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Articles 1171 - 1200 of 2456

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

A Restoration And Climate Change Resiliency Monitoring Program For Coastal Bc Estuaries, Connie L. Miller Retzer, Thomas G. Reid, Peter K. Dekoning Apr 2018

A Restoration And Climate Change Resiliency Monitoring Program For Coastal Bc Estuaries, Connie L. Miller Retzer, Thomas G. Reid, Peter K. Dekoning

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Englishman River estuary and associated habitats, on the south east coast of Vancouver Island, has long been recognized as an important and productive ecosystem, supporting more than 250 bird species, all seven species of Pacific salmon, forage fish, at-risk plant communities and many other fish and wildlife species. The estuary is located within the Parksville/Qualicum Wildlife Management Area and is managed through the collaborative efforts of several ENGOs and government agencies. Last year, 2017, marked the first-year of a five-year restoration and monitoring program which aims to re-establish natural estuarine circulation patterns and restore intertidal and upland marsh habitat. …

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Puget Sound Shoreline Inventory And Assessment Using Boat-Based Lidar, George M. Kaminsky, Alice Henderson, Heather Weiner, Hannah Drummond Apr 2018

Puget Sound Shoreline Inventory And Assessment Using Boat-Based Lidar, George M. Kaminsky, Alice Henderson, Heather Weiner, Hannah Drummond

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Boat-based lidar of Puget Sound shorelines collected by the Washington State Department of Ecology are developed to provide a comprehensive inventory, classification, and analyses of site conditions and variability. For example, quantitative metrics of shoreline characteristics are derived from DEMs such as bluff crest height, bluff slope, bluff toe elevation, beach slope, and shoreline armoring elevations. These metrics can then be compiled and compared within and among drift cells to determine regional variability such as differences between updrift and downdrift beaches and the effect of fetch, orientation, and other exposure variables. Certain features can also be correlated to characterize how …

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The Impact Of Water Column Mixing In A Salt Wedge Estuary, Joshua Johnson Apr 2018

The Impact Of Water Column Mixing In A Salt Wedge Estuary, Joshua Johnson

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Puget Sound is a complex estuarine system within the Salish Sea, fed by both high salinity water from the Pacific Ocean and freshwater from a number of rivers. The Snohomish River is one of the largest of these inputs, transporting freshwater from the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers to Port Gardner Bay off the coast of Everett. At its mouth, the higher density salt water from the Puget Sound intrudes into the freshwater, forming a salt wedge that causes a highly stratified water column which rapidly changes with the tidal cycle. In this highly stratified water column, little mixing occurs …

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Ecological Effects Of Overwater Structures On Subtidal Kelp, Northern Puget Sound, Washington, E. Jhanek Szypulski, Anthony Gabriel, Cinde Donoghue Apr 2018

Ecological Effects Of Overwater Structures On Subtidal Kelp, Northern Puget Sound, Washington, E. Jhanek Szypulski, Anthony Gabriel, Cinde Donoghue

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Subtidal kelp, over 20 species in total, are abundant in the Puget Sound but no data exists on how they are impacted by the multitude of overwater structures found there. There are currently over 9,000 overwater structures creating 9 km2 of shade in the Sound. This research quantifies various overwater structures’ impacts on the productivity and distribution of subtidal kelp beds. Three sets of floating docks ranging in size from 35 to 66 m2, located at Deception Pass and Camano Island State Parks, were sampled twice during the summer of 2017. Georeferenced underwater video surveys were conducted by paddling a …

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Elwha River Restoration: Evolution Of Habitats And Nearshore Ecosystems During Large-Scale Dam Removal Project, Marisa Christopher, Seren Weber, David Harvey, Anthony Thompson, Anne Shaffer, Dave Parks, Chris Byrnes, Jamie Michel, Rylee Phillips Apr 2018

Elwha River Restoration: Evolution Of Habitats And Nearshore Ecosystems During Large-Scale Dam Removal Project, Marisa Christopher, Seren Weber, David Harvey, Anthony Thompson, Anne Shaffer, Dave Parks, Chris Byrnes, Jamie Michel, Rylee Phillips

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Located on the North Olympic Peninsula, the Elwha River nearshore is a critical component of the Salish Sea. It is depended on by no fewer than six federally listed salmon species including chum, and numerous forage fish such as surf smelt and sand lance. The Elwha nearshore is impaired ecologically due to extensive shoreline armoring and in-river channelization and dams. The Elwha nearshore is undergoing an unprecedented restoration event with the removal of two large in river dams from September 2011 to 2014, exposing 21 million cubic meters of sediment. According to Foley et al. 2016, as of December 2016, …

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Salmonid Distribution And Abundance In The Context Of Elwha River Dam Removals, Anna Kagley, Kinsey Frick, Kurt L. Fresh, Larry Ward, Jameal Samhouri, Ole Shelton Apr 2018

Salmonid Distribution And Abundance In The Context Of Elwha River Dam Removals, Anna Kagley, Kinsey Frick, Kurt L. Fresh, Larry Ward, Jameal Samhouri, Ole Shelton

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Removal of two dams on the Elwha River, Washington from 2011 to 2014 has begun to restore natural sediment processes to the coastal environment near the river mouth. Since 2006, we have been collecting data on shallow subtidal (nearshore) fish communities near the Elwha River and at reference sites in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to assess fish response to sediment changes resulting from dam removal. Juvenile salmon (Chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon) migrate through this region, which also supports ecologically important forage fish and endemic benthic fauna. Beach seine samples collected annually from April through September from …

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Establishing Deep Benthic Community Reference Stations In Puget Sound, Wendy Eash-Loucks Apr 2018

Establishing Deep Benthic Community Reference Stations In Puget Sound, Wendy Eash-Loucks

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Benthic infauna and epifauna live in intimate contact with the sediment. While often overlooked, they are an important component of the marine benthos and can be a useful indicator of overall environmental and sediment quality. King County routinely monitors benthic infauna near wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls in Puget Sound’s Central Basin concurrent with sediment chemistry monitoring. While chemical concentrations can provide information about potential impacts to biological communities, the species assemblage and abundance of infauna within the benthic community can provide an assessment of actual impacts. To make this assessment, it is imperative to evaluate these data against an …

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Evaluating Methods To Obtain High Resolution Nearshore Bathymetry And Coastal Topography For Puget Sound, George M. Kaminsky, Amanda Hacking, Diana Mccandless, Heather Weiner Apr 2018

Evaluating Methods To Obtain High Resolution Nearshore Bathymetry And Coastal Topography For Puget Sound, George M. Kaminsky, Amanda Hacking, Diana Mccandless, Heather Weiner

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Washington State Department of Ecology Coastal Monitoring & Analysis Program performed a coastal topographic and bathymetric survey of Port Gamble Bay between March 9 and March 28, 2014. Boat-based topographic lidar was collected along the shoreline of the bay and multibeam bathymetric sonar was collected throughout the bay to obtain a seamless topographic-bathymetric surface with complete coverage of Port Gamble Bay. The survey was performed with a R2Sonic 2022 multibeam echosounder, an Optech ILRIS-HD-ER mobile laser scanner, and an Applanix POS MV 320 v5 receiving real-time kinematic positioning corrections. The Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) …

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Using Ferry Monitoring Data To Explore The Importance Of Isotherms On The Winter Survival Of Northern Anchovy In Puget Sound, Suzan Pool, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, S. L. Albertson Apr 2018

Using Ferry Monitoring Data To Explore The Importance Of Isotherms On The Winter Survival Of Northern Anchovy In Puget Sound, Suzan Pool, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, S. L. Albertson

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Salish Sea displays strong seasonality in water temperature which can impose physiological limits on temperature sensitive species. Puget Sound, in winter, relies on ocean water as a heat source whereas in summer, the gradient is reversed. The dynamic exchange of Puget Sound with coastal water dictates the spatial and temporal patterns of isotherms that are relevant to temperature sensitive species. Recent winters with increased water temperature may expand the range of certain species to be able to survive in Puget Sound over the winter. Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) are pelagic spawners and survive in between 8 and 25 °C …

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Developing A Regional Protocol For Photo-Id Of Harbor Porpoise, Phocoena Phocoena, In The Salish Sea Through Transboundary Collaboration, Cindy Elliser, Anna Hall, Katrina Maciver, Marcus Wernicke Apr 2018

Developing A Regional Protocol For Photo-Id Of Harbor Porpoise, Phocoena Phocoena, In The Salish Sea Through Transboundary Collaboration, Cindy Elliser, Anna Hall, Katrina Maciver, Marcus Wernicke

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are one of the most common cetaceans in the Salish Sea. However little is known about this species’ regional and fine-scale habitat use patterns. Photo-identification (photo-ID) is a key tool that has long been used with other cetacean species in the Salish Sea (e.g. Orcinus orca) to understand ecological parameters including site fidelity, habitat use, ranging patterns, and group dynamics. This technique had not previously been applied to Salish Sea harbor porpoise research until 2014 when Pacific Mammal Research (PacMam) initiated a long-term photo-ID study of harbor porpoises off Fidalgo Island, WA. This demonstrated the viability …

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Southern Resident Killer Whales: From Captivity To Conservation, Colleen Weiler, Rob Lott, Erich Hoyt, Deborah Giles, Howard Garrett, Susan Berta, Rein Attemann, Giulia Good-Stefani, Francine Kershaw Apr 2018

Southern Resident Killer Whales: From Captivity To Conservation, Colleen Weiler, Rob Lott, Erich Hoyt, Deborah Giles, Howard Garrett, Susan Berta, Rein Attemann, Giulia Good-Stefani, Francine Kershaw

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The endangered Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) (SRKW) population remains the only killer whale population listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in U.S. waters since it was listed in 2005. In the 1960s and 70s, the population was reduced by approximately 40% following intensive efforts to capture individuals for a growing marine park captivity industry. The first Northwest killer whale census (1974) found just 70 remaining individuals in the SRKW community. This population has struggled to return to pre-capture numbers, and in the face of new threats including prey depletion, toxic contamination, and vessel effects, fewer than …

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Dissolved Cu Concentrations In The Strait Of Georgia: Trends, Speciation, And Accumulation By Local Calanoid Copepods, Bertha Iselle Flores Ruiz, Jack Anthony, Lori-Jon C. Waugh, Cheng Kuang, Roger Francois, Maria T. Maldonado Apr 2018

Dissolved Cu Concentrations In The Strait Of Georgia: Trends, Speciation, And Accumulation By Local Calanoid Copepods, Bertha Iselle Flores Ruiz, Jack Anthony, Lori-Jon C. Waugh, Cheng Kuang, Roger Francois, Maria T. Maldonado

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Most research on the effects of copper (Cu) on marine ecosystems has focused on benthic organisms and Cu concentrations in the sediments. In contrast, little is known about the effects of dissolved copper (dCu) in pelagic food webs. In most marine waters, more than 99.9% of dCu is bound to organic ligands. These ligands diminish dCu toxicity to aquatic organisms by lowering the concentrations of inorganic dCu, the most bioavailable species of Cu. For the past year, we have studied seasonal trends of dCu concentrations in the Strait of Georgia and have measured and characterized its speciation in seawater. Measurements …

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Building Resilience Of Coastal Fishing Communities To Harmful Algal Blooms, Kathleen M. Moore, Stephanie Moore, Stacia Dreyer, Edward Allison, Sunny Jardine, Terrie Klinger, Julia Ekstrom, Anna Varney, Karma C. Norman Apr 2018

Building Resilience Of Coastal Fishing Communities To Harmful Algal Blooms, Kathleen M. Moore, Stephanie Moore, Stacia Dreyer, Edward Allison, Sunny Jardine, Terrie Klinger, Julia Ekstrom, Anna Varney, Karma C. Norman

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Starting in May 2015 a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) of the toxigenic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia occurred along the North American west coast resulting in unsafe levels of domoic acid in seafood. Subsequent fisheries harvest closures were both the longest and the most geographically widespread on record. Fishery-dependent coastal communities were severely impacted, with a fisheries resource disaster declaration occurring for the 2015-16 season of the California Dungeness crab fishery. This research aims to assess the social, cultural and economic impacts of the 2015 HAB event across 17 fishing communities on the US west coast using primary survey data. The survey …

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How Did Large Scale Climate Anomalies Impact 2015 Phytoplankton Blooms In Puget Sound?, Juhi Lafuente, Christopher Krembs, S. L. Albertson, Allison Brownlee, Julia Bos, Laura Hermanson, Mya Keyzers Apr 2018

How Did Large Scale Climate Anomalies Impact 2015 Phytoplankton Blooms In Puget Sound?, Juhi Lafuente, Christopher Krembs, S. L. Albertson, Allison Brownlee, Julia Bos, Laura Hermanson, Mya Keyzers

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Washington State Department of Ecology has been routinely monitoring marine water quality throughout the Puget Sound since 1973. An established historic baseline from 1999 to 2008 allows us to examine how water quality varies year to year as a result of both natural and human influences. The recent large scale climate anomaly, the Blob, impacted this region when a mass of warm water entered Puget Sound in fall 2014. In conjunction with higher than normal air temperatures, patterns of estuarine circulation and stratification were regionally altered in Puget Sound. Changes to these physical patterns affect ecosystem functions starting at …

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Recent Climate Patterns Are Affecting Seasonal Water Residence Times And Water Temperatures In Puget Sound, S. L. Albertson, Allison Brownlee, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, Carol Maloy, Mya Keyzers Apr 2018

Recent Climate Patterns Are Affecting Seasonal Water Residence Times And Water Temperatures In Puget Sound, S. L. Albertson, Allison Brownlee, Christopher Krembs, Julia Bos, Carol Maloy, Mya Keyzers

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

At the end of 2014 water temperatures in Puget Sound rapidly increased in response to The Blob and persisted into 2017. Climate anomalies on land caused premature snow melt and freshening of Puget Sound. The seasonal shift in freshwater delivery increased winter estuarine circulation allowing greater import of heat from the ocean but decreased summer circulation, retaining more heat in Puget Sound in summer. In both seasons, Puget Sound temperatures increased affecting water quality and ecosystem performance. We contrast salinity, temperature, and density records from 2014-2017 to infer residence time and changes in water masses during the extreme climate years. …

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Understanding Community Perceptions On Sea Level Rise Adaptation, Tina Whitman, Stephanie Buffum, Shannon Davis Apr 2018

Understanding Community Perceptions On Sea Level Rise Adaptation, Tina Whitman, Stephanie Buffum, Shannon Davis

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Increased population growth in our region coupled with the flood and erosion hazards posed by a changing climate will increase demand for hard shoreline armoring across the Salish Sea. Decisions by waterfront property owners, shoreline land managers, and coastal communities about how to adapt to the impacts of rising seas will affect how marine shorelines look and function for generations to come. Understanding landowner and community perspectives on sea level rise adaptation strategies is an essential element of both resiliency planning and efforts to protect and restore marine ecosystems. As part of ongoing work to advance habitat friendly adaptation actions …

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Engaging Local Students And Aquarium Visitors Through Rov Technology, Jessica Lotz, Katy Kachmarik, Rus Higley Apr 2018

Engaging Local Students And Aquarium Visitors Through Rov Technology, Jessica Lotz, Katy Kachmarik, Rus Higley

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Highline Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST) is the marine biology and aquarium facility of Highline College in Des Moines, Washington, located on the south-central Puget Sound. Dedicated to expanding knowledge about Puget Sound, a central mission of the MaST Center is fostering a culture of marine stewardship by engaging the community through interactive learning, personal relations and exploration. The development of program curriculum designed around Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) targeted at elementary and middle school students, summer camp students, and aquarium guests exemplifies these efforts. The MaST Center has been hosting informal educational programs linked to National Science …

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Community Members Of All Ages Work Together To Reveal The Dynamic Nature Of Liberty Bay, Lauren Kemper, Markie Rodgers, Catherine Somerville, Melissa O'Brien, Charles Kleinwort, Sylvia Yang Apr 2018

Community Members Of All Ages Work Together To Reveal The Dynamic Nature Of Liberty Bay, Lauren Kemper, Markie Rodgers, Catherine Somerville, Melissa O'Brien, Charles Kleinwort, Sylvia Yang

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

At the SEA Discovery Center, we have begun a community citizen science project to monitor Liberty Bay, to gain a deeper sense of understanding and inspire stewardship of the local marine environment. As a public aquarium and marine science center serving the communities of the Kitsap Peninsula region, the SEA Discovery Center has the opportunity to engage the community in environmental science that no one person could do alone. Elementary students, college interns, volunteers, and visitors from the community are mentored by SEA Discovery Center staff to measure abiotic (seawater temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) and biotic (phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance …

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Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network: Citizen Science And So Much More, Susan Berta, Howard Garrett, Alisa Lemire Brooks Apr 2018

Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network: Citizen Science And So Much More, Susan Berta, Howard Garrett, Alisa Lemire Brooks

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Orca Network’s Whale Sighting Network increases awareness of the Southern Resident orcas and other whales, and fosters a stewardship ethic to motivate a diverse audience to take action to protect Northwest waters. The Network provides hands-on opportunities for the public to report sightings of whales, gathering important data for researchers and encouraging shore-based whale watching and Be Whale Wise boating. The Network improves communication between researchers, agencies and the public, raising awareness about whales and related issues. As people become educated through the network, an ever-increasing amount of data is collected, and the public and researchers are able to share …

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The Jelly Team: Citizen Science At A Small Community Aquarium, Katy Kachmarik, Bri Gabel, Matt Wilson, Jessica Lotz, Elise Pletcher, Vanessa Hunt, Rus Higley Apr 2018

The Jelly Team: Citizen Science At A Small Community Aquarium, Katy Kachmarik, Bri Gabel, Matt Wilson, Jessica Lotz, Elise Pletcher, Vanessa Hunt, Rus Higley

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The efforts and successes of a community volunteer group, ‘The Jelly Team’, exemplify citizen science achievement at the Marine Science and Technology Center, the marine biology and aquarium facility of Highline College in Des Moines, Washington. With little professional direction or funding, these volunteers have succeeded in culturing Moon Jellies to provide an ongoing display in the public aquarium, and are now expanding their activities to culturing other species and looking to provide specimens to local schools. A popular display at the MaST public aquarium is a kreisel tank featuring Aurelia labiata, the Pacific coast species of the Moon Jelly. …

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Tracking Temporal And Seasonal Changes In Nudibranch Populations: Citizen Science Data From A Community Aquarium, Elise Pletcher, Katy Kachmarik, Rus Higley Apr 2018

Tracking Temporal And Seasonal Changes In Nudibranch Populations: Citizen Science Data From A Community Aquarium, Elise Pletcher, Katy Kachmarik, Rus Higley

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Highline Marine Science & Technology Center (MaST) is the marine science and aquarium facility of Highline College, Des Moines, Washington, and is located on the south-central Puget Sound. The central mission of the MaST is to foster a culture of marine stewardship by engaging the community with the local coastal environment. The MaST Center runs multiple Citizen Science programs, in which members of our community help collect and record data. In particular, the work of ‘The Nudibranch Team’ exemplifies citizen science achievement at the MaST. Since 2013, the Nudibranch Team has been identifying and collecting species abundance on several …

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Coastal Ocean Dynamics And Primary Productivity Near Traditional Indigenous Clam Gardens In Fulford Harbour, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Fred Burgess Apr 2018

Coastal Ocean Dynamics And Primary Productivity Near Traditional Indigenous Clam Gardens In Fulford Harbour, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Fred Burgess

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Along the Pacific coasts of British Columbia and Alaska, it has recently come back into knowledge that Indigenous communities traditionally built and maintained clam gardens in the intertidal zone by clearing rocks, aerating sediments, and/or building rock walls. Since 2014, Parks Canada has been working with First Nations advisors of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Hul'qumi'num Treaty Groups in the Gulf Islands National Parks Reserve on the restoration of two ancient clam gardens in the Fulford Harbour area, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Royal Roads University is a partner in this restoration project, and as part of the partnership this research involves …

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A Framework For Incorporating The Toxicity Of Pesticide Mixtures Into Ecological Risk Assessments, Cathy Laetz, David Hugh Baldwin, Tony Hawkes, Scott A. Hecht, Nathaniel L. Scholz Apr 2018

A Framework For Incorporating The Toxicity Of Pesticide Mixtures Into Ecological Risk Assessments, Cathy Laetz, David Hugh Baldwin, Tony Hawkes, Scott A. Hecht, Nathaniel L. Scholz

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Pesticides are widely used throughout the Puget Sound region and are frequently detected as complex mixtures in aquatic habitats. As a result, pesticide mixture toxicity is an important component of risk assessments performed within the Salish Sea region. Here we describe a process for assessing toxicity of three categories of pesticide mixtures; formulated products (one product containing multiple active ingredients), tank mixes (multiple pesticides applied simultaneously), and environmental mixtures (resulting from unrelated pesticide use over the landscape). Mixtures were assumed to be either dose-additive or response-additive, depending on the modes of action of the individual pesticide components. Toxicity estimates utilized …

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Dispersion And Removal Of Two Toxic Trace Metals (Ag And Cd) In The Strait Of Georgia, Cheng Kuang, Bertha Iselle Flores Ruiz, Samuel Stevens, Maria Maldonado, Roger Francois Apr 2018

Dispersion And Removal Of Two Toxic Trace Metals (Ag And Cd) In The Strait Of Georgia, Cheng Kuang, Bertha Iselle Flores Ruiz, Samuel Stevens, Maria Maldonado, Roger Francois

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Two highly toxic trace metals, silver (Ag) and cadmium (Cd) have been monitored in the sediments and water column of the Strait of Georgia since 2014. With the advent of nanotechnology, silver nanoparticles are widely used in medical applications and consumer products, and inevitably being discharged into the environment. Cd is of particular concern in the coastal waters of B.C. due to its naturally high concentration in the incoming Pacific water and possible anthropogenic sources. The sediment profile of a core taken near the Iona Island wastewater treatment plant outfall showed rising levels of both Ag and Cd in the …

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Efficacy Of Compost Amended Biofiltration Swales As Green Stormwater Infrastructure For Treatment Of Toxicants In Salish Sea Road Run-Off, Benjamin D. Leonard, Katherine T. Peter, Bowen W. Du, Edward Kolodziej, Nathaniel L. Scholz, John D. Stark, Jenifer K. Mcintyre Apr 2018

Efficacy Of Compost Amended Biofiltration Swales As Green Stormwater Infrastructure For Treatment Of Toxicants In Salish Sea Road Run-Off, Benjamin D. Leonard, Katherine T. Peter, Bowen W. Du, Edward Kolodziej, Nathaniel L. Scholz, John D. Stark, Jenifer K. Mcintyre

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Biofiltration swales, or bioswales, use vegetated soil substrates to filter contaminants from stormwater, decrease sediment load, and reduce erosion. Following a storm, runoff moves slowly through the swale at a shallow depth. While stormwater is retained in the bioswales, pollutants are removed by the combined effects of filtration, infiltration, settling, and biotransformation. The system currently being evaluated at the Washington State University (WSU) Puyallup Research and Extension Center (PREC) uses compost to further enhance the ability of bioswales to remove toxicants. WSDOT has created guidelines for constructing compost amended biofiltration swales (CABS) and implemented a field test for CABS along …

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Morphological And Molecular Analysis Of The Toxicity Of Pharmaceutical-Derived Aquatic Contaminants (Ppcps)​ In Zebrafish, Ronit Jain, Cathy A. Laetz Apr 2018

Morphological And Molecular Analysis Of The Toxicity Of Pharmaceutical-Derived Aquatic Contaminants (Ppcps)​ In Zebrafish, Ronit Jain, Cathy A. Laetz

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Pharmaceutical chemicals, a subset of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), are aquatic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that have been detected at elevated concentrations in surface water globally, entering waterways primarily through sewage discharges containing unmetabolized drugs and improper drug disposal. However, the aquatic toxicity of these contaminants, especially in complex mixtures, is poorly understood; moreover, biomarker frameworks have not been largely applied to this class of contaminants. Here, the toxicity of two cardiac-specific medications, triamterene (diuretic) and gemfibrozil (fibrate), was examined both singly and in mixture concentrations in order to better understand the toxicological implications of PPCP mixtures …

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Toxicity Testing Of Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Chemotherapeutants On Spot Prawns And Benthic Invertebrates, Steven B. Barrett, Tooba Khan, Chris J. Kennedy Apr 2018

Toxicity Testing Of Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Chemotherapeutants On Spot Prawns And Benthic Invertebrates, Steven B. Barrett, Tooba Khan, Chris J. Kennedy

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Demand for protein sources is high in North America and growing throughout the world. Global declines in fisheries has encouraged coastal regions to embrace aquaculture as a means of reconciling the growing pressures on wild fish stocks with this demand. Intensive salmon farming practices result in periodic infestations with naturally-occurring parasitic copepods referred to as “sea lice”. To prevent productivity losses, a variety of chemical and physical treatments have been implemented through regulatory systems or emergency applications. One objective of this study is to determine if these chemo-therapeutic treatments pose a risk to other non-target marine organisms including crustaceans such …

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Improving Fish Passage And Public Safety At The Ballard Locks, Jason Mulvihill-Kuntz Apr 2018

Improving Fish Passage And Public Safety At The Ballard Locks, Jason Mulvihill-Kuntz

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Ballard Locks, operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), marked their 100th year of operation in 2017. The Locks allow access for all commercial and recreational vessel traffic between the Salish Sea and Lake Washington Ship Canal, Lake Union, and Lake Washington in Seattle. Annually, over $1.2 billion dollars of maritime commerce and 1 million tons of cargo depends on the Locks, and with over 40,000 vessels passing through each year, the Locks are the busiest in the country. In addition to vessel traffic, all salmon in the greater Lake Washington watershed must pass through the Locks …

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Soil Conductivity Study And Implications For Fish And Farming Compatibility In The Swinomish Agricultural Area, Nicole Casper, Todd A. Mitchell, Karen J.R. Mitchell, Jason J. Thompson Apr 2018

Soil Conductivity Study And Implications For Fish And Farming Compatibility In The Swinomish Agricultural Area, Nicole Casper, Todd A. Mitchell, Karen J.R. Mitchell, Jason J. Thompson

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Swinomish agricultural area, along the Swinomish Channel, is part of the Skagit River Delta, a major agrarian region in Puget Sound. Historically a complex system of tidal channels serving as salmon habitat, the tidelands have since been diked and drained. In 2005, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) began restoration to demonstrate compatibility of fish habitat and agriculture. Muted tidal regulators (MTRs) operated to optimize tidal inundation and fish passage, replaced traditional tidegates, and prompted a study to evaluate soil conductivity impacts on agriculture. Objectives included electromagnetic (EM) surveying of soil conductivity, qualitatively assessing EM results utilizing two additional …

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Testing The Effectiveness Of Escapement Mechanisms In Derelict Crab Pots, Jason Morgan, Kyle Antonelis Apr 2018

Testing The Effectiveness Of Escapement Mechanisms In Derelict Crab Pots, Jason Morgan, Kyle Antonelis

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

An estimated 12,193 pots become derelict each year in Puget Sound accounting for the annual mortality of 178,874 legal sized male Dungeness crab.1 Washington State law requires that all crab pots be equipped with biodegradable escape cord that will disintegrate over a period of time, disabling the pot by providing entrapped crab an egress route previously held closed by the escape cord. However, field observations during the Northwest Straits Foundation’s removals of over 5,000 derelict crab pots from Puget Sound have shown that disabling mechanisms for derelict crab pots do not always guarantee escapement. A 2007 study on Dungeness crab …

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