By Jeff Rice The Puget Sound Partnership is re-evaluating the way it measures the health of Puget Sound. A newly published study could greatly expand the Partnership’s portfolio of Vital Signs, a collection of health indicators for the Puget Sound ecosystem that have been central to state and federal funding and planning. A key goal […]
September 19, 2018
Chemicals from automobile tires suspected in coho deaths
Findings authored this month by University of Washington scientists at the Center for Urban Waters and their collaborators provide new insight into “urban runoff mortality syndrome” affecting Puget Sound coho. By Jeff Rice Chemicals linked to automobile tires have been found in stormwater associated with the widespread deaths of coho salmon in Puget Sound. The […]
September 10, 2018
Transient phenomena in ecology
Puget Sound Institute Lead Ecosystem Ecologist Tessa Francis is co-author of a paper in the journal Science this month. The article, “Transient phenomena in ecology” reviews current knowledge of transient dynamics within ecosystems. The authors say the paper shows a need to consider short-term ecological changes as well as long-term, and that “basing either management […]
September 9, 2018
Studies show challenges for eelgrass restoration
As critically important eelgrass declines in some parts of Puget Sound, scientists are trying to plant more of it. The health of the ecosystem may be riding on their efforts, but what they are finding is something that farmers have known for thousands of years: Getting something to grow may be harder than you think. […]
August 31, 2018
Dispatches: Ancient DNA reveals ecological history
Occasionally, this space includes reports and essays from guest writers on the subject of Puget Sound ecosystem recovery. Social scientist Whitney Fleming has this dispatch on new findings that are being revealed by ancient sources. Archaeologists are looking at ancient DNA combined with oral histories to determine ecological conditions from the past. By Whitney Fleming […]
August 29, 2018
Nights in the lives of the rhinoceros auklets of Protection Island
More than 70 percent of the seabird population of Puget Sound nests on a single island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That includes a massive colony of rhinoceros auklets that has drawn the interest of scientists and birders alike. Our writer Eric Wagner visited the island this summer and reports on a long-term […]
August 28, 2018
Building a library of microplastics in the Salish Sea
By Shannon Black Microplastics are found throughout the Salish Sea, but “surprisingly little is known about the sources of these particles,” report Canadian scientists who presented their findings last spring at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Seattle. Now the group, led by Dr. Peter Ross at the Vancouver Aquarium is working to categorize the […]
August 27, 2018
PSI collaborator receives NSF grant to study coho deaths
PSI collaborator Ed Kolodziej has received a $330,000 National Science Foundation grant to expand his research on toxic pollutants in Puget Sound. Kolodziej’s project will identify chemicals in stormwater that are killing coho salmon and endangering some spawning runs. The project includes a collaboration with citizen scientists who will alert project members to salmon die-offs […]
August 10, 2018
Task force narrows list of ideas to save killer whales from extinction
By Christopher Dunagan The term “no silver bullet” has been heard again and again as dozens of experts from throughout the state examine ideas that might help avoid extinction for Puget Sound’s beloved orcas. The Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force, created by the governor, is considering short-term actions — such as increasing hatchery production […]
August 6, 2018
Are low flows changing in Puget Sound streams?
A 2018 report from Nicholas Georgiadis at the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute analyzes the effect of rainfall and human-caused factors on regional summer stream flows. The report is available on the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound.