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The natural biodiversity of the lakes of King County is strongly influenced by geography. The county runs from the Cascade mountain crest to the shores of Puget Sound, covering all three different Level III ecoregions (Puget Lowland, North Cascade, and Cascade). The geology, elevation, climate, and ecology in these three ecoregions are all different, and these differences in environme...

Complex physical processes such as hydrology, nutrient cycling, and sediment transport are linked to water circulation patterns in Puget Sound. 

The following article describes how both adult and juvenile bull trout use estuaries in Puget Sound and includes text from two previously published overviews on the subject by University of Washington biologist Thomas P. Quinn.

An October 2014 report examines the planning and monitoring of human wellbeing as a component of resource management in Whatcom County.

Puzzling encounters between endangered killer whales and harbor porpoises point to questions about prey availability and whale culture, scientists say. Are the whales playing, practicing their hunting skills, or is something else going on? 

Cuvier’s beaked whales are the most commonly stranded beaked whale along the outer coasts of Oregon and Washington. Although typically a creature of deep water, beaked whales have been documented in the Salish Sea at least once in the last fifty years, although which species was swimming in Puget Sound was not clear.

A new field guide brings together detailed accounts and illustrations of 260 species of fish known to occur in the Salish Sea. This review from EoPS editorial board member Joe Gaydos was originally published on the SeaDoc Society website. 

The 2023 State of the Sound is the Puget Sound Partnership’s eighth biennial report to the Legislature on progress toward the recovery of Puget Sound. The document reports on both the status of the Partnership's recovery efforts and a suite of ecosystem indicators referred to as the Puget Sound Vital Signs.

A 2017 report from the University of Washington summarizes current scientific knowledge on chemical oil spill dispersants and their potential impacts on shoreline habitats in San Juan County, Washington. 

Environmental samplers may provide early detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Puget Sound. This toxic algae is expected to increase as the climate changes, bringing with it new and potentially more severe outbreaks of shellfish poisonings.