Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |

Time 2020-07-03 17:04:26

Web Name: Encyclopedia of Puget Sound |

WebSite: http://www.eopugetsound.org

ID:18077

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FEATUREDHow to plan a clam gardenThe revival of an Indigenous aquaculture practice has come to the southern Salish Sea. Clam gardens could help First Nations in British Columbia and Washington address issues of climate change and food sustainability.News by @EoPugetSoundKEYWORDSAction AgendaAdaptive managementAlgaeAmphibiansAquatic reservesB-IBIBald eaglesBallard LocksBiennial Science Work PlanBiofilmBirdsBivalvesCirculationClimate changeContaminants of emerging concernCountiesDiseaseDungeness crabsEcoregionsEcosystem-based managementEcosystem servicesEelgrassEnvironmental justiceEstuarine habitatEyes Over Puget SoundFishesFloodplainsFood webForage fishFreshwater habitatGeographyGreen crabsHarbor porpoiseHarbor sealsHarmful algal bloomsHealthy human populationHerringHistoryHuman quality of lifeHypoxiaImplementation StrategiesInvasive speciesInvertebratesJellyfishKelpKiller whalesMammalsMarine birdsMarine debrisMarine habitatMarine Protected AreasMarine Waters OverviewModelingMonitoringNational Estuary ProgramNearshore habitatNoiseNutrient pollutionOcean acidificationOil spillsPersistent contaminantsPhysical environmentPlantsPuget Sound boundariesPuget Sound Fact BookPuget Sound Pressures AssessmentPuget Sound UpdateReptilesResilienceRockfishSalish SeaSalish Sea Currents magazineSalish Sea Ecosystem ConferenceSalmonidsSea-star wasting diseaseSea level riseSewage and fecal pollutionShellfishShoreline armoringSocial scienceSpecies and food websSpecies of concernState of the SoundStormwaterSummer stream flowsTerrestrial habitatTidal energyToxic contaminantsTraditional ecological knowledgeTribesVital SignsWater qualityWater quantityWater Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA)Watershed hydrologic unit codes (HUC)WatershedsZooplanktonRECENT ARTICLES6/17/2020A seed bank for the seaIdentifying kelp stocks that are tolerant of warmer waters could help the Salish Sea’s iconic underwater forests survive climate change.Climate change, Species and food webs, Algae, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Kelp, Implementation Strategies, Salish Sea Currents magazine6/9/2020New Seattle seawall improves migratory pathway for young salmonDesign innovations at the new seawall along Seattle's waterfront could inspire improvements for other shoreline structures around Puget Sound. They may even encourage broader regulatory changes that enhance habitat for migrating salmon and other species. Physical environment, Species and food webs, Fishes, Salish Sea, Implementation Strategies, Salmonids, Shoreline armoring6/2/2020Delicious and now endangered: Can the pinto abalone make a comeback? The pinto abalone was a popular sport catch for divers in the Salish Sea until its numbers plummeted to near extinction. Now, the delicious marine snail is on the endangered species list and the focus of an ambitious hatchery and replanting program. A broad coalition of partners has released more than 20,000 young pintos into the wild with the hope that the population will start to rebound.Species and food webs, Invertebrates, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Implementation Strategies, Shellfish, Species of concern5/21/2020Search for invasive green crab continues during pandemicThe state's stay-at-home order has halted much of the field research that would normally be underway in Puget Sound this spring, but a small group of scientists and volunteers have been able to continue their search for an invading marauder along the shoreline. Their work has been classified as critical by the state.Species and food webs, Invertebrates, Nearshore habitat, Green crabs, Salish Sea, Implementation Strategies, Invasive species5/18/2020Causes of mortality in a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) population at equilibriumA 2020 article in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science looks at harbor seal stranding and necropsy findings in the San Juan Islands to assess age-related stranding trends and causes of mortality. The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) population in the Salish Sea has been at equilibrium since the mid-1990s. This stable population of marine mammals resides relatively close to shore near a large human population and offers a novel opportunity to evaluate whether disease acts in a density-dependent manner to limit population growth.Species and food webs, Mammals, Harbor seals, Disease5/14/2020Fire danger returning to Western WashingtonThe National Weather Service is predicting a warmer and drier than average summer this year in Washington, prompting officials to brace for an early start to the fire season. Historically, the eastern part of the state has seen the largest impacts from fires, but climate change is now increasing the risk west of the Cascades. That could have big implications for many rural communities throughout Western Washington, including the Puget Sound region.Climate change, Human quality of life, Terrestrial habitat, Implementation Strategies, Salish Sea Currents magazine5/11/2020Warm-water ‘blobs’ significantly diminish salmon, other fish populations, study saysIt’s no secret that salmon and other Northwest fish populations are expected to shrink as a result of a warming Pacific Ocean. But a new study suggests that the resulting decline in commercial fishing by 2050 could be twice as great as previously estimated by climate scientists.Climate change, Water quality, Fishes, Marine habitat, Estuarine habitat, Salmonids5/5/2020Nooksack River Transboundary Technical Collaboration Group 2018-2019 Annual ReportThe Nooksack River watershed spans part of the border between British Columbia and the State of Washington. In August 2018, the international, multi-agency Nooksack River Transboundary Technical Collaboration Group was established to implement a three-year work plan to reduce fecal bacteria concentrations in the Nooksack River watershed. As a work plan deliverable, the group produced this annual report summarizing first year project activities.Water quality, Watersheds, Monitoring, Sewage and fecal pollution4/28/2020Voices Unbound: Enviro-AmplifyWhat do people really mean when they talk about the environment? A new podcast asks regular citizens a simple, but charged question: "What are the environmental challenges that are most important to you?" The answers to that question drive this engaging podcast in sometimes unexpected directions, from the environmental impacts of being homeless, to air quality, to wide-ranging discussions about environmental justice. Social science, Environmental justice4/18/2020Earth Day events go online because of virusParticipants in this year’s Earth Day activities won’t be rallying in large groups, participating in environmental festivals or coming together to clean up the Earth. On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day — April 21st — the environmental movement will be uniquely digital, with many people celebrating from their home computers. [This story is reprinted from the Puget Sound Institute-sponsored blog 'Our Water Ways.']Climate change, Water quality, Healthy human population, Human quality of life, Species and food webs4/10/2020Pathogens Prevention Reduction and Control 5-6 (PC-00J88801) Final ReportThe Pathogens Prevention Reduction and Control agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Health focuses on the prevention and reduction of pathogen pollution in Puget Sound through the management of human and animal waste. The primary objectives of the agreement include restoring shellfish growing areas, avoiding shellfish closures, and protecting people from disease.Water quality, Invertebrates, Nearshore habitat, National Estuary Program, Vital Signs, Bivalves, Shellfish, Monitoring, Sewage and fecal pollution, Disease4/3/2020Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - March 16, 2020After a wet January, precipitation has been low and air temperatures have been cooler.  As a result, rivers gages are lower than expected, a pattern that has continued since last year. In March we approached the coldest water temperatures of the year. Herring are spawning in Port Madison. Although these cool temperatures are good for herring, temperatures are close to the survival limits for anchovies. If you can handle these temperatures, now is a good time to go diving to benefit of good underwater visibility, just avoid windy days near wave-exposed beaches. If you are lucky, you might see the kelp humpback shrimp, a master of camouflage.Water quality, Algae, Fishes, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Estuarine habitat, Monitoring, Herring, Forage fish3/21/2020Social scientists analyze public reactions to orca crisis Social scientists at Oregon State University have been analyzing a trove of more than 17,000 public comments sent to the Washington state governor's southern resident orca recovery task force. The researchers have added the comments to a keyword database to look at public emotions and perceptions around the issue of orca declines.Social science, Species and food webs, Mammals, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Killer whales, Species of concern3/17/2020A conversation with Ocean Outbreak author Drew HarvellWhen Cornell University ecologist Drew Harvell wrote her book "Ocean Outbreak," she couldn't have known that 2020 would be the year of COVID-19. But even as people around the world grapple with the effects of that disease, scientists are keeping watch on potential disasters from viruses and other pathogens for species in the world's oceans. As the oceans warm due to climate change, scientists expect incidences of disease to increase in marine ecosystems including the Salish Sea. We asked Harvell about her new book and the need to address this rising challenge.Climate change, Species and food webs, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Disease3/13/2020Digging the mighty geoduck: A history of Puget Sound s boss clam The geoduck has earned an honored place as Puget Sound's largest and most distinctive native clam, but how much do we really know about it? Often seen as a culinary curiosity, the geoduck has only been commercially harvested on a large scale since the 1970s, and the clam's current popularity is based mostly on demand from Asian markets. Nevertheless, this deep-burrowing mollusk has always been a signature part of the Salish Sea ecosystem. Species and food webs, Invertebrates, Nearshore habitat, Salish Sea, Bivalves, Shellfish, Implementation Strategies, Tribes3/10/2020Virus related to measles could push Puget Sound orcas to extinction, study says Researchers studying the killer whales that frequent Puget Sound are growing increasingly concerned that a dangerous virus or other disease-causing organism could spread through the population and hasten extinction of these critically endangered southern resident orcas.Species and food webs, Mammals, Marine habitat, Vital Signs, Disease, Killer whales, Species of concern3/5/2020Warming ocean conditions fuel viruses among species in the Salish SeaAs officials struggle to track and contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, ecologists say widespread impacts from viruses and other pathogens are also a growing threat to the species of the Salish Sea ecosystem.Climate change, Species and food webs, Fishes, Marine habitat, Vital Signs, Sea-star wasting disease, Disease, Salmonids, Species of concern2/26/2020Puget Sound s warm snow’ makes region vulnerable to climate shiftsClimate models project that if carbon emmisions continue as they are now, the vast majority of watersheds feeding Puget Sound will receive more rain and far less snow by 2080, causing increased flooding and other dramatic changes to the freshwater ecosystem. We look at the past and possible future of the region's snowpack and what this might mean for salmon and other species — including humans. Climate change, Physical environment, Water quantity, Fishes, Freshwater habitat, Terrestrial habitat, Summer stream flows, Implementation Strategies, Salmonids, Species of concern1/15/2020Air contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs, undermine the health of Puget SoundHigh levels of mercury and other toxic chemicals are showing up in seemingly remote and pristine parts of the Puget Sound watershed, the result of atmospheric deposition. Scientists talk about a “dome” of pollution hanging over urban areas, leading to a never-ending cycle of persistent compounds working their way through the air, onto the land and into the water.Species and food webs, Birds, Fishes, Invertebrates, Marine habitat, Freshwater habitat, Estuarine habitat, Toxic contaminants, Salish Sea, Implementation Strategies, Food web, Contaminants of emerging concern, Persistent contaminants, Stormwater, Monitoring1/8/2020Eyes Over Puget Sound: 2019 Year in ReviewThe Washington State Department of Ecology has prepared a summary review of its Eyes Over Puget Sound surface condition reports from 2019. The year started with snow, and a summer drought kept river flows low. As a result, salinities in Puget Sound were elevated year round. Warmer surface water temperatures in spring gradually extended to greater depth by late summer. The spring bloom was strong, and South Sound provided optimal conditions for anchovies that showed up in high numbers. A coccolithophore bloom stained Hood Canal turquoise, and Port Angeles and Discovery Bay were colored red-brown by strong blooms. Noctiluca and macroalgae, both known eutrophication indicators in coastal regions, were abundant in Central Sound, and extended into South Sound and Whidbey Basin. Large numbers of jellyfish occurred in Quartermaster Harbor, Sinclair Inlet, and parts of Orcas Island.Water quantity, Water quality, Algae, Fishes, Marine habitat, Eyes Over Puget Sound1/6/2020Status and trends of harbor porpoises in the Salish SeaHarbor porpoises declined dramatically in the Salish Sea in the 1970s but their populations have since rebounded, increasing by more than 10% per year in recent decades. A 2020 report for the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound examines harbor porpoise status and trends, natural history and recent policy considerations for the species.Species and food webs, Mammals, Marine habitat, Estuarine habitat, Harbor porpoise, Salish Sea12/15/2019Rate of ocean acidification may accelerate, scientists warnLast summer, scientists met at the University of Washington to address alarming findings concerning the rapid acidification of the world's oceans. Experts at that symposium warned that wildlife in the Salish Sea, from salmon to shellfish, may start to see significant effects from changing water chemistry within the next 10 to 20 years. This article summarizes the symposium's key findings and was commissioned and edited by the Washington Ocean Acidification Center which hosted the gathering. Funds for the article were provided by the Washington state legislature. [A version of this article was originally published by the Washington Ocean Acidification Center.]Climate change, Water quality, Species and food webs, Algae, Fishes, Invertebrates, Marine habitat, Ocean acidification, Dungeness crabs, Salmonids, Shellfish, Bivalves, Zooplankton, Herring, Eelgrass12/6/2019A health check for seabirdsScientists are still trying to understand what caused the deaths of thousands of rhinoceros auklets in the Salish Sea in 2016. Some studies point to disease as a central factor in that incident and potentially other large seabird die-offs along the coast. That is prompting a deeper look at what makes these birds sick, and how local populations are faring. We followed a group of researchers as they gave a health checkup to a breeding colony of rhinoceros auklets on Protection Island.Species and food webs, Birds, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Aquatic reserves, Oil spills, Vital Signs, Salish Sea, Marine birds, Implementation Strategies, Disease, Monitoring12/5/2019Genetic composition and conservation status of coastal cutthroat trout in the San Juan Islands, WashingtonThe watersheds of Washington’s San Juan Islands were thought to be too small to support wild salmonid populations, and many streams flow only seasonally. But a 2019 article in the journal Conservation Genetics reports that at least five watersheds in the region support populations of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki). Genetic analysis of the cutthroat trout in three of the watersheds suggest two support native populations. The findings are important for understanding the conservation status of these previously unknown populations. Species and food webs, Fishes, Nearshore habitat, Freshwater habitat, Watersheds, Salish Sea, Salmonids12/3/20192019 State of the Sound ReportThe 2019 State of the Sound is the Puget Sound Partnership’s sixth biennial report to the Legislature on progress toward the recovery of Puget Sound by 2020. The document reports on both the status of the Partnership's recovery efforts and the status of a suite of ecosystem indicators.Ecosystem-based management, State of the Sound, Selected publications11/25/2019Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - October 30, 2019After a dry early summer followed by more than expected rain, rivers mostly remained lower than in 2018. In October air temperatures dropped, but water temperatures remained warm enough for spawning anchovies in South and Central Sound and herring and salmon optimal growth in Whidbey Basin. By the end of October many red-brown blooms vanished, yet the waters of South Sound are still green, adorned with rafts of organic debris in many places. Read what happened the year before in the Puget Sound Marine Waters 2018 Overview.Water quantity, Water quality, Algae, Fishes, Marine habitat, Marine debris, Eyes Over Puget Sound, Jellyfish11/22/2019Kelp crisis? Decline of underwater forests raises alarmsThey rival tropical forests in their richness and diversity, but Puget Sound's kelp beds have declined steeply in recent decades. Scientists are just starting to understand the extent of these losses. What they are finding is bringing kelp to the forefront of Puget Sound's environmental concerns.Climate change, Species and food webs, Algae, Marine habitat, Kelp, Salish Sea, Implementation Strategies, Food web, Rockfish, Monitoring, Tribes11/13/20192018 Puget Sound Marine Waters OverviewA new report from the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program says climate change altered the base of Puget Sound's food web in 2018, diminishing microscopic phytoplankton necessary for marine life. Scientists also observed lower abundances of fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.Climate change, Water quality, Species and food webs, Algae, Birds, Mammals, Fishes, Invertebrates, Marine habitat, Estuarine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Marine birds, Circulation, Bivalves, Forage fish, Monitoring, Hypoxia, Herring, Marine Waters Overview11/5/2019The occurrence of heavy metals in harbor seals of the San Juan IslandsA 2019 article in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases looked at trace element concentrations of heavy metals in the livers of harbor seals that died and stranded in the San Juan Islands. The study indicated exposure to trace elements (naturally occurring, human-introduced, or both) in the Salish Sea; however, the study reports that trace element toxicity is not a major threat to harbor seal health.Species and food webs, Mammals, Marine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Toxic contaminants, Harbor seals, Salish Sea10/24/2019Status and trends for West Coast transient (Bigg’s) killer whales in the Salish SeaOfficially known as West Coast transients but increasingly referred to as Bigg’s killer whales, these marine mammal-eating orcas (Orcinus orca) are spending increasing time in the Salish Sea to consume their marine mammal prey including harbor seals, Steller sea lions, and harbor and Dall’s porpoise. They range from Southeast Alaska to California, but over the last 15 years more members of the population are spending increasing time in the inland waters of Washington State and British Columbia (Houghton et al. 2015, Shields et al. 2018). They have no predators (except perhaps occasionally other Bigg’s killer whales - see Towers et al. 2018), but are at risk from anthropogenic effects, including toxics and noise pollution (Ford et al. 2007).Species and food webs, Mammals, Marine habitat, Salish Sea, Killer whalesFind more articles

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