The SeaDoc Society funds and conducts important scientific research that helps shape future management and policy decisions in the Salish Sea. It is a crucial part of what we do, and we’re deeply thankful for the donor support that makes this work possible. Browse some of our current research projects below.
Led by Tina Whitman, Friends of the San Juans. Collaborators include the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, and University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs
Declines in native eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in San Juan County is a big conservation concern. This species provides numerous ecosystem services including habitat, biodiversity, better water quality, and coastal protection. Monitoring in this area is limited as is our understanding of factors that might be causing declines. With warming temperatures, exacerbation of eelgrass wasting disease is thought to be one of the potential contributing factors.
This project will survey eelgrass meadows to expand upon existing knowledge of their distribution and to sample for disease from a subset of sites in hopes to identify eelgrass conservation priorities and to determine if disease is an indicator for climate resiliency.
Photo by Julieta Martinelli
Led by Chelsea Wood, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Collaborators include Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, Washington Sea Grant
Olympia oysters, our only native oyster in the Salish Sea, is a species of concern. This work will determine if a recently discovered shell-boring worm is a threat to Olympia oyster recovery. If so, this will be key information for modifying the current Olympia Oyster restoration plan. Read more in our blog.
By Eli Wolpin
Led by Janna Nichols, with REEF Environmental Education Foundation
Collaborators include the SeaDoc Society
This citizen science monitoring program uses trained SCUBA divers to collect data on the presence and abundance of fish and a big suite of marine invertebrates. It provides essential data on the decline or recovery of important species of concern like rockfish and abalone. It also helps gather data on species that are not regularly monitored, but could become scarce. For example, data from this monitoring work helped us understand which species of sea stars were susceptible to the devastating sea star wasting disease and to monitor their recovery, or in the case of the giant sunflower star, lack of recovery.
Individual divers collect data every time they go for a recreational dive. To collect annual pulses of high quality and high quantity data, every fall, a highly trained team of volunteer divers conduct 100 or more surveys in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. Data are available freely to the public online. You can join for free and contribute to this project. Snorkelers, free divers and scuba divers are all welcome to participate.
Led by Long Live the Kings
Collaborators include the Nisqually Indian Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of Washington.
Herring are economically and culturally important and provide food for fish, birds and marine mammals throughout the Salish Sea, but many herring stocks are not doing well. This collaborative project will test different herring recovery tools adapted from indigenous practices to help find ways to support or improve herring spawn (laying of eggs).
Photo by Florian Graner
Led by Andrew Berdahl, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Collaborators include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The team is testing the “pied piper hypothesis.” Large releases of young salmon from hatcheries might alter the natural timing of young wild salmon and reduce their survival. This collaboration between academic and tribal and state co-managers will use 15-years of data to examine this influence, then test findings using experimental releases. Results could improve hatchery release timing to benefit wild salmon survival
Led by Jonathan Scordino, Makah Fisheries Management. Collaborators include Deon Roche, Makah Fisheries Management
Chinook salmon are a culturally and ecologically important fish and despite being protected under the Endangered Species Act, their population continues to decline. Coho salmon population also are declining. A potential mortality factor that could be minimized could be hook injuries from catch and release fishing of wild stocks.
This project evaluates if hook size affects the location of injury as well as the probability of mortality for coho and Chinook salmon recreational catch and release troll fisheries. If hook size is an important component for the survival of coho and Chinook salmon caught and released the information will be used to discuss changes in recreational salmon fishing regulations.
By Janna Nichols
Young of the Year Rockfish Habitat Identification
Led by Dayv Lowry and Adam Obaza, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
Collaborators include the SeaDoc Society, REEF Environmental Education Foundation and numerous SCUBA clubs in the region
Rockfish hold their eggs inside their body until they hatch, and then give birth to live young. But they don’t give birth every year. Instead they have what scientists like to call jackpot recruitment, which means they produce a large amount of offspring on rare occasions. This sudden and unexpected burst of young helps ensure that not all of the babies get eaten by predators.
We do not have a good understanding on when they give birth and where the new baby fish, called recruits, go to mature. This study will help us better understand the type of ocean habitats that rockfish need to grow up and ultimately will help us identify areas that we need to protect to.
Photo by Janna Nichols
Led by Stena Troyer, Harbor WildWatch. Collaborators include Paua Marine Research Group and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
We have learned substantial amounts about young-of-the-year (YOY) rockfish settlement patterns in the Salish Sea but still need to better understnd habitat use outside of daylight hours. This project will determine if there are differences in diel activity by surveying sites both during the day and at night. This study will help us better understand YOY recruitment and spatial use, and aid in their recovery.
By Brian Guzzetti/Alaska Stock.
Led by Joe Gaydos, The SeaDoc Society
Collaborators include the University of Puget Sound, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the San Diego Zoo
Tufted Puffin populations have declined 77 percent in Washington State over the last century. As a result, the puffin was recently listed as Endangered by Washington State. Their decline is poorly understood, but one concern is that they could be suffering high mortality when they go out to the open ocean during the winter. Unfortunately, we have no idea where they spend the winter, making it difficult to determine if they could be getting caught in squid gillnets or suffer other mortality factors.
We are placing small solar-powered satellite transmitters on tufted puffins to track where they go at the end of the breeding season. This will give us data on winter movement, distribution and habitat use. This information will be crucial for recovery, as it will give insights into how potential at-sea factors such as changing oceanic and climatic conditions, changes in prey availability, and acute chemical contamination may interact with wintering puffin populations.
By Madison McNutt
Led by Greg Frankfurter of the UC Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center
One-third of the birds that use the Salish Sea are listed as threatened or endangered. With so many bird species in decline, it is critical that we know what the important causes of death are for them.
This project is a major first step in understanding what diseases are impacting birds in the Salish Sea. We know birds are dying and many species are in decline, but what are the specific causes of death? This is the first comprehensive study of its type, and it establishes a mechanism for answering that very question.
Photo by Govinda Rosling
Led by Sarah Converse, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. Collaborators include Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of Puget Sound, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Salish Sea is home to 172 different sea birds, including rhinoceros auklets and pigeon guillemots. Both are sentinel species for the Salish Sea however, we know very little about what they require for foraging habitat or what factors might impact their foraging conditions in the Salish Sea. This study will help us understand where and when they feed so that we can better protect them from potential threats including climate change, fishing bycatch, shipping disturbance, and oil spills.
Led by Gregory Hood, Skagit River System Cooperative. Collaborators include the Tulalip Tribes
Until recently, biologists did not know beavers were found in tidal wetlands. Scientists are becoming more aware that to improve the recovery of juvenile salmon in tidal wetlands, tidal shrub and forest wetlands also need to be restored. However, to do that well and completely, we need more information about the role beavers play in engineering in tidal wetlands.
This project provides critical baseline information on tidal beaver ecology by mapping beaver dams, lodges, and scent mounds with RTK-GPS technology and GPS tags. The information gathered will help guide future studies on beavers and their role in tidal wetlands.
By John Lowman
Led by James Powell, SR3
Collaborators include Cascadia Research Collective, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, SeaDoc Society, and The Whale Museum
This project surveys for and documents large whales like humpbacks and gray whales that are entangled with fishing gear. Teams are trained to thoroughly document the entanglement and remove the gear. Like with the pinniped disentanglement project, detailed data on gear type is collected so that fishing practices can ultimately be modified to prevent this problem, which is not only a serious animal welfare issue, but also a population health concern in some species.
By David Hicks
Led by Martin Haulena, Vancouver Aquarium
Collaborators include the SeaDoc Society, SR3, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Whale Museum
This project surveys for and documents sea lions and harbor seals that are entangled with human products including packing straps and fishing gear. The goal is to sedate these animals and remove the gear, while collecting detailed data on what is causing the entanglements so that these items can be modified in the future to prevent this serious animal welfare issue.
By Gerry Tomasen
Led by Joe Gaydos, SeaDoc Society
Collaborators include the National Marine Mammal Foundation, NOAA Fisheries, SeaWorld, Center for Whale Research, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and many more
Detailed individual health records for killer whales not only help us understand the health of individual animals, a large database also helps to analyze trends for entire populations, compare health between populations or ecotypes, and evaluate factors that may contribute to disease.
Photo by Renee Chamberland
Led by Melissa McKinney, McGill University. Collaborators include NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
Southern resident killer whales heavily rely on salmon, primarily Chinook salmon in their diet. Genetic analysis has revealed that other types of salmon and fish can be a part of their diet, but we don’t really know how much, which species, and when do they vary their diet.
Better understanding diet is an important component for conserving the endangered southern resident killer whale population. This project will use sophisticated tools to help us understand and characterize the amount of food, as well as the specific prey species, they consume. The information could also reveal any seasonal or temporal trends that might exist, and help management make informed decisions on how to ensure enough food are available for this keystone species.