Tracking Transboundary Trouble

Basking shark copyright Florian Graner. Used with permission.

How do you know if your ecosystem is in trouble? One clue is the number of species that are in decline or endangered. If that number gets bigger over time, you’re probably heading in the wrong direction.

Publications

We publish our Species of Concern analysis approximately every two years in conjunction with the biennial Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference.

• Species of Concern 2013 (119)
• Species of Concern 2011 (113)
• Species of Concern 2008 (64)
• Species of Concern 2006 (63)
• Species of Concern 2004 (63)
• Species of Concern 2002 (60)

In any particular year species might be added or removed from the list. For example, in 2008, 3 species were added, 2 were removed, and the listing status for 12 previously included species was changed by one or more jurisdiction.

Each jurisdiction in the Salish Sea (Canada, the United States, British Columbia, and Washington State) keeps their own list of species in trouble, but until 2002 nobody kept track of the total number of threated and endangered species in the whole ecosystem. Back then, SeaDoc scientists found a total of 60 species of Salish Sea invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals that we needed to worry about.

Thanks to your support we’ve been able to repeat the analysis every two years. Unfortunately, the list keeps growing. Our latest accounting showed that the total number of species at risk has now nearly doubled, to 119. Recently listed species include the Basking shark, North Pacific spiny dogfish, Pacific Ocean perch, and Baird’s beaked whale. The fact that the list has almost doubled is a bad sign, and it suggests that our entire ecosystem is at risk.

Your support enables us to take on these long-term, ecosystem-level initiatives that allow us to diagnose, and eventually reverse, problems like transboundary species declines. Thanks to your investments we’re able to publish scientifically rigorous metrics that help citizens and policy makers understand the big picture.

Type	Percentage Listed	Ratio
Macro invertebrates	1%	2/3000 (estimated, from unpublished data)
Reptiles	100%	2/2
Fish	17%	42/253 (Pietsch and Orr, in press)
Birds	32%	55/172 (Gaydos and Pearson, 2011)
Mammals	35%	13/37 (Gaydos and Pearson, 2011)

The high proportion of species of concern is suggestive of ecosystem decay (Bierregard et al., 2001) and we suggest that it is time to consider the entire Salish Sea an ecosystem of concern. Increased funding and improved efforts to recover declining populations of species and recover this ecosystem are urgently needed to stop the insidious loss of species and ecosystem decay.

Spiny dogfish by NOAA’s National Ocean Service CC

Award-winning presentation

At the 2014 conference, the 2013 paper was presented by co-author Jacq Zier, who won first prize in the undergraduate division for an oral presentation.

Orcas High School senior class chooses SeaDoc for $2,500 donation

The senior class at Orcas High School awarded $2,500 to SeaDoc as part of the 2014 grants program of the Orcas Island Community Foundation. Each year a generous donor gives $5,000 to the graduating class at the high school for them to pass on to one or more non-profits; sort of a primer on philanthropy. The students discuss and debate which non-profits they would like to support.

We were thrilled when seniors Lindsay Lancaster and Brigid Ehrmantrout named SeaDoc to receive a $2,500 donation to recognize not only our work protecting the marine environment but also our efforts to educate people about the cutting-edge science that's being done to protect wildlife. As Joe Gaydos said to the local newspaper reporter who was there, "What an honor to have this donation, and even more importantly, this vote of confidence from tomorrow's leaders!"

Our thanks and congratulations go out to the graduating seniors!

See more in The Islands' Sounder.

Orcas Issues also covered the event:

The Celebration was capped off by the surprise announcement of the Youth Philanthropy Awards. The OISD Senior High School class was given the opportunity to distribute $5000. They researched their options, exploring their priorities and values, and debated the merits of many sectors and programs. This year, the class selected the Friends of Moran and SeaDoc, organizations that help preserve the natural environment of the island and surrounding waters. Each organization received a $2500 grant.

Intern Jacq Zier wins presentation prize at Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

As highlighted in The Islands Sounder, SeaDoc intern Jacq Zier won first place in the undergraduate category at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference for her presentation on the 2013 Species of Concern in the Salish Sea paper she co-authored with Joe Gaydos.

Read the article.

You can access the 2013 Species of Concern paper for free below.

San Juan Islands bathymetry in Google Earth

Screenshot of Google Earth with SeaDoc’s bathymetry overlay.

Have you checked out what the San Juan Islands look like in Google Earth? Maybe you've noticed that you don't get much detail on what's underneath the surface. Never fear. SeaDoc and the Tombolo Mapping Lab (now affiliated with SeaDoc) have an "overlay layer" you can download for Google Earth. The file will superimpose our bathymetry data on top of the Google Earth data, giving you a bird's eye view of the underwater geography.

These basemap images work in the desktop version of Google Earth. That's the one you download to your computer, not the one you use online in Google Maps.

Killer whales

Photo by J. Gaydos

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are a charismatic species and a Pacific Northwest icon. The SeaDoc Society has been involved in killer whale research since the organization started. We have helped to identify sources of toxins in killer whales, led the creation of a plan to keep killer whales out of oil spills, and have vastly improved our knowledge about diseases that can impact killer whale recovery.

All of these efforts are emblematic of SeaDoc's approach to science and to ecosystem restoration and wildlife protection.

Keeping killer whales out of oil spills

When NOAA Fisheries identified that an oil spill was a huge risk for the Endangered southern resident killer whale population, they knew they had to create a contingency plan for keeping whales out of an oil spill if it were to happen and they looked to SeaDoc to help make this plan.

In the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, two pods of killer whales were decimated. One has just recently started to recover; the other is probably headed for extinction. Before that disaster, people thought killer whales would be able to stay out of spilled oil. The Exxon Valdez proved that wasn't the case.

In 2007, SeaDoc partnered with NOAA to bring together a group of killer whale experts and spill response professionals from the US and Canada to discuss how killer whales could be kept out of a major spill.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, the participants discussed the effects of oil on cetaceans, killer whale mortality from the Exxon Valdez event, permit issues, risk assessments, response coordination, availability of equipment, pre- and post-event monitoring, and techniques for hazing animals to keep them away from oiled areas.

The result is that we are much more prepared to save whales’ lives in the event of a catastrophic spill. The response plan for keeping killer whales out of a spill is now part of the  Northwest Area Contingency Plan, which is the region's go-to manual for dealing with an oil spill. Responders now have techniques and equipment ready to put into action.

SeaDoc’s work on killer whales and oil spills is a good example of how we bring people together to solve tough issues, especially issues that involve both sides of the international border that splits the Salish Sea.

Unraveling the mystery of killer whale diseases

Stranded killer whale: Jeff Jacobsen, Humboldt State University Vertebrate Museum

Disease can be as important as predation when shaping populations and ecosystems. However, when the southern resident killer whale population was listed by the Canadian and US Federal governments, very little was known about how diseases could impact killer whale recovery. SeaDoc published the first comprehensive paper on diseases of killer whales, identifying which ones were of greatest concern when recovering populations in decline.

This study was a good first step, but showed us that we really knew very little about killer whale diseases. In an attempt to learn more, SeaDoc partnered with NOAA and Dr. Steven Raverty at UBC to create the first ever protocol designed to help responders gather as much information as possible from stranded killer whales.

This protocol, which was revised and reissued in 2014, has been widely used and has helped stranding responders maximize the amount of information learned from every carcass. Thanks to this protocol and to dedicated funding from NOAA to analyze samples, since 2004 scientists have performed necropsies on 1 out of every 3 killer whales that strand in the North Pacific – a remarkable 1600% increase in effort. The data collected – on causes of death, contaminants, and genetics - are already being used to help recover endangered killer whale populations.

In 2014, SeaDoc lead a study to identify killer whale stranding trends from as far back as 1925.

Understanding toxins in killer whales

The high levels of persistent organic pollutants in killer whales has been identified as an important cause for their decline and reason for their slow recovery. We knew that these contaminants came from the salmon that resident killer whales ate, but didn't know whether those contaminants got into salmon locally or when they grew out in the Pacific Ocean before returning to spawn. SeaDoc funded Drs. Peter Ross, Donna Cullon and others to study this. They found that that 97 to 99% of  polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) in adult chinook salmon (resident's favorite prey item) were acquired during their time at sea and not from the Salish Sea. This study also found that southerly chinook salmon stocks had a lower fat content, meaning that this could cause southern resident killer whales to increase their salmon consumption by as much as 50%, which would further increase their exposure to these contaminants.

SeaDoc's work on killer whales is a good example of how we identify areas where good scientific information is missing, and then structure projects that can fill those gaps. In the case of the necropsy protocol, a relatively small amount of effort has resulted in a much more substantial increase in our knowledge about what is happening to this important species.

Support SeaDoc's innovative projects

Private donations from people like you provide most of the support we use to help create a healthier Salish Sea.

Please consider making a donation to support the Salish Sea wildlife you care about.

Make a donation

Sign up for our newsletter

How SeaDoc has helped Scoters

Surf Scoter. Photo by Dr. Eric Anderson

There are 3 species of Scoters in the Salish Sea; Surf, White-winged, and Black. Scoters are among many species of sea birds and sea ducks that have seen major population declines in recent years. Birds are sentinels for the health of our ecosystem and their declines are telling us that something is seriously wrong. Since 2000, the SeaDoc Society has been conducting innovative studies to advance our knowledge of the reasons for seabird declines and to craft ways to protect them.

For Scoters, our work has included surgically implanting satellite transmitters so biologists can study migration routes, bringing scientists together to identify knowledge gaps and where science shows us that we need a policy change, and using science to understand how hunting is impacting populations and how changing food availability can support or hinder recovery.

Surgical implantation of satellite transmitters

Satellite transmitters can be used to better understand the movement patterns of many wildlife species. For Scoters, satellite transmitters are implanted in the ceolomic cavity with the antennae exiting from the lower back. SeaDoc helped the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife surgically implanting satellite transmitters in nearly 100 Scoters to track their winter movements (they tend to stay pretty local when they winter on the Salish Sea) and their summer migrations (after their third year they migrate north into Canada and Alaska to breed).

Hunting rules that needed adjustment

What do you do when a species in decline is still being hunted or fished? Well, you better get some data to see if harvest is high enough to be adding to the problem.

When it came to the decline of Scoters, we knew hunting was not the root of the decline, but hunters and managers were not sure whether hunting was having an added impact. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had collected data on Scoter hunting, but they didn't have the funds to analyze the data.

So SeaDoc stepped in, seeing the opportunity to use good science to help answer a tough management question.

Scoter in rehab tank. Photo by Linda Tanner via Flickr Creative Commons

The analysis showed that there were 3 counties in Washington where hunting was occuring at an unsustainable level. Remember, Scoters stick around in a small area during the winter so focused hunting could really impact species in a small area.

We shared this information with the Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is the body responsible for making hunting rules. They eventually reduced the bag limits on Scoter hunting throughout the state and made a ruling that if the Scoter population dropped below 50,000 animals, all hunting would stop. This is an example of how SeaDoc works to gather good data and makes the science gets off the shelf and into the hands of decision-makers.

We are not an advocacy group and we are not anti-hunting. We just wanted to get the data needed to see if hunting was having an impact, because that type of information is critical to enable managers to make informed decisions.

Scoter and whales

Food webs can be complex. Would you have thought that the feeding behavior of gray whales has an impact on the diets of diving sea ducks? A 2008 paper supported by SeaDoc funding describes how gray whales disturb the bottom when they feed, which creates better feeding opportunities for Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata). Dr. Eric Anderson found that the feeding opportunities presented by gray whales can provide particularly important foraging opportunities for Scoters during spring, when other foods may have declined and requirements to prepare for migration and reproduction are high.

How Scoter migration patterns reflect food availability

Photo credit: blindgrasshopper via Flickr Creative Commons

Thousands of Scoters can be found eating mussels in Penn Cove, Washington during the fall and early winter. But then they leave. Why?

It turns out—as revealed by a SeaDoc-supported study—that Scoters prefer mussels of a certain size. Once that size class of mussel is hard to find, Scoters will move on to find other food. This makes sense, when you know that Scoters swallow the mussels whole.

When the right size mussels aren't available, it’s more productive for Scoters to move to eelgrass habitats where they can feed on creatures like small crabs and shrimp that live on the eelgrass. The authors of this  study hypothesize that declines in eelgrass beds may be part of the reason that Scoter populations have declined so significantly.

This study is another reminder that food webs are complex (something we’ve been saying for years) and that the ecosystem and its varied habitats are highly interconnected.

Science helps us understand these relationships and helps us identify and protect important habitats and species.

Support SeaDoc's innovative projects

Private donations from people like you provide most of the support we use to help create a healthier Salish Sea.

Please consider making a donation to support the Salish Sea wildlife you care about.

Make a donation

Sign up for our newsletter

Rockfish recovery in the Salish Sea

Vermillion rockfish by Janna Nichols

There are 27 species of rockfish in the Salish Sea and some of these slow-growing, long-lived species can live to be over 100 years old.  Over-fishing after restrictions on salmon fishing caused anglers to shift their fishing effort to rockfish, which caused populations of many rockfish species to crash. As you can imagine, recovery of a slow-growing species can be, well ... slow.

Throughout our history, the SeaDoc Society has been asking and answering important research questions about rockfish.

Are seals eating rockfish?

Since the 1970s, harbor seal populations have exploded nearly tenfold in the Salish Sea. At the same time, many rockfish populations were declining. Some anglers blame the seals. But how much of an impact do seals really have?

SeaDoc thought this question was one we could address with good science so we funded a project to collect almost 1,000 samples of seal scat in the San Juan Islands. The samples were washed, dried, and examined. It turns out 60% of the seals' diet was herring, followed by salmon, pollock, and cod-like fish. In total, the seals ate 35 different species of fish. Only 3% of the samples contained rockfish bones.

But that didn't fully answer the question. In the second year of the study, almost 12% of samples contained rockfish bones, particularly in the winter when there were fewer salmon around. Given the number of seals in the Salish Sea, this could be important for rockfish recovery. But the solution is not as simple as getting rid of seals. Seals also eat dogfish, which can be a major predator of rockfish. So if we got rid of seals, we might just have more dogfish and not move the needle on rockfish recovery. On the other hand, healthy herring and salmon stocks will reduce the pressure that seals put on rockfish so rockfish recovery is really tied to salmon recovery and herring recovery!

This study reminded us how interconnected the food web is, and how much the recovery of any particular species depends on the recovery of the entire ecosystem.

What areas need to be protected for rockfish to recover?

It seems reasonably obvious to say that if we want rockfish to recover, we have to protect the habitat where they live. Since the older and larger a rockfish grows, the more young she has and probably for some species, the better able to young are to survive, we especially want to create safe locations where old female rockfish can survive and reproduce. This might take the form of Marine Reserves, where fishing (or certain types of fishing) is restricted. But does that really help?

SeaDoc has conducted several research projects on the efficacy of marine protected areas and found that mandatory reserves seem to work better than voluntary no-take zones, especially  if the voluntary reserves are small (and can be fished out by unscrupulous people). In general, larger protected areas usually work better than small ones.

In 2007 we funded an innovative project that aimed to try to answer the question of how large a reserve would be needed to protect Brown Rockfish populations. The study, described in detail here, used genetic markers to determine where rockfish from one marine reserve ended up later in their lifespans. The evidence suggests that juvenile rockfish disperse fairly widely meaning that for reserves to work, we likely need a network of protected areas that are close enough to be connected by dispersal of the young.

How can we find and protect rockfish habitats?

Map by Gary Greene & Tombolo Mapping Lab

In order to protect rockfish habitat, you need to know where it is. As you might guess from their common name, rockfish like rocks. They like to inhabit boulder piles, rock faces, and other rough and rugged underwater habitat.

For the past decade, SeaDoc has been collaborating with marine geologist Gary Greene to create underwater maps of the Salish Sea. (Greene's Tombolo mapping project is now part of SeaDoc's operation.)

Using multibeam bathymetry and sophisticated mapping technology, Greene and his team have mapped significant portions of the Salish Sea. These maps have allowed researchers to hone in on rocky outcroppings that provide potential rockfish habitat, which has accelerated the work of many researchers. Additionally, the maps have revealed other habitat areas with large impacts on the Salish Sea food web, such as the immense sand wave fields that provide protection for millions of Sand Lance. (Sand Lance are a crucial food source for many marine birds.)

Bringing people together to improve rockfish recovery

Many organizations and individuals are working on rockfish recovery, on both sides of the border. But sometimes that means that effort is duplicated or important research questions are going unanswered. One obvious solution is to bring all the researchers together to discuss their work, share ideas, and develop a research agenda that will help more researchers find money to do important projects.

But it's not always so simple. For example, when 3 species of rockfish were listed as Endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries needed to come up with a management plan, and wanted to bring together all the scientists working on rockfish recovery. But due to funding constraints, they weren't able to include Canadian scientists. So SeaDoc stepped in to co-sponsor the workshop and made it possible for Canadian scientists to be represented, which ended up being an important part of the conference. Like almost all the issues facing the Salish Sea, rockfish recovery is not limited to just one side of the border.

SeaDoc's involvement in complex issues

Although SeaDoc is a relatively small organization, our ecosystem-level focus and our base of private support allows us to identify important knowledge gaps - such as the location of rockfish habitat, or the dispersal of rockfish populations - and move quickly to fill them. The issue of rockfish recovery is too big for any one organization to solve, but SeaDoc has provided crucial tools and scientific information that is aiding many of the groups working on this complex issue.

Support SeaDoc's innovative projects

Private donations from people like you provide most of the support we use to help create a healthier Salish Sea.

Please consider making a donation to support the Salish Sea wildlife you care about.

Make a donation

Sign up for our newsletter

Top ten principles for designing a healthy Salish Sea

What does it take to design a healthy coastal ecosystem? How do you create an environment in which both wildlife and people can thrive?

Based on what we've learned working in the Salish Sea, SeaDoc has created a list of 10 principles that guide our work and that can guide anyone trying to bring a coastal ecosystem back to health. Our analysis was published in the peer-reviewed journal, EcoHealth.

Like other coastal zones around the world, the inland sea ecosystem of Washington (USA) and British Columbia (Canada), an area known as the Salish Sea, is changing under pressure from a growing human population, conversion of native forest and shoreline habitat to urban development, toxic contamination of sediments and species, and overharvest of resources.

While billions of dollars have been spent trying to restore other coastal ecosystems around the world, there still is no successful model for restoring estuarine or marine ecosystems like the Salish Sea.

Despite the lack of a guiding model, major ecological principles do exist that should be applied as people work to design the Salish Sea and other large marine ecosystems for the future.

1: Think ecosystem. Political boundaries are arbitrary

Just because an international border splits an ecosystem, that doesn’t mean it is observed by the fish and wildlife or physical processes that make up the ecosystem and it shouldn’t prevent the people on both sides of the border from working together.

The Puget Sound Basin is only one half of a 17,000 sq. km. ecosystem, the Salish Sea. Efforts to restore Puget Sound or the Georgia Basin will fail the U.S. and Canada do not improve cross-border collaboration. Map: N. Maher

Although there is a major Washington State effort to restore Puget Sound by the year 2020, the Puget Sound basin is only one half of a large and unified ecosystem, the Salish Sea. Efforts to restore Puget Sound will fail if they do not incorporate and integrate similar efforts on the Canadian side of the border.

The international political boundary separating the Puget Sound and Georgia Basin is invisible to marine fish and wildlife. Species listed as threatened or endangered under the US Endangered Species Act or the Canadian Species at Risk Act -- including Southern Resident killer whales, marbled murrelets, and some ecologically significant units or species of Pacific salmon -- traverse the boundary daily.

Oceanographic processes such as freshwater inflows and wind driven surface currents exchange biota, sediments and nutrients throughout the larger ecosystem. For example, the less saline, more buoyant Fraser River plume can be observed by satellite imagery flowing across the international boundary throughout the year and tidal oscillations move huge volumes of water across the border four times daily.

International, state, provincial, or tribal, political boundaries impede ecosystem restoration. Management of the iconic Pacific salmon is a striking example of the unique challenges created when ecosystem and political boundaries do not align. The migration patterns of the five species of Pacific salmon in this ecosystem create transboundary fishery regimes containing mixed stocks from numerous river systems of origin (some from USA and others from Canada).

In 1945, the United States and Canada implemented the first bilateral Pacific salmon-sharing agreement, followed by the 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty. However, by 1997, as salmon stocks were declining, accusations from both sides about the interception and harvest of fish destined for the other country became so heated that the USA and Canada independently shifted their fishery regimes, foregoing all concerns about stock declines. These “salmon wars” ultimately culminated in a renewed salmon harvest agreement signed in 1999.

While the governments of Washington State and British Columbia signed an Environmental Cooperative Agreement in 1992 to work together on marine issues in the Salish Sea, the agreement is hampered by internal constraints imposed by tribal and federal laws. For instance, a 1974 court decision reaffirmed the treaties between the U.S. Federal Government and 19 tribes in Washington signed in 1885, and ruled that 17 tribes with usual and accustom fishing areas in Puget Sound have the right to 50% of the harvestable fish and shellfish resources. By contrast, in Canada the Federal Government regulates all tribal harvest.

"Thinking ecosystem" requires focusing restoration efforts from the start on all sides of the political border and finding mutually agreeable solutions among all levels of government. The principle worked in the design of the Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Program, a transboundary natural resource management program involving the republics of Kenya and Uganda, and will work for multi-national coastal ecosystems as well.

Focus on the ecosystem as its own legitimate entity can help prevent the past experiences where agreements made when resources were abundant quickly unraveled as those resources declined.

2: Account for ecosystem connectivity

When we think about our own health, we focus on all parts at the same time. Eating well is as important as exercising, which is just as important as getting enough sleep and stimulating our minds. We need do the same and think about all the parts when we design a healthy ecosystem too. 

Ecosystems like the Salish Sea are connected to many places by animals like the gray whale as well as by things like commerce and economics. We need to pay attention to these connections. Photo: J. Mazet

Ecosystems are more interconnected than most people appreciate. Citizens, scientists, managers and policy makers filter out these connections in order to focus on specific areas or species of interest, using compartmentalization to simplify the daunting challenges of managing complex systems.

Understanding the connectivity and linkages between seemingly unrelated species and ecosystems is key to successful restoration.

Like most ecosystems, the factors determining the fate of the Salish Sea extend hundreds of kilometers from the sea to the crest of the mountains that surround these waters. For example, the amount and configuration of impervious surfaces (e.g. concrete parking lots, roads) and harvested forests impact the biotic integrity of streams feeding into the Salish Sea, which in turn affects the health of the entire ecosystem.

Forest health impacts the abundance of the marbled murrelet, an endangered seabird that nests up to 50 miles inland in old growth forests, but spends the remaining 11.5 months of the year feeding at sea.

Intricate food webs can connect species across ecosystems. For example, gray whale abundance is linked to productivity in the Bering Sea and the abundance of migrating gray whales feeding in the Salish Sea could be important for the recovery of declining surf scoter populations.

Commerce and transportation are powerful non-biological forces that link the biota of Puget Sound to other ecosystems. For instance, in 2006-2007 Washington State and tribal fishermen harvested over 225 metric tons of sea cucumbers, the majority of which were exported to Asian markets. Increasing non-local demand for fisheries can potentially drive unsustainable harvest and hinder restoration. The robust shipping industry that links the Salish Sea to most of the world also is a source of invasive species that can threaten the integrity of biological communities.

Connectivity contributes to ecosystem functions. Understanding these intricacies is important for designing healthy ecosystems. For example, recent modeling in the Caribbean suggests that the mangrove-based ontogenetic migrations of parrotfish could, through a trophic cascade on macroalgae, enhance the recovery rate of midshelf Caribbean coral reefs from hurricanes. Consequently, preserving or replanting mangroves will improve Caribbean coral resiliency in the face of predicted increased hurricane frequency and intensity.

While it is tempting to filter out the apparent “noise” from other species and ecosystems, acknowledging and identifying key cross-species and cross-habitat connections are essential to understanding changes in the system and measuring performance.

3: Understand the food web

We read labels and pay attention to the food we eat because food is important and it connects us to the world. Who eats who or what also is important for ecosystems and understanding the food web is critical for helping us understand and design a healthy ecosystem.

Small animals like the Sand Lance and other forage fish can be important components of the food web. Understanding the food web is critical for protecting important species, knowing where we need to protect special habitats and understanding how toxins move through the system. Photo: J. Gaydos

Food webs represent complex trophic interactions among species: they can change seasonally and geographically. Although often simplified for communication purposes, food web linkages are complex, subtle and interactive. They play a major role in ecosystem connectivity as well as in ecosystem resiliency and capacity for renewal.

A working food web model is a powerful tool for managing ecosystems. Around the world, traditional harvest management tools, such as maximum sustainable yield models, focus on how many individuals can be harvested sustainably by humans.

However, the models fail to take into account the full range of trophic interactions and trophic needs. For example, an acceptable salmon harvest level is designed to ensure that sufficient individuals are left to spawn in order to maintain viability of the salmon run into the future. What it fails to account for are the needs of other species dependent on the same salmon run, i.e. those species that prey on salmon or those species that are salmon prey.

Determining the impact of human-harvested salmon on killer whales, eagles or any of the other 136 vertebrate species that rely on salmon or salmon carcasses has proved elusive. Yet it has important biological and policy consequences. For instance, an important factor in listing Southern Resident killer whales as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act was the decline in its primary prey, salmon.

Food webs can be used to identify priority or key species in biological communities. Measures taken to protect them and their habitats benefit the entire ecosystem. For instance, Pacific sand lance and surf smelt are key forage fish for some Puget Sound birds and mammals. Locating and protecting their intertidal gravel-sand spawning beaches and associated upland riparian habitats assures food supplies for many species. Human alteration of the shoreline can change environmental conditions of these beaches and halve egg survival resulting in “bottom up” impacts on the ecosystem through the food web.

Knowledge of food web dynamics allows managers to monitor movement of contaminants in the ecosystem and the effects of the toxins on species composition, abundance, diversity and ultimately the food web itself. Bioaccumulation of toxins has been shown to impact multiple species in many ways; from the immunologic health of harbor seals to the density and species richness of Phoxocephalid amphipods.

4: Avoid fragmentation

Breaking up the working parts of our ecosystem is like separating the working parts of an engine, it prevents it from working properly. Designing healthy ecosystems requires that we keep habitats connected.

Fragmenting ecosystems by changing habitats or by changing populations reduces an ecosystems capacity to renew itself. Over-harvest of Northern abalone has left animals that are too spread out to mate successfully. Photo: N. Brown

Human activities that break otherwise contiguous habitat (land and seascapes) into smaller pieces fragment ecosystems, reduce their ecological integrity, and threaten their capacity to renew themselves.

Habitat is the place where species interact and form complex communities. Habitat size is directly linked to population size and the nature of species interactions. All species require a minimum number and density of individuals to persist, thus they also require a minimum amount of suitable habitat.

For most species, habitat configuration is also important. When habitats are fragmented and shrink below the size required to support a minimum viable population or are significantly modified or disturbed, a sequence of events begins that can end with species extinction.

At low densities (associated with small habitats) individuals may be unable to find mates. For example, this is particularly critical for benthic animals with little mobility such as abalone and some rockfish species. Small populations are more susceptible to extinction by extreme natural events and are more likely to lack the genetic diversity needed to adapt to changing physical and biological conditions such as climate change or competition from invasive species.

Unlike the terrestrial environment, where habitat size is visible and easily monitored, fragmentation in the marine environment is notoriously hard to study. Thus it has received far less attention.

There are many ways in which people inadvertently fragment marine habitats. For instance, seafloor trawling can have devastating effects on the seafloor and result in isolated “islands” of unaltered submarine habitats too small to maintain viable populations.

Pelagic species and large mammals can experience habitat fragmentation through fisheries and reserve policies. For instance, reserve areas may be too small to contain the necessary food resources to sustain populations of marine mammals.

Where the land meets the ocean, anthropogenic shoreline alterations can fragment the nearshore marine habitat and reduce productivity. For example, terrestrial insects falling into nearshore marine water are an important food source for migrating juvenile salmonids and the removal of overhanging shoreline vegetation reduces this important food source. Additionally, removal of overhanging shoreline vegetation can alter the microclimate of beaches and reduce their suitability for incubating eggs of intertidal spawning fish.

Some tools used to address ecosystem fragmentation in terrestrial ecosystems also could be used to address ecosystem fragmentation in coastal ecosystems. Fragmentation through land subdivision and the loss of large-scale dynamic processes such as wildlife migrations and fire was identified as the major threat to the world’s grassland ecosystems. Cultural exchange between Maasai pastoralists from Kenya and ranchers from the United States helped address these fragmentation threats by speeding up understanding and adaptation.

5: Respect ecosystem integrity

Keeping all the parts of an ecosystem and not adding new ones is a critical part of having a healthy working ecosystem. Taking actions that help to keep important parts (like whales or certain habitats) and not introducing new parts (like non-native species) is part of designing a healthy ecosystem.

Keeping all of the parts of an ecosystems means not just keeping all the species, but also a full range of size and age classes of those species. Removing large adult female rockfish removes those animals with the greatest reproductive capacity. Photo: J. Nichols

Intact ecosystems are more than the sum of their parts. Processes and forces that bind the parts into a system produce synergies and properties that the individual parts do not possess when simply collected together.

Ecological integrity, in which a system has all its parts and no "extra" ones, is a hallmark of environmental health. An intact ecosystem has a complete suite of species, and a full range of size and age classes of each component species.

Ignoring the ecological integrity and the power of biological interdependence in marine systems has been catastrophic. Historically, fishery practices targeted predators and preferentially removed old, large organisms (those with the greatest reproductive capacities), while relying on smaller, rapidly growing and barely reproducing younger animals for replenishment. As a consequence, fishery collapses became widespread. But the ecosystem-wide impacts were just as disastrous. Because predators mediate competition among prey species and help assure that a few, fit individuals of all kinds survive to produce another generation, such single-species management strategies not only doomed targeted populations to death spirals, but also triggered trophic cascades with ecological effects that persisted for decades and involved hundreds of species.

Adding, or introducing, invasive species, toxic materials, and pathogens also reduces ecological integrity. In the Salish Sea, non-native species like the purple varnish clam likely were introduced in ballast water. Other species, like the Japanese seaweed Sargassum muticum, likely were introduced with the intentionally introduced Pacific oyster, and now compete with native kelp, impacting benthic subtidal communities.

The ocean, a historical out-of-sight-out-of-mind dumping ground for industrial waste, now bears the burden of many metric tons of organochlorines and other persistent organic pollutants that have bioaccumulated in the food chain and impacted the health of top predators.  The Salish Sea’s resident and transient killer whales are considered some of the most contaminated cetaceans in the world.

6: Support nature’s resilience

How many punches can a person take before they fall? It depends on how much sleep they’ve had, what physical condition they are in, how hard the punches are, and a suite of other factors. Like people, we can and should do things that enable our ecosystems to take more punches, while trying to reduce the punches we deal it.

Genetic diversity in seagrass communities increases their ability to deal with stress. Photo: J. Nichols

A resilient ecosystem can rebound after a disturbance. Resilience is a measure of health and indicates how much stress a system can absorb before it permanently changes into an alternative state or collapses.

While resilience is essential in a healthy ecosystem, it is frequently ignored in conservation planning. This is because it is hard to measure, and often only recognized once the system is on the verge of collapse.

Biological communities have several natural attributes that make them resilient in the face of change and disturbance. For example, the presence of a keystone species determines persistence and stability. In the Salish Sea’s rocky intertidal zone, the sea star Pisaster ochraeus is essential to maintaining a highly diverse and stable community. In their absence, a monoculture of mussels occurs.

Other communities lacking a keystone species rely on a suite of interacting organisms to build resilience. Genetic diversity has also been shown to increase ecosystem resilience in seagrass communities stressed by elevated temperatures.

Human actions can inadvertently disrupt the factors that allow ecosystems to respond and persist in the face of change. Removal of a keystone species can lead to ecosystem collapse. Overfishing can have a detrimental impact on resilience: twenty years of data from reserve versus fished sites showed that reserves maintained a greater complement of species and were consistently able to withstand and rebound from extreme, but not unusual, environmental conditions such as El Niño years. Fished sites had fewer species and communities. Habitats within the fished sites frequently collapsed during El Niño events.

The principle of building ecosystem resilience is gaining ground. There is a complex systems approach for sustaining and repairing marine ecosystems, linking ecological resilience to governance structures, economics and society. Previously, some scientists have found that corals in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere are showing signs of resilience in their ability to adapt to climate change and have called for international integration of management strategies that support reef resilience. Since then, toolkits on effective ways to build reef resilience as an integral part of designing healthy marine ecosystems have been developed and are being applied worldwide on reefs from India to Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas.

7: Value nature: it’s money in your pocket

Fish and wildlife are a source of income. People pay to watch them or harvest them, and the ecosystem itself helps us by filtering toxins and preventing flooding. When you think of the ecosystem like a bank account, putting money into to improve it is a no-brainer; it's like adding capital to your account.

Economics is the allocation of limited resources among alternative, competing ends. It's about what people want, and what they are willing to give up in exchange.

Human well-being is derived from access to—and often the marketing of—essential ecological goods and services provided by ecosystems. These include fossil fuels, minerals, wood, fish, meat, edible plants, watchable wildlife, biofiltration of contaminants, and a multitude of other ecological "inputs." While higher values of waterfront properties are considered luxuries, most ecological goods and services are considered basic needs for human survival.

Despite the complexities of economic globalization, healthy ecosystems support economic prosperity and well-being. The Salish Sea provides the people who live in the region with abundant natural capital which contributes substantially to the financial prosperity of the region.

In Washington alone, marine fish and invertebrates support commercial fisheries worth $3.2 billion a year; the ports of Seattle and Tacoma enable over $70 billion in international trade; and on the water activities such as sailing, kayaking, whale-watching, and SCUBA diving generate 80% of all dollars spent on tourism and recreation in the state every year.

Healthy ecosystems support economic prosperity. Unhealthy systems cost money to repair and cost money in lost opportunities to benefit from the natural capital. Overharvesting, pollution, and loss of wild habitat reduce the quality and quantity of ecosystem services and ultimately the economic potential of a region. For example, fecal coliform contamination of nearshore waters closed a third of Washington’s $97 million shellfish beds to harvest in one year alone.

In the Salish Sea, ecosystem services provided by higher trophic species like salmon and killer whales, which generally disappear before those provided by species lower in the food chain, are decreasing. The cumulative economic and ecosystem services losses associated with the depletion of these higher trophic species is incalculable, but likely astronomical.

When appropriately balanced, ecosystem services can be used to simultaneously advance conservation and human needs, as has been shown with projects like Quito, Equador’s Water Fund, China’s Sloping Lands Program, Kenya’s Il’Ngwesi Ecolodge, and Namibia’s Conservancy Program.

A healthy Salish Sea that provides services such as plentiful and safe fish and shellfish, clean water, and natural resource-dependent industries is money in our pockets. Ecosystem services provide revenue from the marine-based industries that are the lifeblood of the region’s economy, and mean less spent on major repairs to reverse ecological damage.

Decision-makers and citizens working to restore ecosystems around the world need to grasp nature’s economic benefits or they will grossly underestimate the full benefits of a restored ecosystem while overestimating the relative costs of restoring it.

8: Watch wildlife health

Within an ecosystem, wild animals and humans share many diseases and are susceptible to many of the same toxins. Studying diseases and contaminants in wildlife help us to better protect them and help prevent disease in people.

Diseases and contaminants that impact wildlife, like this Steller sea lion, also can impact humans. Monitoring wildlife health shows us where a stressed ecosystem contributes to increased disease in people and wildlife. Photo: A. Traxler

Disease in marine wildlife can serve as a sentinel for human health. Animals, particularly wildlife, are thought to be the source of over 70% of all emerging infections. A burgeoning human population, increased travel opportunities, booming commerce, frequent animal relocations, and expanding aquaculture increase human exposure to zoonotic diseases from marine wildlife.

Blooms of the phytoplankton Pseudo-nitzschia have caused closures of recreational, commercial, and tribal subsistence shellfish harvest in the Salish Sea.  These organisms produce domoic acid, a biotoxin known to cause seizures and death in marine mammals and amnesic shellfish disease in humans. Marine mammals are exposed by eating fish that have consumed domoic acid. Exposed animals often will strand on beaches and can serve as an early warning indicator for potential exposure of humans through shellfish consumption, thereby allowing managers to close shellfish harvesting areas to protect human health.

Discovering that the feline parasite Toxoplasma gondii infected marine wildlife alerted people to the fact that raw shellfish consumption also could be a route of exposure for humans. If a pregnant woman becomes infected with this parasite the parasite can infect the fetus, leading to mental retardation, seizures, blindness and death in children. Interestingly, this cat parasite has been discovered to infect marine wildlife such as sea otters, marine-foraging river otters and harbor seals.

It is believed that marine wildlife are exposed to T. gondii when cats shed the infective stage (oocyst) in feces, which is then transported by freshwater run-off into the marine ecosystem. Increased numbers of domestic and feral cats and their associated feces as well as modifications in freshwater run-off have probably increased marine mammal exposure to this parasite. Because shellfish can concentrate the infective T. gondii oocysts, humans, like marine mammals, also are at risk for exposure by eating uncooked shellfish.

Human, wildlife and ecosystem health are intimately connected. Understanding and monitoring diseases in both groups will help to identify where and when a stressed ecosystem is contributing to increased disease in people and wildlife and how the ecosystem can be redesigned. In the Salish Sea region high-quality public health programs exist, but efforts to monitor and understand marine wildlife health in both countries are limited and not well linked to human health networks.

9: Plan for extremes

Knowing that the daily average temperature is 71°F has little meaning if the daily temperature ranges from 115°F during the day and 27°F at night. We all know the perils of walking across a river with an "average depth of four feet." Planning for extreme ecosystem events (like floods and storms), and not just the average, is prudent.

Extreme natural events like hurricanes, floods and earthquakes are part of the natural system. Planning for them prevents future problems like having to move your house because it wasn’t set back enough from the beach to start with. Photo: J. Gaydos

High variation and diversity are key characteristics of living systems, and averages can mislead people seeking to understand and manage nature.

For instance, fisheries management based on “average abundance” will fail to account for poor years, and is likely to drive the species extinct. Yet resource users often will prefer to manage for the average.

A major discovery of environmental science in the 20th Century was the ecological significance of "natural extreme events." Many people still view these kinds of events only as disasters that wreak havoc on society and cause humanitarian tragedies. The emergence of disturbance ecology illustrated the critical roles that rare extreme events like wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and El Niño Southern Oscillation events have played in sustaining biodiversity and ecological integrity in oceans.

As citizens, scientists and decision makers begin to envision a restored Salish Sea, that vision must include policies, laws, and management actions that account for extreme but natural events.

10: Share the knowledge

Humans are integral parts of ecosystems. Citizens who understand that their own physical, mental, and economic well-being is intimately connected to the health of the ecosystem are more likely to support and engage in ecosystem restoration.

Citizens and leaders need to be informed about the workings of our ecosystem so that the decisions we make support a healthy ecosystem. Photo: A. Stoltz

While the people of the Salish Sea are believed to value their ecosystem, in reality there currently seems to be little support for restoring it. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence about declines in the health of Puget Sound, a 2006 poll found that only 8% of respondents felt the condition of the environment was the most important problem facing people in the Puget Sound region. Widespread public education about the issues and what is at stake could build a connection to the ecosystem and rally support for its restoration.

But public support alone will not restore the Salish Sea. Political leadership and funding are equally essential. In the Florida Everglades, citizens have expressed their desire for ecosystem restoration to their political representatives and the representatives themselves are charged with providing the long-term support and funding required for restoration. Only an educated and dedicated political leadership demonstrating vision and stamina will keep a long-term focus on restoring ecosystems in the face of numerous short-term competing interests.

Marine resources of the Salish Sea are managed by multiple local, state, federal, tribal, and national governments. The common bonds among these myriad of governance agencies is the human community they serve and the ecosystem they seek to sustain as healthy and productive. Scientists play a unique role in linking citizens, politicians and nature. By sharing knowledge they can help inform citizens and decision makers so that actions are science-based and take account of the key factors that will help ensure success.

Summary

Ocean and aquatic systems generate more than 60% of the world’s ecosystem services. Our quality of life depends on designing healthy coastal ecosystems. Photo: J. Gaydos

The issues people face in designing a healthy Salish Sea are not unique. Human communities worldwide gather in ever increasing numbers at the coast, adding pressure on the ecosystem’s goods and services.

Human use threatens the sustainability of the natural, social, and economic values that attracted them to the coast in the first place. Ocean and aquatic systems generate more than 60% of the world’s ecosystem services. Human communities ignore or degrade these services and their value at their own peril.

These ten ecological principles can guide people in designing local actions that will have persistent global impacts on environmental quality and human health and well-being. These science-based principles will be most effective in informing political processes if they are communicated to citizens and policy makers in ways that are both tangible and memorable. Societies around the world that have cultural, religious, and economic differences are working to design healthy ecosystems. Expressing ecological principles in ways that might capture the attention and interest of local communities will benefit place-based education and conservation efforts.

In summary, issues at political boundaries can be resolved with cooperation, while nature’s boundaries are immutable dynamic connections that cannot be negotiated or changed by policy: think ecosystem.

Great thinkers and philosophers from Henry David Thoreau to Edward O. Wilson have espoused the global interdependence of people and other parts of nature that is inescapable in designing sustainable communities: account for ecosystem connectivity.

Knowing how plants and animals are related to each other by their diets is a practical way to visualize connectivity, interdependence, and system integrity and helps predict how nature will respond to stresses: understand your food web.

Habitats of adequate size and quality to support high levels of biodiversity are critical characteristics of healthy ecosystems: avoid fragmentation.

Loss of integrity threatens nature’s stability, beauty, and capacity for self-renewal, but integrity can be rebuilt and sustained by design: respect ecosystem integrity.

While healthy ecosystems have tremendous capacity for self-renewal, resilience can be overwhelmed by collective human activities. Again, resilience can be restored by people, by design.

Healthy ecosystems are money in your pocket because they save on repair costs and deliver essential goods and services: value nature.

Diseases in marine animals are closely linked to human health and can provide early warnings as sentinels of ecosystem stress: watch wildlife health.

Nature is variable and rarely average. Extreme natural events test fitness, mediate competition, and assure diverse opportunities: plan for extremes.

Finally, people matter from grassroots to government and little will happen without educating and incorporating humans at every level into designing a healthy ecosystem for the future: share the knowledge.

How you can get involved in healing the Salish Sea

If you agree our top ten principles provide an important framework for protecting and healing the Salish Sea, please join our efforts by becoming a donor.

Your donations go to support our programs to keep the Salish Sea healthy for wildlife and for people.

Make a donation

How science is saving Pinto abalone

Known for their beautiful shells and outstanding flavor, Pinto abalone (Haliotiskamtschatkana, also known as Northern abalone) have been harvested from the Salish Sea for centuries, at least until 1990 when Canada closed commercial and recreational fisheries and 1994 when Washington State closed the recreational fishery due to declining populations. Populations are estimated at less than 10% of the levels in 1978. The existing population is aging without being replaced by younger individuals.

Normally, populations rebound when harvest is closed, but this hasn't happened with abalone.

According to the Puget Sound Recovery Fund, one of the major players in abalone recovery,

Pinto abalone are considered functionally extinct in Washington waters. Natural populations have plummeted and there are too few left in the wild to reproduce successfully. We have reached the point where recovery is not likely without human intervention.

The SeaDoc Society has played a crucial role in the development of a successful hatchery program through several tightly-targeted projects, including a genetic analysis for selection of breeding stock, a study of out-planting techniques that showed us what size to outplant for best survival, and an assessment of the best habitat types for out-planting locations. SeaDoc also has funded studies to look at juvenile abalone use of urchins as a a safe hiding place from predators and the merits of aggregating wild adult abalone to improve their spawning success.

Causes of decline

Photo: J. Bouma

Abalone are slow-growing, long-lived marine snails. They live in rocky nearshore habitats. Because their meat is a prized delicacy, they have been victims of over-harvest and poaching. Once their population declined, their recovery has been limited because they are broadcast spawners. This means that they cast their gametes into the water, so without a sufficient density of individuals, fertilization and ultimately reproduction don't happen. Ocean acidification, changes in salinity, and higher water temperatures may potentially affect the viability of abalone larvae or adult shell formation in the future.

Status

Pinto abalone are federally listed as a "Species of Concern" and are listed in Washington State as candidates for listing and as a species of greatest conservation need. In 2013, petitions were submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity to list pinto abalone under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In Canada, pinto abalone are listed as threatened under COSEWIC and the Canadian Species at Risk Act. They are listed as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

Watch as a hatchery-raised abalone does a defensive "dance"

SeaDoc's role in recovery programs

Abalone restoration efforts involve many partners, including Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the University of Washington School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center, NOAA's Mukilteo Research Station, Baywater, Inc., the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, the Elwha Tribe, the Northwest Straits Commission, and the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. SeaDoc's role has been to provide critical funding and scientific expertise to help make sure that recovery efforts have the best chance of succeeding. As with our other projects, we focus on crucial knowledge gaps that can be filled with highly-targeted, relatively small-scale projects.

Genetic analysis: Recognizing that a hatchery program would be doomed if we did not start with the correct genetics in the broodstock , in 2006 we funded scientists at the University of Washington to do a genetic analysis of the pinto abalone populations in the Salish Sea region. The study actually found that there was a cryptic sub-species of northern abalone, meaning that although all Pinto abalone look the same, there is actually a group of them that have different genetics than the rest, enabling correct selection of broodstock.  

Pilot outplanting studies: In 2007, we funded pilot outplanting efforts in order to answer the important question of how the size of juvenile abalone affected their survival rates. Scientists tagged and released 281 juvenile abalone of different sizes at multiple study sites in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They checked on these "outplanted" abalone frequently for the year following introduction and learned some very important information: abalone over 25mm had almost a sixfold better chance at survival than smaller ones. Additionally, the researchers found that abalone were more likely to survive in certain habitats. Obviously, growing the abalone larger means more time (and expense) in the hatchery, but the research showed this extra investment was critical for outplanting success.

Transboundary collaboration: Also in 2007, SeaDoc hosted a transboundary meeting with US and Canadian scientists and managers to collaborate on abalone recovery. Both countries were working on recovering Pinto abalone and this provided an opportunity to share information and establish a long-term working group to collaborate on recovery.

Aggregation studies: In 2008 SeaDoc supported a study to test the viability of bringing wild abalone from disparate locations into close proximity to facilitate successful spawning. This study showed that adult abalone move a lot and for aggregation to work, we likely need to bring them together at higher than needed densities to ensure that enough will stay close for successful reproduction.

Habitat assessment: SeaDoc funded researchers to study different potential habitats. The research showed that kelp areas with abundant crustose coralline algae on the rocky surfaces had the best potential to support abalone.

Grow out studies: In the summer of 2013 SeaDoc helped the Puget Sound Restoration Fund coordinate a project to take hatchery-reared animals and grow them out in protective cages on private docks to increase the number of juvenile abalone that could be reared to release size.

SeaDoc was involved in abalone recovery at early stages, providing essential funding and expertise so the scientists involved could have the resources to design a successful and sustainable hatchery program. In 2011, based on the success of the pilot programs, the NOAA Species of Concern Program funded a half-million dollar program to restore abalone.

How you can help

All of SeaDoc's work to help shape a successful hatchery program for abalone recovery was made possible by donations from private individuals like yourself.

You can be a part of our science-based approach to finding the answers to important questions that will help create a healthier Salish Sea.

Please consider making a donation to support the Salish Sea wildlife you care about.

Or sign up for our monthly newsletter to get timely updates on how our projects are helping protect and restore wildlife populations, from charismatic animals like killer whales to invertebrates like abalone.

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For more information about abalone recovery:

• Restoration Fund 2014 Kamtschatkana Recovery Plan
• Restoration Fund Project: Pinto Abalone
• Encyclopedia of Puget Sound: Pinto Abalone
• NOAA Species of Concern: Pinto Abalone
• Seattle Aquarium: Pinto Abalone
• Status and habitat associations of the threatened northern abalone: important of kelp and coralline algae, by L. Rogers-Bennett (SeaDoc study)

Killer Whale Necropsy Protocol (2014)

Live Stranded Killer Whale in Hawaii, Photo courtesy of Jessica Aschettino, NOAA/NMFS/PIRO Permit #932-1489-0

Killer whale strandings are rare events and biologists and veterinarians should use every stranding as an opportunity to learn more about this species. This necropsy and disease testing protocol, first published in 2005 and updated in 2014, will provide guidelines for more comprehensive necropsies and standardize disease screening so that we might learn more about diseases of free-ranging killer whales.

Also available en Español.

How large is the Salish Sea's smelt population, and why does it matter?

"Can you imagine making your family’s budget without knowing how much is available to spend? That is essentially what’s happening with smelt."

Joe Gaydos of the SeaDoc Society and Ginny Broadhurst of the Northwest Straits Commission recently wrote a joint statement calling for increased investment in the study of the small schooling fishes that form a foundation for the food web of the Salish Sea:

On April 11th the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear from the public about a proposed rule change regarding fishing for surf smelt. Smelt are small fish – the type you might use as bait to catch larger fish. We’re used to arguing about salmon, the “catch,” not the bait, so this is a novel concept to many. But smelt, along with herring, sand lance, eulachon and other small schooling fish, are food for iconic larger fish like salmon and lingcod, amazing diving birds such as puffins and murres, and marine mammals including harbor porpoise, so talking about the bait is important.

This proposed rule addresses smelt, one of the only two baitfish species that are harvested both commercially and recreationally. Naturally this is sparking controversy among user groups. Commercial and recreational fishermen believe the smelt are doing fine and want to keep harvesting them while a cadre of bird watchers see these small fish as the key to recovering many marine bird species in decline and are looking for stronger protection. The problem is not the controversy, but that we haven’t made the commitment necessary to have the data we need to have a meaningful conversation about smelt.

We applaud the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s attention to this small fish. Our concern is the continued lack of investment in gathering information needed to intelligently manage our valuable marine resources, in this case smelt. Can you imagine making your family’s budget without knowing how much is available to spend? That is essentially what’s happening with smelt. We are making an important decision about possibly curtailing commercial and recreational harvest without really knowing how large the smelt population is, which makes it awfully hard to know how much we can sustainably harvest.

For years the SeaDoc Society, the Northwest Straits Commission, and a suite of others, have worked with limited budgets to study and draw needed attention to these small, energy-rich fish that feed larger species. But this might be like having a bake sale to fund a war. We spend billions of dollars gathering information for national security or tracking economic indicators. In contrast, we have consistently underfunded the intelligence gathering needed to understand the important foundations of our ecosystem. The Salish Sea is an important economic driver for our region. It provides food for our tables, as well as recreation, jobs, and a quality of life that attracts top businesses to the region. As citizens of Washington, we should demand more attention to important baitfish populations.

Smelt feed on plankton and they become an energy-rich source of food for people, fish and birds. The so-called “bottom of the food web” is critical to the rest of the food web and warrants our attention. It is time to provide the financial resources that the state and tribes need to better understand how we can safely both harvest them and leave enough for the fish and wildlife. It is time to work with our Canadian neighbors to fund and develop a comprehensive and meaningful plan for baitfish restoration and protection throughout the Salish Sea. Let’s act like the health of the Salish Sea ecosystem and our economy depend upon these unsung heroes, because they do.

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Banner photo: Juvenile sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) (top) and surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) (bottom) collected on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Scale is in inches. USGS photograph by David Ayers. Courtesy EarthFix photo stream on Flickr.

How to better communicate as a scientist

Why does good communication matter when it comes to science? In a recent article for The Wildlife Professional, a journal published by The Wildlife Society, Joe Gaydos discussed the imperative for scientists to become better communicators.

"[Wildlife scientists] are thinkers motivated by questions and answers and a dedication to managing resources for long-term sustainability and the good of the whole. ...But we are living in an age where most people get their information from places other than where scientists publish. Consequently our information is often not read, heard, used, or even believed." (emphasis added)

Gaydos reviews two books that have informed his own approach to science communication, Don't be Such a Scientist by Randy Olson and Escape from the Ivory Tower by Nancy Baron.

Olson's book showcases specific communication failures (but with a light touch) and provides advice on speaking naturally and persuasively. Baron's book is more of a how-to manual, with detailed advice on crafting clear messages and speaking with policymakers.

Gaydos writes, "...wildlife biologists have an obligation to speak for our science so it is available and accessible to those who need to use it to make important decisions.... It's time we all step out of our comfort zone, put our best foot forward, and become part of the discussion."

Read the article.

Video: Robyn du Pre on derelict gear removal

On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, Robyn du Pre of the Northwest Straits Foundation came to Orcas to talk about how the local effort to remove lost fishing nets and crabbing gear has strengthened our local economy and helped recover marine wildlife populations.

Over the last decade, the Northwest Straits Initiative has removed 4,605 nets from shallow waters in the Salish Sea, saving the lives of more than 3.5 million marine animals that would have otherwise been entrapped and killed by these nets each year.

And guess what, it's cost-effective. A joint Northwest Straits - SeaDoc Society study revealed that while removing a net cost $1,358, every net removed saves $1,965 each year in Dungeness crab alone, not to mention the salmon, lingcod, birds, and mammals that would have been killed by that net.

Video: John Calambokidis on Harbor Porpoise and other cetaceans in the Salish Sea

Although the harbor porpoise is the most abundant and widely dispersed cetacean species in the Salish Sea, its probably one of the least well known. Believe it or not, we still know very little about their habitat preferences in the Salish Sea, if the population is increasing, decreasing or stable, how they are related to harbor porpoise outside of the Salish Sea, and even when and where they have their young.

We do know that Harbor porpoise are among the smallest of the cetaceans, reaching an average size of about 5 feet and 120 pounds. They can dive deep, more than 655 feet, but usually stay near the surface, coming up regularly to breathe with a distinctive puffing noise that resembles a sneeze.

On January 14th, 2014, John Calambokidis, a Senior Research Biologist at Cascadia Research Collective, shed new light on harbor porpoise in the Salish Sea. Calambokidis is a well-respected marine mammal biologist and has authored two books on marine mammals as well as more than 150 scientific publications. His work has been covered by the Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV specials.

The 2013-14 Marine Science Lecture Series is designed to inspire the general public and to highlight the amazing fish and wildlife of our region. Lectures are free.

The Lecture Series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila. It has been made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna (Deer Harbor Charters), Barbara Brown, Audrey and Dean Stupke and West Sound Marina. Co- sponsors Barbara Bentley and Glenn Prestwich, Emmanuel Episcopal and Bill Patterson (Chimayo/Sazio).

Video: Julie Stein on archaeology and early coastal settlement patterns

From the press release:

Have you ever wondered how people lived in the San Juan Islands thousands of years ago? What resources did they depend upon? Did they always eat salmon? What about elk? Where did they live?

Dr. Julie Stein, author of “Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory,” will share the stories that archaeology tells about life in the San Juan Islands before recorded history. A professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington and the director of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Dr. Stein has made her career studying adaptations of coastal prehistoric peoples, particularly in the Northwest Coast.

Dr. Stein has identified important cultural sites in the San Juan Islands, has made discoveries about summer and winter village sites, and has studied tools found at the sites to deduce what early residents ate and how they engaged in art and fishing. Come learn how archaeologists learn about the people who first inhabited our region. The lecture is free to the public.

The Lecture Series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila. It has been made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna (Deer Harbor Charters), Barbara Brown, Audrey and Dean Stupke and West Sound Marina as well as co-sponsorship by Barbara Bentley and Glenn Prestwich and Bill Patterson (Chimayo/Sazio).

The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest

Update March 2016

Thanks to the incredible support of our donors and of the many people in the region who love the ocean, SeaDoc's The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest has sold fantastically well in its first year in print.The book spent 10 weeks on the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association nonfiction bestseller list. It was also the #1 bestseller at our local Orcas Island bookshop, Darvill’s Books. (It sold 582 copies last year, more than double the number of copies sold of the second place book.)

The book has fulfilled our vision to help thousands of people see the beauty of the Salish Sea and join in efforts to protect and care for it.

Thank you to all of the people who helped underwrite the book and to everyone who bought a copy. And if you don’t have a copy, you can find one at your local bookstore or anywhere books are sold.

The Salish Sea region is an ecological jewel straddling the western border between Canada and the United States, connected to the Pacific Ocean primarily through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There, lush and mossy old-growth forests meet waters with dazzlingly-colored anemones and majestic orcas.

SeaDoc's new book, The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest by Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joseph K. Gaydos (Sasquatch Books; $24.95; March 2015), combines a scientist's inquiring mind, dramatic color photographs, and a lively narrative of compelling stories. This is the first book of its kind to describe the Salish Sea, whose name was not even officially recognized until 2008. One of the world’s largest inland seas, the Salish Sea contains 6,535 square miles of sea surface area and 4,642 miles of coastline. Fashioned by the violent volcanism of the Pacific Rim of Fire, plate tectonics, and the sculptural magic wrought by Ice Age glaciers, the Salish Sea is a unique ecosystem home to thousands of different species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and macro-invertebrates.

Amongst breathtaking color photography, The Salish Sea takes a look at the region’s geology, fauna, and history, and ends with hope for the protection of its future. The reader is left with a sense of wonder for this intricate marine ecosystem and the life that it sustains.

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Video by Colin Sternagel of Joe Gaydos giving a book talk

About the authors

Audrey DeLella Benedict is a biologist, a writer, and a passionate advocate for the conservation of the global ocean and Arctic and alpine environments the world over. She is founder and director of Cloud Ridge Naturalists, a nonprofit natural history educational organization now in its fourth decade. She is currently a member of the board of the SeaDoc Society and served for nearly a decade as a trustee for the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy, from which she received the prestigious One Conservancy Award in 2003 for her work in Ecuador. Audrey splits her time between her home at 9,000 feet along the Colorado Front Range and her off-grid cottage on San Juan's Frost Island.

Joseph K. Gaydos is Chief Scientist for the SeaDoc Society, a marine science and conservation program focused on the Salish Sea. He is a licensed wildlife veterinarian and has a PhD in wildlife health. For over a decade he has been studying the fish and wildlife of the Salish Sea.

Interviews with the authors

• The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound interviewed Joe Gaydos and Audrey Benedict about the book. You can read the interview here.
• Joe was interviewed on KEXP's Sustainability Segment. Listen here or on iTunes. "The longer you look at a tidepool, the more you see."
• Joe was interviewed by KSER Radio in Everett for their Sound Living segment and by KTPZ in Port Townsend in their Nature Now segment.
• On June 1, Joe was interviewed by Terry Moore of CFAX in Vancouver, BC. The interview is on SoundCloud and begins about 36 minutes in. Listen.
• Also in Canada, Joe and Audrey were interviewed by CBC Radio The Early Edition with Rick Cluff, on CJSF Radio Endeavors, by Joseph Planta on The Commentary.ca, and were on live television on the Global News Noon News Hour with hosts Lynn Colliar and Jay Durant.
• The Vancouver Sun did a nice interview with Joe and Audrey in conjunction with their trip to Canada for World Oceans Day.

Book events

Authors Audrey Benedict and Joe Gaydos appeared across the region during April and May. Watch the video above to see the talk given at Third Place Books in the Seattle area, or watch the joint celebration of World Oceans Day hosted by the Georgia Strait Alliance and the Vancouver Aquarium.

Video of event at Vancouver Aquarium:

(Kevin Campion's film about the Salish Sea starts about 20 minutes in. Joe and Audrey's talk starts about 57 minutes in.)

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Where to buy

The book is available at local independent bookstores and online. ISBN 978-1570619854.

Book reviews

SEA-media.org writes, "In just 148 pages, Benedict and Gaydos have captured the essence of the Salish Sea."

Readers learn about its nature and biology, geology and chemistry, animals, plants, and microorganisms. They learn of its Coast Salish past and its fishing, industrial, recreational, city and town present, and they learn of peoples’ place in its ecosystem. As beauty and perspective and appreciation flow off the pages into the minds of readers, a key objective of the authors is achieved: to connect people with their home.

The Vancouver Sun praised the book for being a "Richly-illustrated book [that] provides insight into the wonders of area."

The Salish Sea is a feast for the eyes, a high-quality publishing effort rich in glossy colour photos and fascinating biological information that is likely to surprise even someone well-versed in our marine waters.

Seattle Magazine featured the book in their March 2015 issue:

The new book The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest (Sasquatch Books, $24.95) looks at these local waters through a scientific lens, illustrating the region’s unique geology (thanks to glaciers, plate tectonics and volcanoes) and vibrant marine ecology. Written by biologist Audrey DeLella Benedict with Joseph K. Gaydos, chief scientist for the SeaDoc Society (an Orcas Island–based conservation group focused on the Salish Sea), the book pairs bright, bold, photographs with fascinating facts about local sea creatures. (Did you know that the Salish Sea is home to the world’s largest species of barnacle, octopus and burrowing clam?)

Cascadia Weekly writes:

With every page studded with stunning photographs, this book is perfect for simply curling up and looking at the pictures. Bonus that the informative text by Audrey DeLella Benedict is parsed out in easy-to-ingest sections, science made interesting and relevant. Zoology, botany, past and present geology, anthropology, and issues related to the region’s economy are covered, with the emphasis always on species interdependency and teaching about the importance of keeping this ecosystem healthy for all its inhabitants.

The Bellingham Herald says:

I’ve saved the best for last – the book’s inclusion of nearly 200 color images from more than four dozen photographers, including Art Wolfe and neurologist/underwater photographer Marc Chamberlain. These enhance and inform the text more eloquently than I can describe – they are stunning illustrations of the magical place we call home.

The Islands' Sounder says:

From the icy summit of Mount Baker to mudflats of Fidalgo Bay to giant basking sharks of the deep to the alien-esque egg-yolk jellyfish, “The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest” reveals a vast world that is hard to comprehend.

Christian Martin writes in Cascadia Weekly,

"Through maps, charts, satellite imagery, nature photography and writing, Benedict and Gaydos concoct an engaging presentation of the natural history of our “jewel of the Pacific Northwest.” Their mantra of “know, connect, protect and restore” is a hopeful way forward in to a challenging future.

Sharon Wooton wrote in the Everett Herald,

The book offers the bizarre and beautiful, alien shapes and streamlined bodies, the invisible and obvious, swimmers and flyers and floaters, endangered and countless, mud flats and forests, orcas and dying sea stars.

The High Country News writes,

Dozens of gorgeous color photographs reveal its intricate beauty, and the book ends with a ringing call to action and a vision for protecting the region. This volume itself is a step toward that goal: All the royalties from its sale will be donated to the Puget Sound-based marine conservation center, the SeaDoc Society.

Photographer Max Waugh writes,

[The book is] an eye-opener for those who think the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest don't house the same level of biodiversity as more well-known areas of the globe... From cover to cover, the volume is filled with bold, bright images showing off the amazing scenery and rich biodiversity of the region.

How to keep killer whales out of oil spills (Exxon Valdez anniversary)

Photo Credit: kckellner via Compfightcc

Imagine if you woke up one day and parts of your town were coated in a hard-to-see but highly-toxic chemical. How would you know what to areas to avoid, where to find safety, or even which grocery stores had non-contaminated food? For humans the answer is signs, police tape, announcements on the radio, and breathless disaster reporting on the television.

But for marine mammals the techniques are a little different.

25 years ago today, the Exxon Valdez spilled tens of millions of gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.

Back before the Exxon Valdez oil spill, people thought killer whales would know better than to swim into an oil spill.

Turns out they were wrong. Many individuals in the two pods of orcas that use Prince William Sound, pods AB and AT1, had direct contact with the spilled oil. The pods suffered large population losses in the years following the spill. Twenty-five years later the AB pod has started to recover, but scientists think the AT1 pod, with only 7 members left, will soon go extinct.

So how do you keep killer whales out of oil spills?

This was a question SeaDoc sought to answer back in 2007. We partnered with NOAA to bring together a group of killer whale experts and spill response professionals to discuss how the Salish Sea's resident and transient killer whales could be protected. Even though 18 years had passed since the Exxon Valdez event, the Northwest Area Contingency Plan did not include a plan for dealing with killer whales.

Over two days, the workshop participants discussed the effects of oil on cetaceans, killer whale mortality from the Exxon Valdez event, permit issues, risk assessments, response coordination, availability of equipment, pre- and post-event monitoring, and techniques for hazing animals to keep them away from oiled areas.

The result is a much higher level of preparedness to save whales' lives in the event of a catastrophic spill. The response plan for killer whales has been incorporated into the current Northwest Area Contingency Plan. Responders will have techniques and equipment ready to use. Of course, it's an open question how effective these techniques will be in any particular spill. It will depend a lot where the spill takes place and how close any killer whales are. But the planned out strategy will certainly be more effective that ad-hoc tactics pulled together in the middle of a crisis.

SeaDoc's work on killer whales and oil spills is a good example of how we bring people together to solve tough issues, especially issues that involve both sides of the international border that splits the Salish Sea.

Interested in learning more? Read the meeting notes from the 2007 workshop.

Also, see NOAA's page on oil spill response and killer whales, and a 3/24/2014 report from KUOW's Ashley Ahearn: EarthFix Conversation: 25 Years Later, Scientists Remember The Exxon Valdez.

Video: a Harbor Porpoise says hello

Harbor Porpoises are the smallest cetacean (whale or dolphin) in the Salish Sea. They're also the only year-round cetacean residents. Even the "Southern Resident" population of killer whales spends much of the year outside of the Puget Sound / Georgia Basin area. Because they're here year-round, studying them reveals information about what toxins and diseases are in the water. Usually we don't see much of harbor porpoises—they have only a short fin that hardly breaks the water when they breathe—but viewed from underwater you can see how curious and intelligent they are.

This video was filmed during the SeaDoc Society's March 2014 board meeting and retreat, which took place at the Vancouver Aquarium.

How to participate in the Surf Smelt rulemaking process

Quick facts

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is taking comments on smelt fishing rules until April 11, 2014

SeaDoc has prepared a fact sheet about smelt in the Salish Sea.

We encourage you to use the available data on smelt to form an opinion about smelt fishing and to share your conclusions with the Commission.

SeaDoc is focused on identifying problems in the marine ecosystem and then using science to help find solutions.

Recently we were able to provide some important data on some very important fish: Surf Smelt. Now these data on the recreational harvest of smelt, along with other information, are being used by the general public and fisheries managers to make an important decision about Surf Smelt harvest in Washington.

Surf Smelt are one of 10 species of small schooling fishes that are critical for turning energy from plankton into fat and energy to feed larger fish (like salmon and lingcod), marine birds, and marine mammals.

Also, they are one of the few forage fish species for which there is a commercial and recreational fishery in Washington. Last year we funded a project to look at how many pounds of smelt are being harvested in the recreational fishery. It turns out, more than managers expected.

Now the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is looking to the public to decide if they should reduce the commercial or the recreational smelt fisheries (or both). The decision is not a scientific one, but it does use science. This is an opportunity for members of the public to help decide if they are comfortable with the current harvest, or if they are worried that the current harvest level is taking too many smelt away from the bigger fish they care more about, or from marine birds they like to watch.  Specifically, the Fish and Wildlife Commission is considering three options.

1. Leave things exactly as they are.
2. Reduce both commercial and recreational harvests.
3. Eliminate the commercial harvest and reduce the recreational harvest.

One of SeaDoc's primary goals is to make sure science gets off the shelf and gets used by decision makers and the public in making policy. We've done the science. Now it's time for it to get used.

SeaDoc is NOT an advocacy organization. We're not going to tell you what you should say in your comments, but we do want to encourage you use the available data to figure out your position and make your voice heard.

Check out our fact sheet on Surf Smelt in the Salish Sea. Use it to learn more about this important species and to learn how easy it is for you to be a part of this rule making process. Please share it with other people who are interested in the ecological and economic health of the Salish Sea.

Commenting is easy. You can do it online at the WDFW website. It can be as quick as filling out your name and choosing a preferred option, or you can include a comment of up to 1,000 characters. If you're interested in attending a public meeting and giving 3 minutes of in-person testimony, read our hints in the fact sheet.

Learn more about our smelt fishing study here.

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Photos courtesy of J. Gaydos.

Eelgrass disease study investigates vulnerability to Labyrinthula

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) plays a key role in the health of the Salish Sea ecosystem. It stabilizes sediments, reduces the impact of wave action, provides habitat, and is an important nursery and foraging area for multiple species, some of which are endangered. SeaDoc's involvement in eelgrass issues goes back to 2003, when we convened a meeting of eelgrass experts, resource managers, and land-use specialists to analyze the sudden disappearance of 35 acres of eelgrass in San Juan Island's Westcott Bay.

Eelgrass can be damaged by pollutants, by shading from docks and structures, and by physical damage from improper anchoring or badly placed moorings. It's also susceptible to disease, particularly from a slime mold-like organism called Labyrinthula zosterae. And it’s no small threat. This disease wiped out 90% of the eelgrass along the Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe in the 1930s.

We know that the organism is found in the Salish Sea, but the mere presence of a pathogen does not always mean disease. So what are the other factors? A recent publication by Maya Groner and numerous colleagues (supported in part by SeaDoc) used field surveys and experimental manipulations to find out how the age of eelgrass leaves impacts disease prevalence.

The upshot: mature beds and shallow eelgrass beds could be especially susceptible to outbreaks of wasting disease.

View the publication here.

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Banner photo from NOAA Photo Library via Flickr.