Species of concern in the Salish Sea
The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound species library now includes a list of species of concern in the Salish Sea watershed. The list was created by Joe Gaydos and Jacqlynn Zier of the SeaDoc Society, and was released as a paper presented as part of the Proceedings of the 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Vancouver, BC.
The authors write that the number of species of concern can be used as a rough barometer of the health of an ecosystem, indicating a need for special attention and recovery work. The list is based on assessments from four jurisdictions: the State of Washington, the Province of British Columbia, the Canadian Federal Government, and the United States Federal Government. It includes 4 invertebrates, 44 fishes, 2 reptiles, 59 birds and 16 mammals.
