The $300,000 in funding was made possible through donor support to the SeaDoc Society
Science is the vital first step in driving positive change for wildlife, people, and the environment. All efforts to change hearts, minds and policy flow from solid data.
This year, SeaDoc Society will fund six new scientific research projects that will ultimately improve the health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Science Advisors and funded thanks to all sizes of SeaDoc Society donations.
Each project is funded at the level of $50,000 and will answer questions where more information is most likely to improve our ability to recover or manage important living resources. In addition to producing quality science to be published in peer-reviewed journals, each project also will meet the criteria most often associated with research that has a positive conservation impact.
Specifically, these studies will collaborate with personnel from government or managing agencies and prioritize networking and stakeholder engagement before, during and after the research related to seabirds, eelgrass, killer whales, rockfish, salmon, and even beavers.
Funded organizations run the gamut, from local conservation organizations and academic institutions to Tribes and First Nations throughout the Salish Sea.
“Thanks to private donors, we’re able to fund science that will not just produce papers but more importantly the findings will ultimately change the way we understand and manage the Salish Sea,” said SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos.
We are excited to share more about each as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a quick look at all six projects:
Assessing threats to critical seabird foraging habitat in the Salish Sea
By Eric Wagner, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington; Scott Pearson, Wildlife Science Division, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Peter Hodum, Department of Biology, University of Puget Sound; Thomas Good, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries; Sue Thomas, Washington Maritime NWR Complex, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
San Juan County Eelgrass Mapping, Change Analysis, and Conservation Project
By Tina Whitman, Friends of the San Juans; Bart Christaen and Jeffery Gaeckle, WA Dept. of Natural Resources; Drew Harvell and Olivia Graham, Cornell University and University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs; and Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria.
Diet Composition of Southern Resident Killer Whales Revealed by Newly Validated Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis Approach
By Melissa McKinney, McGill University, Department of Natural Resource Sciences; Anaïs Remili, McGill University; Dawn Noren, NOAA, NMFS, NWFSC; Irvin Schultz, NOAA, NMFS, NWFSC; Paul Chittaro, NOAA, NMFS, NWFSC; Brad Hanson, NOAA, NMFS, NWFSC
Refining Survey Efforts to Inform Rockfish Population Dynamics and Recovery Efforts in Puget Sound through Community Science
By Stena Troyer, Harbor WildWatch; Adam Obaza, Paua Marine Research Group; Dayv Lowry, NOAA Fisheries
Does Size Matter? Evaluation of Hook Size on Mortality Rates of Hooked and Released Coho and Chinook Salmon in Recreational Troll Fisheries
By Jonathan Scordino, Makah Fisheries Management; Deon Roche, Makah Fisheries Management
Mapping and Tracking Beaver in Tidal Marshes of the Whidbey Basin River Deltas
By W. Gregory Hood, Skagit River Systems Cooperative, Molly Alves, Tulalip Tribes, Todd Zackey, Tulalip Tribes