science And The Recovery Of The Salish Sea: How Volunteers Can Play A Vital Role Filling Unmet Scientific Needs., Maddie Foutch

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Recovery of the Salish Sea ecosystem is facing a harsh reality. Limited funds and capacity throughout the Salish Sea’s scientific community severely reduces timely and concerted progress on a majority of identified scientific needs. A critical piece to successful Salish Sea restoration is ensuring that these identified scientific needs are able to be met, before it is too late. One creative solution to this issue is to engage citizens to participate in scientific monitoring. This presentation will use a case study to explore lessons learned around how collaboration among citizens, scientific experts, and agencies can produce a robust scientific monitoring …


Citizen Science As A Tool For Conservation - Best Practices From Local Examples, Amy (Amy Elizabeth) Hale May 2014

Citizen Science As A Tool For Conservation - Best Practices From Local Examples, Amy (Amy Elizabeth) Hale

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

An ultimate goal of Citizen Science is to encourage visitors to adopt conservation attitudes and behaviors that help preserve Puget Sound's unique marine ecosystem. The objectives of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's Explore the Shore Beach Walks include connecting citizens with Puget Sound animals and habitats; increasing citizens' respect for wildlife and habitats; educating citizens about local water conservation and protection initiatives in Puget Sound, and encouraging them to get involved in these efforts. This program, launched in 2011, contributes data to the Washington NatureMapping Program. Success of this program has hinged on strong volunteer participation including the involvement of …


Students Can Sort Stream Bugs And Change Watershed Management: A Case Study From Shinglemill Creek, Vashon Island, Bianca S. Perla, Gay Roselle May 2014

Students Can Sort Stream Bugs And Change Watershed Management: A Case Study From Shinglemill Creek, Vashon Island, Bianca S. Perla, Gay Roselle

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Building on 7 previous years of data collected by King County and available on the Puget Sound Stream Benthos website, Vashon Nature Center LLC, worked with King County Groundwater Protection Committee, and local middle and high school students to solve the mystery: why does Shinglemill Creek have low B-IBI scores? Testing the hypothesis that erosion may be affecting stream scores, scientists from VNC took aquatic invertebrate samples in two tributaries of Shinglemill Creek—one tributary with high erosion and landslide activity and one with very little erosion. With the help of 6 expert scientists, over 100 students sorted samples to order, …


Opportunity Driven By Necessity: Citizen Scientists’ Marine Mammal Monitoring On Elliott Bay, Dave Glenn May 2014

Opportunity Driven By Necessity: Citizen Scientists’ Marine Mammal Monitoring On Elliott Bay, Dave Glenn

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

During the Fall and Winter of 2012, the Seattle Aquarium conducted in-water work to replace creosote pilings with steel pilings near the Aquarium's harbor seal exhibit. The pile driving work created noise that could harm marine mammals protected by the Endangered Species Act. In order to prevent harm to marine mammals, permits required the monitoring of Elliott Bay for the presence of ESA protected mammals and the immediate halt of any noise creating work that could cause damage to these species. In addition to the required monitoring, the Aquarium saw an opportunity to further our understanding of which mammals call …


Understanding Microplastic Marine Pollution With Citizen Science Partnerships, Julie Masura, Joel Baker, Susie Richards, Chris Burt, Megan Addison May 2014

Understanding Microplastic Marine Pollution With Citizen Science Partnerships, Julie Masura, Joel Baker, Susie Richards, Chris Burt, Megan Addison

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Plastic marine debris is found in coastal and marine waters worldwide. There has been an increase in the study of microplastics, synthetic polymers < 5 mm, throughout the world. Researchers at the Center for Urban Waters, University of Washington Tacoma have collaborated with Service Education Adventure (SEA) and Sound Experience, local boat-based environmental education groups in Puget Sound, Washington, to collect environmental samples and educate participants on marine debris environmental issues, specifically microplastics. Both groups were trained on how to collect microplastics in the field using a modified manta net, sending the samples to the Center for Urban Waters for analysis. Undergraduate student researchers participated in the program through assisting in training, demonstrating collection on vessels, and processing samples in the laboratory. This presentation will review the progress of development of these relationships, benefits of each group’s contributions, and challenges met during the partnerships.


Social Marketing For Puget Sound, Emily L. Sanford Apr 2014

Social Marketing For Puget Sound, Emily L. Sanford

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

This presentation will outline both how and why the Puget Sound Partnership’s Stewardship program is encouraging the application of social marketing planning by practitioners around the Sound. Efforts made to understand the target audience’s specific barriers and motivators will be summarized and the products designed to incentivize the use of social marketing will be described. This work pledges to make social marketing a mainstream approach to fostering residential behaviors that positively affect the health of Puget Sound.


Three Birds With One Stone: Tidal Wetland Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, And Enhancing Resilience To Rising Sea Levels In The Snohomish River Estuary, Washington, John M. Rybczyk, Stephen Crooks, Danielle Devier, Steve Emmett Mattox, Nathan Moore, Keeley A. (Keeley Anne) O'Connell, Katrina L. Poppe, Nelson Salisbury Apr 2014

Three Birds With One Stone: Tidal Wetland Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, And Enhancing Resilience To Rising Sea Levels In The Snohomish River Estuary, Washington, John M. Rybczyk, Stephen Crooks, Danielle Devier, Steve Emmett Mattox, Nathan Moore, Keeley A. (Keeley Anne) O'Connell, Katrina L. Poppe, Nelson Salisbury

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Recent attention has focused on exploring the carbon storage and sequestration values of tidal wetlands to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts are now underway to develop the tools and refine the science needed to bring carbon markets to bear on tidal wetland restoration activities. Effective restoration not only maximizes carbon storage in former tidal wetlands but also, through the accumulation of organic and mineral matter, enhances these systems’ resilience to rising sea levels. To this end, this project focuses on the Snohomish River estuary of the Puget Sound, Washington, which offers a continuum of diked and un-diked wetlands including seasonal …


Using Science-Based Landscape Level Nearshore Assessments To Implement Long-Term Restoration Goals, Kathlene Barnhart Apr 2014

Using Science-Based Landscape Level Nearshore Assessments To Implement Long-Term Restoration Goals, Kathlene Barnhart

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development is actively participating in the development and use of several science-based nearshore assessments and tools. The integration of local knowledge and regional expertise has led to models that provide the tools needed to make systematic and informed restoration and protection decisions. One example is the County’s Nearshore Assessment (Battelle, 2009). County staff was involved in selecting functional indicators to ecosystem health and in collecting the field inventory. The result of this collaboration was a useable document in which County and other management programs use with a high level of confidence and understanding for shoreline …


Biocomplexity In Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii) Of Puget Sound, Usa, Margaret Siple, Tessa B. Francis, Daniel E. Schindler Apr 2014

Biocomplexity In Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii) Of Puget Sound, Usa, Margaret Siple, Tessa B. Francis, Daniel E. Schindler

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Small-scale genetic and demographic diversity can stabilize populations on a larger scale. However, subpopulations of pelagic fish species can be difficult to distinguish. Here, we examine demographic diversity in 21 stocks of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in Puget Sound, USA using a multivariate auto-regressive state-space (MARSS) model, and data from both acoustic surveys paired with trawls, and subtidal egg surveys to estimate population growth trends. Herring populations associated with individual spawning beaches are asynchronous, but share a common negative growth rate across the Puget Sound estuary. We found that both survey techniques observe the same underlying demographic processes, and that …


Addressing The Data Gap For Intertidal Forage Fish Spawning Habitat In British Columbia, Ramona De Graaf, Dan Penttila Apr 2014

Addressing The Data Gap For Intertidal Forage Fish Spawning Habitat In British Columbia, Ramona De Graaf, Dan Penttila

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Cited as the cornerstone of many marine food webs, forage fish connect zooplankton to a host of secondary predators, from seabirds, fish and marine mammals. Nearshore spawning forage fishes such as surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) use certain intertidal sandy-gravel beaches for spawn deposition/incubation, high on shorelines near the log line. Due to the lack of Canadian government surveys, no data on the spawning ecology of surf smelt and Pacific sand lance were available for the Canadian west coast. In British Columbia, effective coastal nearshore planning is hindered by the lack of information on the …


Bull Kelp Restoration Project At Hornby Island, Bc, Canada, William Heath, Kayt Chambers Apr 2014

Bull Kelp Restoration Project At Hornby Island, Bc, Canada, William Heath, Kayt Chambers

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, has declined sharply in recent decades in central Strait of Georgia (Salish Sea) due to factors that are not well understood. The Nile Creek Enhancement Society started a project in 2011 to study local ocean conditions at a natural kelp bed (south Denman I.) and at a restoration site (Maude Reef, Hornby I.) where culture techniques are being applied to re-establish bull kelp. The project was funded by Pacific Salmon Foundation initially, with volunteer involvement from Hornby Island Diving, support from Conservancy Hornby Island, and collaboration with Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Vancouver Island University Deep Bay …


Characterizing Changes In Puget Sound Benthic Infaunal Invertebrate Assemblages: A Functional Approach, Valerie Partridge, Margaret Dutch, Sandra Weakland, Kathy Welch, Clifton Herrmann Apr 2014

Characterizing Changes In Puget Sound Benthic Infaunal Invertebrate Assemblages: A Functional Approach, Valerie Partridge, Margaret Dutch, Sandra Weakland, Kathy Welch, Clifton Herrmann

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Puget Sound benthic infaunal invertebrate assemblages (benthos) have been sampled and characterized for eight regions and six urban bays as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) since 1997. A suite of structural abundance and diversity indices, and an overarching Benthic Index, have been applied to the benthos data to illustrate and interpret community condition both spatially and temporally throughout the Sound. In general, community composition varies between locations, and significant declines in condition have been observed for most of the resampled study areas. Relational analyses conducted on baseline data collected from 1997-1999 showed correspondence between community structure, …


Don't Drip & Drive- Greasing The Skids With Social Science To Prevent Vehicle Leaks, Stef Frenzl Apr 2014

Don't Drip & Drive- Greasing The Skids With Social Science To Prevent Vehicle Leaks, Stef Frenzl

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Over 7 million quarts of motor oil are dripped onto streets and highways in the Puget Sound Basin each year, resulting in over $53 million worth of motor oil going down storm drains each year. But it’s not only money that’s lost. Toxic, petroleum-based oil, grease and other fluids such as transmission, power steering, brake and windshield wiper fluids, often leak from vehicles, and these contaminants are carried by stormwater to streams, rivers and Puget Sound, where they accumulate in sediments, harm water quality, and harm or kill aquatic life. The Washington Department of Ecology has identified leaky vehicles as …


Estimating Recreational Harvest Of Surf Smelt Hypomesus Pretiosus Via A Combined Access Point And Roving Creel Count Design, Kurt C. Stick, Dayv Lowry, Adam Lindquist Apr 2014

Estimating Recreational Harvest Of Surf Smelt Hypomesus Pretiosus Via A Combined Access Point And Roving Creel Count Design, Kurt C. Stick, Dayv Lowry, Adam Lindquist

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Fisheries for surf smelt Hypomesus pretiosus in Washington State are currently managed under the assumption that recreational harvest is roughly comparable to commercial harvest on a Puget Sound-wide basis. This assumption may underestimate total fishing pressure and harvest, leading to localized or Sound-wide depletion and negative ecosystem impacts. Assessing recreational effort and harvest is complicated by the lack of a licensing requirement for fishers, the fact that fishing occurs throughout the year but tends to peak during locally specific time windows, and the ability of anglers to engage in the fishery from private shorelines in addition to public access points …


Fish And Zooplankton Distributions In A Seasonally Hypoxic Fjord, Mei Sato, John K. Horne, Sandra L. Parker-Stetter Apr 2014

Fish And Zooplankton Distributions In A Seasonally Hypoxic Fjord, Mei Sato, John K. Horne, Sandra L. Parker-Stetter

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Hypoxia has been identified as a major threat to marine ecosystem health in the world’s coastal waters including Puget Sound. This study is evaluating the potential effects of hypoxia on fish and zooplankton distributions in Hood Canal, WA, using multifrequency acoustics and net sampling. Field surveys were conducted monthly from June to October in 2012 and 2013 to characterize pre-, during, and post-hypoxia nekton distributions at four sites along the Canal. Using the repeated samplings and high-resolution survey data, we are examining how seasonal and inter-annual difference in the timing and intensity of hypoxia affects distributions of predators (primarily Pacific …


Is Hypoxia’S Influence Restricted To The Deep? Evaluation Of Nearshore Community Composition In Hood Canal, Washington, A Seasonally Hypoxic Estuary, Halley E. Froehlich, Timothy Essington, Anne Houston Beaudreau, Shannon Hennessey, Phillip S. Levin Apr 2014

Is Hypoxia’S Influence Restricted To The Deep? Evaluation Of Nearshore Community Composition In Hood Canal, Washington, A Seasonally Hypoxic Estuary, Halley E. Froehlich, Timothy Essington, Anne Houston Beaudreau, Shannon Hennessey, Phillip S. Levin

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Hypoxia [dissolved oxygen (DO) < 2 mg L-1] has been identified as a key threat to the Puget Sound ecosystem, particularly in Hood Canal. Hood Canal is subject to seasonal hypoxia in its southern reaches, and prior work has demonstrated avoidance patterns of demersal species from the deep, offshore hypoxia-impacted waters. However, the non-lethal impact of low DO conditions on the nearshore community is not well understood, despite its importance to the estuary (e.g., nursery habitat). We evaluated the nature and extent of the sub-lethal influence of hypoxia on the nearshore community using underwater video monitoring techniques. Within two regions of Hood Canal, a southern highly impacted region and a northern reference region, we recorded weekly underwater video of the benthos via transects at three depths (10, 20, 30m) to measure species density and composition. Weekly monitoring of water quality revealed strong differences in DO over time and space, with the vertical extent of low DO waters increasing markedly at the end of summer in the south. While we were unable to detect acute shifts in nearshore densities, the community composition was significantly different between the two study regions; the south was primarily composed of hypoxia tolerant invertebrates and fewer fish species compared to the north. Moreover, the tolerant invertebrates displayed a three-fold increase in presence below a specific DO threshold (mean threshold ± SE = 3.95 mg L-1 ± 0.22), while the more sensitive species (e.g., fish) declined. Post-hoc comparisons of our findings to long-term DO trends in Hood Canal revealed the potential for a more persistent low DO state in the southern reaches. As a result, this study provides further insight into the complex regional differences in community structure and potential sensitivity of the nearshore community to other perturbations in Hood Canal.


Kelp Bed Expansion At Edmonds Underwater Park, Bruce Higgins Apr 2014

Kelp Bed Expansion At Edmonds Underwater Park, Bruce Higgins

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Edmonds Underwater Park in Puget Sound just north of the Edmonds Ferry Terminal contains extensive bull kelp (Nereocystist sp.) bed in the north east corner. Kelp grows on a natural gravelly substrate but most of the Park has a sand bottom. Kelp also grows on some of the artificial structures placed in the Park but not in a dense pattern like in the northeast corner. Beginning in 1999 we began a series of efforts to encourage the kelp to grow farther south in the Park. We have employed two basic techniques: an Oasis approach and a Linear approach. We started …


Is Nitrogen A Major Stressor Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) In Puget Sound?, Fred Short, Pete Dowty, Helen Berry, Lisa Ferrier, Jeffrey Gaeckle Apr 2014

Is Nitrogen A Major Stressor Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) In Puget Sound?, Fred Short, Pete Dowty, Helen Berry, Lisa Ferrier, Jeffrey Gaeckle

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The deep, cold and well-flushed waters of Puget Sound, WA (USA) are experiencing areas of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) decline. Eelgrass faces anthropogenic stresses ranging from eutrophication and sedimentation to shoreline hardening, ship traffic, and aquaculture, which are currently being evaluated with a weight-of-evidence analysis. Since 2000, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Submerged Vegetation Monitoring Program has assessed status and trends in eelgrass area and depth distribution throughout Puget Sound. Over this same time period, WA Department of Ecology has been monitoring nitrogen in the Sound’s waters; increasing concentrations of nitrate have been measured, linked to anthropogenic sources. …


Investing In Watershed Services: From Valuation To Funding Mechanisms, Zachary Christin, Roel Boumans Apr 2014

Investing In Watershed Services: From Valuation To Funding Mechanisms, Zachary Christin, Roel Boumans

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Before the Westward Expansion and colonization of what is now Washington State, the Tulalip Tribes had a fully sustainable economy in harmony with the healthy ecosystems of the Snohomish Basin. However, European settlement greatly harmed the Tribes’ people, as well as the lands and resources upon which they depended. A century has passed since natural resources like salmon and forests were abundant. Today, Chinook and other salmon populations have declined near the threat of extinction. To increase the remaining populations of salmon will require more habitat, restoration of hydrology that is compatible with salmon biology, and a climate conducive to …


Knowing Your Audience: Lessons For Environmental Behavior Change From Mason County, Wa, Cammy Mills, Robert C. Simmons, Heidi Keller Apr 2014

Knowing Your Audience: Lessons For Environmental Behavior Change From Mason County, Wa, Cammy Mills, Robert C. Simmons, Heidi Keller

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Washington State University Mason County Extension has been actively involved in environmental outreach and behavior change programs and in that role, has had multiple opportunities to gather audience research in partnership with other organizations. Research has focused on septic maintenance, livestock management, SMP regulations, shoreline planting as well as general attitudes toward BMPs (such as picking up pet waste) and personal values. Participants in audience research were shoreline residents as well as upland residents. Key findings will be summarized and their implication for effective messaging and outreach techniques will be discussed. These include: • Perception of messaging that focuses generally …


Pacific Herring Spawns Provide Temporal Subsidies To Nearshore Ecosystems, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Brittany Keeling, Christina Mckenzie, Anne K. Salomon Apr 2014

Pacific Herring Spawns Provide Temporal Subsidies To Nearshore Ecosystems, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Brittany Keeling, Christina Mckenzie, Anne K. Salomon

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), low trophic level fish at the base of many pelagic food webs, are integral to coastal social-ecological systems in North America. This migratory species provides a temporal subsidy to coastal systems by moving from offshore to nearshore waters for annual spawning events. Spawning migrations support subsistence and commercial fisheries, and provide an ecological pulse in prey availability. In coastal British Columbia, we quantified changes in rockfish (Sebastes maliger and caurinus) diet composition surrounding spawn events to understand the temporal importance of this subsidy. We found that the percentage of fish in rockfish diets switched from 30% …


Quantitative Assessment Of Intertidal Forage Fish Embryos, Shannon Miller, Randy Hatch, John Hagan Apr 2014

Quantitative Assessment Of Intertidal Forage Fish Embryos, Shannon Miller, Randy Hatch, John Hagan

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Most investigations of intertidal forage fish reproduction have been qualitative, useful for documenting spatio-temporal spawning distributions. Quantitative methods for assessing trends in egg abundance are lacking, however. We began a study at Naval Magazine Indian Island during 2011 to develop a standardized sampling protocol to establish annual indices of surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) spawning success. A stainless steel quadrat frame was used to remove substrate samples from transects at random points in the +5 to +10 foot tidal elevation range. Samples were later placed in an inverted plastic cone and water pumped upwards (i.e. …


Rapid Deterioration Of Sediment Surface Ecosystems In Bellingham Bay As Indicated By Benthic Foraminifera, Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, Ruth A. Martin, Jude K. Apple Apr 2014

Rapid Deterioration Of Sediment Surface Ecosystems In Bellingham Bay As Indicated By Benthic Foraminifera, Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, Ruth A. Martin, Jude K. Apple

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Benthic foraminifera, shelled protists, are valuable tools for monitoring environmental conditions of the sediment surface in nearshore marine and estuarine to marsh settings. This study analyzed 64 sediment samples from Bellingham Bay (June 1997, 2006 and 2010) and 18 samples from Boundary Bay, Birch Bay and Neptune Beach (June 2006 and 2010), provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Thirty five taxa were identified, dominated by three calcareous and one agglutinate species. In Bellingham Bay, benthic foraminiferal diversity and density deteriorated strikingly between 1996 and 2006, most notably in the middle of the bay. Many of these bay-center sites …


Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration: Green Infrastructure Components, Peter Hummel Apr 2014

Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration: Green Infrastructure Components, Peter Hummel

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

At over ¾ of a mile long, the Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration Project (Project) is the largest armor removal and soft shore restoration project on Puget Sound. Initiated in 2001 by the City of Burien in partnership the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and many other funding partners, construction of the second phase is scheduled for completion in April of 2014. At 180 acres, Seahurst Park can be viewed as a green infrastructure project from many different perspectives. First is the role of the site and project in delivering sediment to the longest drift cell along King County's eastern …


Samish Indian Nation: Designing Successful Shoreline Projects, Christine Woodward Apr 2014

Samish Indian Nation: Designing Successful Shoreline Projects, Christine Woodward

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In 2009, the Samish Indian Nation located in Anacortes Washington networked with a variety of local, state and federal agencies to restore 550 feet of eroding shoreline along Weaverling Spit with an engineered soft shore stabilization project to protect an archeological site that was in danger of eroding onto the beach. This project also provided habitat for forage fish spawning along with shade vegetation; and helped stabilize the shoreline along the popular Tommy Thompson pedestrian trail that was currently being impacted by erosion and in danger of being lost in certain portions. . Phase Two, The Central Weaverling Spit project …


The Fox And The Hound: Zeus’S Paradox And Prioritizing Ecosystem Recovery, Kenneth P. Currens, William Labiosa, Elizabeth Mcmanus Apr 2014

The Fox And The Hound: Zeus’S Paradox And Prioritizing Ecosystem Recovery, Kenneth P. Currens, William Labiosa, Elizabeth Mcmanus

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In Greek mythology, Zeus solves the paradox of the giant Teumessian fox, which had the power to never be caught, and Laelaps, the magical hound that always caught its prey, by changing them into constellations (Canis major and Canis minor) where their battle could play out for eternity. Zeus’s paradox also aptly describes the play of politics and science in prioritizing ecosystem recovery actions. Faced with the problem of prioritizing across hundreds of actions identified to recover terrestrial, freshwater, and nearshore domains of the Puget Sound, we structured an interactive process to capture both the key socio-political values of decision …


Temporal And Spatial Variation In Springtime Ichthyoplankton Assemblages In Puget Sound: The Search For An Ecological Baseline, Jessica Randall, Correigh M. Greene, Timothy Essington, Casimir Alexander Rice, Morgan S. Busby, Richard D. Brodeur, Toby Auth Apr 2014

Temporal And Spatial Variation In Springtime Ichthyoplankton Assemblages In Puget Sound: The Search For An Ecological Baseline, Jessica Randall, Correigh M. Greene, Timothy Essington, Casimir Alexander Rice, Morgan S. Busby, Richard D. Brodeur, Toby Auth

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Our knowledge of historical baselines for many marine fisheries is scant, making it difficult to determine the extent of change in commercial and non-commercial stocks alike. Providing a unique glimpse at entire communities and relatively easy to sample, ichthyoplankton surveys are a valuable tool for assessing change in populations. Our study evaluates the degree of spatial and temporal variation in larval fish assemblages across the sub-basins of Puget Sound by comparing historical and current surveys. Historical data for comparison was drawn from a study in 1967 conducted throughout the sub-basins (Waldron 1972). Larval fish were also collected in April of …


The Assessment Of Nutrient, Metal, And Organic Contaminant Concentrations In Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) In Puget Sound, Wa (Usa): A Project Overview, Jeffrey Gaeckle Apr 2014

The Assessment Of Nutrient, Metal, And Organic Contaminant Concentrations In Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) In Puget Sound, Wa (Usa): A Project Overview, Jeffrey Gaeckle

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Outfalls that discharge residential, commercial, and industrial wastewater as well as upland stormwater are abundant throughout Puget Sound, WA (USA). However, there are limited data or few regulatory guidelines related to the management of outfalls, and practically no oversight on the impacts outfall infrastructure and discharge have on critical nearshore habitats (e.g., eelgrass and macroalgae). Research has demonstrated seagrasses uptake nutrients, metals and organic contaminants with varied physiological effects, but little is known about the concentration of these substances in eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest and more specifically, in greater Puget Sound. Basic nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus, are known to …


The Kelp Of British Columbia And Their Environment, Louis D. Druehl Apr 2014

The Kelp Of British Columbia And Their Environment, Louis D. Druehl

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

British Columbia has the richest kelp flora in the world. This reflects the overlap of two distinct kelp floras—Northern and Southern—within the latitudes of Vancouver Island. Further, the British Columbia kelp flora is divided into Salish Sea and outer coast assemblages. This is thought to be driven by temperature/salinity regimes. The Salish Sea protists are subjected to low summer salinities, resulting from snow runoff, and the outer coasters experience low salinities, resulting winter rains. Incomplete surveys indicate a changing kelp flora, perhaps driven by ocean warming: for example, Egregia, of southern origin seems to be replacing Alaria, a northern species. …


Brominated Flame Retardants: Spatial And Temporal Patterns And Trends In Seabird Eggs From The Nearshore Pacific Coast Of Canada, Aroha Miller, John E. (John Edward) Elliott, Kyle Elliott, Sandi Lee, Melanie Guigueno, Abde Idrissez Apr 2014

Brominated Flame Retardants: Spatial And Temporal Patterns And Trends In Seabird Eggs From The Nearshore Pacific Coast Of Canada, Aroha Miller, John E. (John Edward) Elliott, Kyle Elliott, Sandi Lee, Melanie Guigueno, Abde Idrissez

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been widely used to reduce fire hazards. One class, the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are particularly persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, now classified as POPs under the Stockholm Convention. Marine ecosystems are the ultimate sink for POPs, and thus there is a continuing need to monitor such contamination. Eggs of marine birds have proven to be an efficient and effective means of measuring and tracking xenobiotic compounds which are transferred from the female bird to the egg via yolk lipids or proteins. Here we report and discuss data from long term monitoring of and mercury …