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Articles 31 - 60 of 530
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Watersheds And Salmon, Student-Driven Habitat Restoration Projects; Increasing Engagement And Place-Based Learning Through Community Partnerships, Rachel Vasak
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) Students for Salmon (SFS) Program is an established 4th grade education program that has served public and private schools, including tribal and homeschool cooperatives in Whatcom County for 20 years at no cost. This multi-stage program includes both in-classroom and outdoor activities over a course of 5-6 weeks. The SFS Program builds a powerful continuum of awareness to action, building on traditional, science-oriented, environmental education. After conducting extensive scientific habitat assessments on local creeks, students then take direct action to restore critical salmon habitat to improve riparian conditions. Students additionally learn how community partnerships …
A Coastal Health Report Mobilized Community Members To Improve A Marine Environment, Amber Dearden
A Coastal Health Report Mobilized Community Members To Improve A Marine Environment, Amber Dearden
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Howe Sound/Atl’ḵa7tsem is a fjord located close to Vancouver BC, dotted with islands, and home to several communities and many unique marine species. Due to multiple factors including historical industries throughout the fjord and a growing human population with subsequent development, the marine environment became degraded, leading in some cases to population level species impacts. In 2017, an Ocean Watch report was released to summarize the state of Howe Sound/Atl’ḵa7tsem’s coastal ocean environment. The articles contained in the report included recommended actions to improve the marine environment throughout the fjord. These actions were consolidated into an Action Plan containing seven …
A Comparison Of The Vulnerability Of Marine Ecosystems To Anthropogenic Stressors, Jocelyn Nelson
A Comparison Of The Vulnerability Of Marine Ecosystems To Anthropogenic Stressors, Jocelyn Nelson
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Cumulative effects assessments are increasingly required for resource management, marine spatial planning, and ecosystem-based management. A key step in a cumulative effects assessment is to determine the vulnerability of ecosystem components to stressors, which can be achieved through a vulnerability assessment. However, not all studies define vulnerability in the same way, which can lead to variable and incompatible results. For example, while many cumulative impact mapping studies use expert-derived scoring based on the variables of spatial scale, frequency, trophic impact, percentage change, and recovery time (e.g., Teck et al 2010), others, such as DFO’s Ecological Risk Assessment Framework (O et …
A Coastal Restoration Online Toolkit - Helping Non-Professionals Go From Idea To Restoration Project, Elsa Schwartz
A Coastal Restoration Online Toolkit - Helping Non-Professionals Go From Idea To Restoration Project, Elsa Schwartz
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Staff at public agencies and non-profit organizations often receive phone calls or applications from individuals outside the professional restoration community (e.g. NGOs, municipalities, or individuals) who have a sincere desire to restore local habitats, but have difficulties figuring out where to begin. Restore America’s Estuaries has developed an online “Toolkit” to support coastal residents and citizen scientists who identify problems with their local coastal environment and have an interest in transforming the idea into a project. The Toolkit enables community members who aspire to improve their local ecosystem, but who need the information and guidance to go from project idea, …
A Controlled Designation Of Origin Should Be Created For The Salish Sea, Riley Starks
A Controlled Designation Of Origin Should Be Created For The Salish Sea, Riley Starks
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
SalishCenter.org seeks to create a geographical destination called Salish Sea Certified. This controlled designation signifies that seafood harvested within the geographical boundaries of the Salish Sea, qualifies to be designated as such. We are currently working with government and stakeholders to accomplish this important goal. We believe that informed consumers will soon recognize the benefits of seafood harvested from local waters, and in turn, will be motivated to protect and improve the ecosystem of the Salish Sea. Our strong messaging and education strategy will give consumers an opportunity to develop a deep and meaningful relationship with local marine waters.
A Baseline Of Seasonal Changes In The At Sea Distribution And Abundance Of Marine Birds Near Shipping Lanes Around Southern Vancouver Island., Douglas Bertram
A Baseline Of Seasonal Changes In The At Sea Distribution And Abundance Of Marine Birds Near Shipping Lanes Around Southern Vancouver Island., Douglas Bertram
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Baseline information on marine distribution and abundance of marine birds and their prey populations is needed to evaluate current status in relation to threats from potential increases in tanker traffic near Southern Vancouver Island. We conducted year round (bi-trimonthly) boat-based, at-sea surveys between Sidney BC and Victoria BC from November 2015 - November 2019 to examine seasonal variation during the year and between years. Our study area includes parts of the Sidney Channel Important Bird Area, the Shoal Harbour and Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuaries and the Chain Islets Ecological Reserve, which are all close to major shipping lanes. With …
Between Two Worlds Indigenous High School Science Program, Todd Mitchell
Between Two Worlds Indigenous High School Science Program, Todd Mitchell
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Traditional Swinomish culture relies on water dependent livelihoods in the Salish Sea, centered on the Swinomish Reservation near La Conner, Washington. A common saying at Swinomish is “when the tide is out, the table is set”; Subsistence shellfish harvests are common and Swinomish people call themselves the “People of the Salmon.” Without a clear understanding of the interconnectedness of nature, and a sense of stewardship over the land, our natural resources and traditional lifeways may be threatened. Between Two Worlds is a youth education program to give Swinomish high school students a greater appreciation of the land and environment and …
Assessing The Statistical Similarity Of Port Susan Bay Restoration And Reference Sites, Madison Hoiland
Assessing The Statistical Similarity Of Port Susan Bay Restoration And Reference Sites, Madison Hoiland
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Climate change and human interactions pose significant threats for the health of estuaries. In 2012 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) removed a dike at the mouth of the Stillaguamish river to restore ecosystem functioning and resilience to climate change. Monitoring reference zones is critical for contextualizing growth patterns in complicated systems like estuaries. The purpose of this study was to determine which reference zones were most similar to the restoration zone in Port Susan Bay. Using bulrush measurements collected during my internship with TNC, I used an excel T test to assess statistical similarity between zones based on the means of …
Climate Change Threatens Net Energy Uptake, Maturation, And Reproduction Of Pacific Sand Lance (Ammodytes Personatus) In The Central Salish Sea, Russel Barsh
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Juvenile Pacific Herring and Pacific Sand Lance (PSL) are the main prey of juvenile Chinook salmon migrating seaward through the San Juan Islands. Herring and Sand Lance also dominate the diet of resident Chinook (“Blackmouth”) that undoubtedly played an important historical role in the evolution of resident Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) lineages. Many Salish Sea marine birds target Pacific Herring or Pacific Sand Lance as well. Pacific Sand Lance abundance fluctuates considerably in the central Salish Sea, with an overall downward trend since 2009. The role of this forage fish in the Chinook-Killer Whale food web, and survival of many …
Building A Habitat Suitability Index For Olympia Oyster Restoration, Charlotte Dohrn
Building A Habitat Suitability Index For Olympia Oyster Restoration, Charlotte Dohrn
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) are the only oyster species native to the west coast of North America. Historical overharvest and environmental stressors have reduced the current population to less than 5% of historic numbers throughout Puget Sound. Restoring native oysters is a priority in Puget Sound and coastwide; oysters provide ecosystem services and may provide critical elements of resilience in coastal ecosystems under changing ocean conditions. The Puget Sound Restoration Fund and partners have been restoring Olympia oysters in Puget Sound for two decades. To support restoration planning, we developed a habitat suitability index model to identify optimal locations for …
Effect Of Diluted Bitumen On The Survival, Physiology, And Behavior Of The Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata) And Relevance To Birds Of The Salish Sea, Elizabeth Ruberg
Effect Of Diluted Bitumen On The Survival, Physiology, And Behavior Of The Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata) And Relevance To Birds Of The Salish Sea, Elizabeth Ruberg
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Given the ongoing and potential increases in shipment of diluted bitumen (dilbit) out of the port of Vancouver, there is a need for toxicity data to assess the impact of catastrophic dilbit spillage on wildlife, particularly in the Salish Sea. Peer reviewed literature on dilbit toxicity is limited to teleost fish, despite the importance of coastal waters as habitat for a diverse bird fauna, including listed species. In this study we used the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) as a tractable, avian model system for preliminary studies on Cold Lake blend dilbit. Objectives were to 1) determine appropriate methods of establishing …
Coastal Stream And Embayment Restoration Priorities Along The Bnsf Railroad: Results And Future Action, Phil Bloch
Coastal Stream And Embayment Restoration Priorities Along The Bnsf Railroad: Results And Future Action, Phil Bloch
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The railroad right-of-way is a prominent modification along the eastern shore of the Washington portion of the Salish Sea. It runs along 52 miles of the shoreline, while another 73 miles of railroad is within 200 feet of the shoreline. In many places, the railroad forms a barrier between the coastal watershed and the shoreline, preventing the delivery of water, sediment, wood, and organic matter to the nearshore. This results in ongoing degradation of the habitat quality of the nearshore environment, which is important habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon and other salmonids. Because nearshore restoration along the railroad is expensive …
Effects Of Local Topography On Streamflow And Stream Temperatures In Fish-Bearing Mountainous Streams Under A Warming Climate, Ryan David Murphy
Effects Of Local Topography On Streamflow And Stream Temperatures In Fish-Bearing Mountainous Streams Under A Warming Climate, Ryan David Murphy
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Western Washington is home to many indigenous tribal communities that have relied on the bountiful natural resources of the region for many hundreds of years. Mountainous watersheds provide valuable fish habitat for culturally and economically important fish species, such as salmonids. Given the historically temperate weather of the Pacific Northwest that is characterized by large amounts of both rainfall and snowfall, concern has grown over the effects that a warming climate might have on freshwater fish habitat. We use the high resolution Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) and coupled stream temperature River Basin Model (RBM) to examine the potential …
Effects Of Shoreline Armoring On Physical Beach Characteristics In The Salish Sea, Wa, Hannah Drummond
Effects Of Shoreline Armoring On Physical Beach Characteristics In The Salish Sea, Wa, Hannah Drummond
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Increasing coastal development makes it vitally important to understand the shoreline’s response to anthropogenic modifications. We compared physical beach characteristics from adjacent sections of armored and unarmored shoreline at a variety of locations in the Salish Sea in order to assess the effects of armoring on beach morphology. Ten reaches, each a minimum of 500 meters in length, were selected from locations sampled with boat-based LiDAR collected by the Washington Department of Ecology Coastal Monitoring & Analysis Program. Cross-shore profiles were generated for each reach at 10-meter intervals alongshore. On each profile, estimates of beach slope, width, and toe elevation …
Elliott Bay Seawall Habitat Features -- Initial Monitoring Results For Nearshore Ecosystem, Merri Martz
Elliott Bay Seawall Habitat Features -- Initial Monitoring Results For Nearshore Ecosystem, Merri Martz
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The City of Seattle is completing the replacement of the Elliott Bay Seawall along its downtown urban waterfront that included the installation of numerous unique features to enhance the nearshore marine shoreline for salmon migration and to improve nearshore productivity and the food web. The urbanized waterfront is constrained by numerous large piers that shade the nearshore and adjacent deep water from a historical legacy of filling in the nearshore. Key issues addressed by the project included improving natural lighting behind and under several large piers and providing an intertidal habitat corridor along the shoreline. This presentation will describe the …
Engaging High School Juniors And Seniors At The Ocean Research College Academy As Researchers In A Two Year Study Of An Estuary In The Salish Sea, Ardi Kveven
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Ocean Research College Academy, an interdisciplinary, two year program at Everett Community College, has been utilizing the Salish Sea as a classroom for the past 16 years. Through embedded localized research in an estuary, enrolled 11th and 12th grade students conduct original research on the State of Possession Sound (SOPS) Project. This project is the backbone of the first year curriculum, where 60 students work collaboratively asking questions and gathering water quality data about the local estuary. Students analyze and interpret complex datasets that include temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll concentrations, and turbidity coupled with tidal influence. As …
Connecting Nodes Throughout The Salish Sea: A Bottom-Up Approach To Strengthening Informed Decision-Making, Policy Making, And Marine Spatial Planning, Bridget John
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Salish Sea is an intricate coastal region that faces myriad anthropogenic challenges. With ocean acidification and warming, an expanding human population, and marine shipping traffic, it is clear that this biologically rich ecosystem requires tools and strategies that link science to policy and conservation actions. One of the core problems in the vast Salish Sea is a lack of connectivity and continuity across communities that conduct research, restoration, and marine spatial planning (MSP): often communities develop plans and policies in silos without sharing information or methods outside of their tight jurisdictions. The Howe Sound/Atl’ka7tsem Marine Reference Guide offers an …
Habitat Recovery In The Salish Sea, One Community At A Time: Community Engagement For Socio-Ecological Resilience Of Coastal Restoration Projects, Anuradha Rao
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Community engagement builds both social and ecological resilience of restoration projects. This is particularly true in coastal areas, which are complex both ecologically and socially. The Salish Sea Nearshore Habitat Recovery Program builds on 20 years of community building towards coastal ecosystem restoration on the south coast of British Columbia, Canada. Funding was obtained by a small non-profit organization for seagrass and marine riparian restoration, and marine debris removal to support forage fish and juvenile salmon habitat recovery. The engagement and involvement of a broad community including Indigenous groups, coastal residents, all levels of government, academics and industry has resulted …
Harmful Algal Species In The Central Basin Of Puget Sound: Seasonal Bloom Patterns Analyzed Via Flowcam Technology, Lyndsey Swanson
Harmful Algal Species In The Central Basin Of Puget Sound: Seasonal Bloom Patterns Analyzed Via Flowcam Technology, Lyndsey Swanson
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The Central Basin of Washington State’s Puget Sound is part of the larger estuarine system known as the Salish Sea. Long-term monitoring of this basin by King County has produced a robust dataset through the year-round collection of a suite of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. A phytoplankton monitoring program was established in 2008 using traditional microscopy methods and in 2014 a particle imaging system was added to the program. Complex interplay among a number of environmental factors contribute to the distribution and magnitude of annual phytoplankton blooms within the estuary, which regularly include several species considered potentially harmful because …
Identifying Cumulative Impact Thresholds: Implications For Marine Spatial Planning, Selina Agbayani
Identifying Cumulative Impact Thresholds: Implications For Marine Spatial Planning, Selina Agbayani
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Cumulative impact mapping can be a useful tool for marine spatial planning because the results can identify discrete areas in which ecosystems, habitats, or species are most affected by stressors associated with human activities. This information can help planners and managers prioritize areas for management, identify pristine areas for protection and degraded areas for restoration, and can be included as a cost layer in tradeoff analyses. A key challenge in using cumulative impact mapping in marine spatial planning is the issue of identifying appropriate thresholds for distinguishing the status of areas. To date, the interpretation of cumulative impact mapping model …
Juniorseadoctors.Org, Club And Hub For Salish Sea-Based Education, Mira Castle Lutz Castle
Juniorseadoctors.Org, Club And Hub For Salish Sea-Based Education, Mira Castle Lutz Castle
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
SeaDoc Society youth education is raising Salish Sea literacy in youth and helping teachers meet science standards in a 3-part program: • Explore the Salish Sea A Nature Guide for Kids book and accompanying standards-aligned curriculum. Curriculum is being used in grades 3-8 classrooms, and also by marine education programs, who find that students who experience Explore the Salish Sea books and curriculum before a field experience have higher levels of enthusiasm and engagement during their program. • Junior SeaDoctors Club and Hub • Club For Kids: an online Salish Sea science club for kids in grades 3-8 with featured …
Large Woody Debris Protects Woody Plants From Browsing In Restoration Following Elwha Dam Removal., Caelan Johnson
Large Woody Debris Protects Woody Plants From Browsing In Restoration Following Elwha Dam Removal., Caelan Johnson
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The increasing number of dams approaching the end of their useful lives compels a need for knowledge about how to conduct riparian restoration associated with dam removal. One of the most difficult challenges following dam removal is restoring native vegetation to drained reservoir beds, which can be impeded by ungulate browsing. Woody plant growth can be slow in dry nutrient-poor reservoir sediment, and browsing can impede forest establishment further. We evaluated the potential for large woody debris (LWD) to limit ungulate browsing on riparian trees and shrubs following dam removal in the Elwha ecosystem. We studied LWD mitigation of browsing …
Fungi Distribution In The Elwha Restoration Ecosystem, Colter Lemons
Fungi Distribution In The Elwha Restoration Ecosystem, Colter Lemons
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Fungi distribution in the Elwha restoration ecosystem Colter Lemons, Mary Childress Huxley College of the Environment Western Washington University Bellingham, Washington USA Abstract Fungi play important roles in forest restoration, however, factors affecting fungal species composition and distribution are unknown for restoration associated with dam removal. The need for this information is pressing as the number of dams approaching the end of their useful lives grows rapidly. This study aimed to answer what environmental factors influence fungal distribution in the Elwha restoration ecosystem, the largest dam removal in history. Fungal distributions were sampled in two Elwha study areas: the largest …
Investigating The Presence And Trophic Transfer Of Microplastics In Ex- And In-Situ North American Otters Through Scat And Diet Analysis, Jennifer Brocklin Van
Investigating The Presence And Trophic Transfer Of Microplastics In Ex- And In-Situ North American Otters Through Scat And Diet Analysis, Jennifer Brocklin Van
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
While an increasing number of studies have examined the presence and effects of microplastics in aquatic organisms like invertebrates and fish, there is still a dearth of knowledge about their impact on mammals in higher trophic levels. Both sea and river otters act as valuable indicators of ecosystem health and consume prey items that have been shown to contain microplastics. As such, we are investigating the ingestion of microplastics by sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in the North Pacific using scat. Our study includes samples from ex-situ and in-situ individuals and also analyzes otter …
Microplastics Analysis And Quantification Of Benthic Sediments Of The Salish Sea, Margaret Baer
Microplastics Analysis And Quantification Of Benthic Sediments Of The Salish Sea, Margaret Baer
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Plastic marine debris presence in marine ecosystems is becoming a growing issue. Microplastics are any polymer with long axes between 0.33 to 5 mm. This material is an emerging concern because they are persistent in the environment and can build up in bed sediments, potentially creating sinks in important ecosystems such as the Salish Sea. This study will focus on determining the location, abundance, and types of microplastics in Salish Sea sediments by analyzing sediment samples provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program. This research team processed and analyzed samples from 22 stations from …
Mapping The Cysts Of Alexandrium Catenella In The Surface Sediments Of Puget Sound: A Comparison Of Microscopy And Molecular Methods For Enumeration, Cheryl Greengrove
Mapping The Cysts Of Alexandrium Catenella In The Surface Sediments Of Puget Sound: A Comparison Of Microscopy And Molecular Methods For Enumeration, Cheryl Greengrove
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Preliminary results from a newly funded NOAA NCCOS MERHAB project developing new molecular methods for detecting Alexandrium catenella cyst concentrations in marine sediments will be presented. A. catenella is a dinoflagellate that produces saxitoxin, a powerful neurotoxin, that can be concentrated in filter feeding shellfish which, if ingested by humans, can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning and potentially death. A. catenella overwinters as a cyst in the sediment and when environmental conditions are right, in the spring and summer, germinates into the water column as a vegetative cell. Previous studies have mapped the winter distribution of A. catenella cysts in …
Mapping Waves And Storm Surge For Coastal Resilience In The Salish Sea, Zhaoqing Yang
Mapping Waves And Storm Surge For Coastal Resilience In The Salish Sea, Zhaoqing Yang
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Pacific Northwest coasts are exposed to coastal inundation as a result of storm surge and large waves induced by extreme weather events. Accurate coastal risk projections depend on detailed and accurate information on sea level rise, including waves and storm surge under extreme weather events. This paper presents a modeling study simulating the wave climate and storm surge distribution in the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea wave model is configured with the SWAN model, driven by spectral open boundary conditions from the nested regional WaveWatch3 models and sea surface winds from a 6-km resolution Weather Research and Forecasting simulation. A …
Measuring The Effectiveness Of Seattle’S Seawall Enhancements On Juvenile Salmon-An Acoustic Perspective, Kerry Accola
Measuring The Effectiveness Of Seattle’S Seawall Enhancements On Juvenile Salmon-An Acoustic Perspective, Kerry Accola
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Seattle’s waterfront is a key migration route for juvenile Pacific salmon including: Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and chum (Oncorhynchus keta). The hardwired tendency of these salmon to inhabit nearshore waters results in close association with coastline urbanization, including piers and seawalls. Part of Seattle’s seawall was replaced in 2018 with enhancements intended to aid the movement and distribution of juvenile salmon. These enhancements include: light-penetrating glass blocks in the overhanging sidewalk to decrease shade in the water below, a bench along the seawall to restore shallow water depths, and textured seawall and shelves for invertebrate colonization. The objective …
Monitoring Coccolithophore Blooms In Hood Canal, Seth Book
Monitoring Coccolithophore Blooms In Hood Canal, Seth Book
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
The re-occurrence of bloom observations of coccolithophores, Emiliania huxleyi, that were seen in the Hood Canal from 2006-2008 and resurfaced in 2016-2019 have raised concerns about adverse effects on marine shellfish resources. Crab and shrimp test fishery and catch data, together with observations of intertidal clam and oyster populations have raised the alarm with the tribal community and resource managers that the blooms adversely impacts these resources. The Skokomish Tribe has been collecting oceanographic, environmental and biological data to understand the possible causes and effects of the recurring events of the coccolithophore blooms in Hood Canal. Canal-specific oceanographic data compiled …
Never Underestimate A Well-Placed Poop Joke: Getting To The Bottom Of Water Quality Problems With A Fresh Take On Outreach, Karen Dubose
Never Underestimate A Well-Placed Poop Joke: Getting To The Bottom Of Water Quality Problems With A Fresh Take On Outreach, Karen Dubose
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Skagit County has been working hard to get to the bottom of local water quality problems. After 8 years, we faced a problem: our messaging had gotten stale and our progress was...a little backed up. Using the theory of social marketing, the county worked with a consultant to develop a campaign with a sense of humor that leaves out the lectures and respects our residents’ limited time and money. The PoopSmart campaign channels everyone’s inner five year old, using poop jokes to encourage everyone to do their dooty to manage livestock, pet, and human waste better. The results? A measurable …