• Projects
  • Estimating the ecosystem indicators of anadromous salmonids in the Puget Sound region

Breadcrumb

Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) Fish Ecology FE - Watershed

Information

Project
Marine survival of Puget Sound salmon
Title
Estimating the ecosystem indicators of anadromous salmonids in the Puget Sound region
Description
Stocks of Chinook & coho salmon and steelhead, have declined over the last 50 years, and poor marine survival in the Salish Sea has been implicated as a major cause of declines. The objective of this project is to develop approaches for better understanding causes of poor marine survival, to improve forecasting of conditions on an annual basis, and to determine whether particular management actions can ameliorate or offset these circumstances.

Research Themes

Ecosystem approach to improve management of marine resources
The California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, Puget Sound and the Columbia River Basin are home to a wide range of freshwater and marine resources that provide a wealth of ecosystem goods and services. Ensuring the resiliency and productivity of the California Current and Pacific Northwest ecosystems requires an integrated understanding of their structure, function, and vulnerability to increased human population growth in coastal communities and competing uses of coastal waterways and oceans. The NWFSC‘s approach to understanding these large ecosystems integrates studies across ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine) and scientific disciplines to inform resource managers responsible for conserving marine resources.

Research Foci

Assess ecosystem status and trends
Tracking the status of ecosystems across time and space is data intensive as it necessitates evaluating a broad range of trophic levels and environmental conditions from pre-European times to the present. Because ecosystems vary across space and time, the NWFSC must maintain a research focus on the design and implementation of monitoring programs that are capable of capturing this variability. Key research elements are the development and application of novel survey designs, the development of information rich metrics and indicators, and the development of novel spatiotemporal decision support models to facilitate the use of monitoring data in science based decision making. Long-term monitoring program design should be integrated with the development of ecosystem models and indicators to ensure that critical data are collected to support these efforts. An important management goal is the ability to quickly detect important changes in the state of ecosystems (e.g., presence of an invasive species) such that preventative actions can be taken as soon as possible; thus, key management questions and uncertainties should be identified as the structure of monitoring program design to facilitate the decision-making process. It is imperative that the NWFSC’s monitoring science strengths be applied to the design of ecosystem monitoring programs for species (e.g., salmon, rockfish) and ecosystems so that such programs are strategically designed to maximize useable information and minimize cost and effort.
Characterize ecological interactions (e.g. predation, competition, parasitism, disease, etc.) within and among species
Predator-prey interactions, inter- and intra-specific competition, and parasites and pathogens influence the survival, growth, and reproductive success of anadromous and marine fishes, marine mammals and other marine organisms. Moreover, anthropogenic stressors, such as pollution and fishing, can influence these interactions. Because of the complex nature of these interactions, addressing questions about ecological interactions will require novel field and laboratory studies and analyses. This includes ecosystem models, use of innovative technologies (e.g., otolith microchemistry and stable isotopes), integration of sample collection efforts with those of the Ocean Observing System entities on the west coast, and quantifying interactions among environmental stressors, species behavior and ecosystem processes.

Keywords

Chinook salmon
species of interest
Puget Sound
Puget Sound
survival
Survival

Products

None associated

Taxa

Genus Oncorhynchus
-
Species Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Chinook salmon, king salmon, spring salmon

People

Corey Phillis
External Collaborator
Correigh Greene
Principal Investigator
Joshua Chamberlin
Staff