Category: People

PSI is hiring for a new postdoc position

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PSI is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist to focus on modeling the connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Puget Sound. The full job announcement is available below. University of Washington Postdoctoral Research Scientist Modeling Terrestrial-Aquatic Linkages in Puget Sound The Puget Sound Institute, a University of Washington research center located in Tacoma (www.pugetsoundinstitute.org), is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist who focuses on modeling the connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, especially how the built environment controls the movement of water, nutrients, and chemical contaminants into adjacent surface waters.  This […]

Video: Identifying sources of pollution in the Skagit Valley

Screenshot from video.
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A video produced by the University of Washington Center for Urban Waters shows how chemical tracers can identify sources of pollution affecting shellfish growers in Puget Sound’s Skagit Valley. Fecal coliform pollution is a widespread problem in Puget Sound, resulting in costly beach and shellfish bed closures whenever it is detected. Analytical techniques can now reveal whether polluted water came from humans or livestock, an often contentious issue when cleaning up contaminants. If scientists can find traces of chemicals such as caffeine or cough syrup, they know to look for […]

PSI Director to present lecture at “Superheroes of Science” series

Puget Sound Institute Director Joel Baker
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PSI director Joel Baker will present “Water in the City: Let’s Get Better At This” at the RAIN Superheroes of Science lecture series on April 8th in Tacoma. Water is ubiquitous. We all take it for granted and yet agonize over it. Most of us use 10 gallons each morning before our first cup of coffee and over 100 gallons throughout the day. While 3 in 10 people worldwide lack access to clean water in their homes, those of us in developed countries blithely turn the spigot. Despite this, we […]

Marc Mangel joins PSI

PSI senior research scientist Marc Mangel.
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By Jeff Rice How many fish are in the Salish Sea? It’s an impossible question that drives the Puget Sound Institute’s newest senior scientist Marc Mangel.  Mangel has spent his career working on fish and fisheries issues and uses mathematical models to answer critical questions about species such as their population numbers and population health. He joins PSI this month as an affiliate professor at the University of Washington Tacoma where he will focus on a range of subjects related to species such as salmon and forage fish. Mangel comes […]

PSI research on opioids in mussels receives international coverage

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Our May 9th report on the discovery of opioids in Puget Sound mussels continues to be picked up by many national and international news organizations. The research was conducted by PSI’s Andy James in collaboration with scientists at the Puget Sound Mussel Monitoring Program at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Traces of oxycodone were found in transplanted mussels used for monitoring water quality in Puget Sound. The mussels were located in urban bays already considered to be polluted and were not collected near commercial shellfish operations. Scientists say […]

PSI welcomes Tanya Roberts as Research Scientist

Tanya Roberts
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Tanya Roberts is PSI’s newest research scientist, and comes to us from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program. While with Ecology (2005–2012; 2016–2017), Tanya worked with teams monitoring natural resources throughout the state, assessing groundwater, forest streams, and toxics, as well as serving as a data coordinator for a variety of Ecology programs. Her last several projects focused on Puget Sound, which led her to PSI where she will continue to support the ongoing Puget Sound recovery efforts funded through the National Estuary Program. Her initial work […]

Dispatches: Herring rescue

One of the herring rescued by the staff at the Vashon Island Nature Center. Photo courtesy of Amy Carey.
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A Puget Sound scientist’s work is never done. PSI’s Lead Ecosystem Ecologist Tessa Francis sent us this e-mail about a recent call to identify some wayward fish on Vashon Island. It didn’t hurt that she happens to study the same species of fish — Pacific herring — as part of her research at PSI. By Tessa Francis Two days into the New Year I got a text at lunch from Vashon Island Nature Center staff with a picture of dozens of fish in a pool: ‘Wondering if you could tell what […]

Study looks at climate change impacts on zooplankton

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PSI’s Lead Ecosystem Ecologist Tessa Francis is co-author of a paper describing the impacts of climate change on freshwater zooplankton communities. The 2017 paper in the journal Climate Change Responses analyzes plankton communities in an Alaskan lake and predicts that some copepods in the study area will decline while other plankton such as cladocerans will increase. The result suggest that there will be an increase in plankton-eating fish in the lake such as sockeye salmon, the authors report. Citation: Carter, J. L., Schindler, D. E., & Francis, T. B. (2017). […]

What makes stormwater toxic?

A dying female coho salmon in the Lower Duwamish spotted by Puget Soundkeeper volunteers in October 2017. Photo: Kathy Peter
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Stormwater may be Puget Sound’s most well-known pollutant, and at the same time its least known. While the state has called stormwater Puget Sound’s largest source of toxic contaminants, scientists are still having a tough time answering two basic questions about it: What is stormwater, exactly, and what does it do? Our magazine Salish Sea Currents looks at efforts by researchers to identify toxic chemicals in stormwater that may be killing large numbers of coho salmon in Puget Sound.

PSI social scientist receives EPA early career award

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PSI visiting scholar and lead social scientist Kelly Biedenweg has received a $400,000 EPA early career award to study the connection between human wellbeing and ecosystem health in Puget Sound. Biedenweg is currently an assistant professor at Oregon State University and the award continues some of the work she began at PSI to establish Human Wellbeing indicators for the Puget Sound Partnership. In addition to her early career award, Biedenweg is a partner in a collaborative grant with PSI to support an improved understanding of how humans interact and engage with […]

Interview: Can ’Silicon Valley North’ change the way we think about Salish Sea recovery?

Wide angle view of commuters in city
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By Jeff Rice, Puget Sound Institute A strong economy driven by a world-leading technology industry is expected to draw millions of new residents to the Salish Sea region within decades. This changing population brings with it new strains on the environment but also new perspectives. Incoming residents may not see Puget Sound the same way as previous generations. Many will have different relationships to the natural world or come from other cultural backgrounds and traditions. Technology will also play a role, not just as an economic driver, but as an […]

New project searches for contaminants of emerging concern

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PSI research scientist Andy James has been funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program to identify contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the waters of Puget Sound. There are literally thousands of man-made chemicals known as CECs circulating in local waters, but very little is known about their impacts on wildlife. They are often found in tiny concentrations and can include residuals from pharmaceuticals and personal care products that are flushed through treated wastewater. James’s project will extend through May 2019 and will focus on the non-targeted sampling of […]