All Articles

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Reestablishing Olympia oyster populations in Puget Sound, Washington

A 2005 report from the Washington Sea Grant Program describing the history and current state of native Olympia oysters including their ecology, history with human interactions, prefered habitat, and reestablishment efforts in the Puget Sound region.

A role for decision science in Puget Sound recovery

The field of decision analysis studies and develops rigorous and practical methods for improving how we make decisions. Over the past three years, the Puget Sound Partnership has invested in decision science expertise in its ongoing role of supporting effective Puget Sound recovery.  This paper describes some of these efforts and analyzes several decision support ideals.

Olympia oysters. Photo: VIUDeepBay (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/viucsr/5778358466

Gifts from the sea: shellfish as an ecosystem service

The region's famed mollusks provide more than just money and jobs. They offer what are called ecosystem services—a wide variety of benefits that humans derive from an ecosystem.

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Native shellfish in nearshore ecosystems of Puget Sound

This 2006 technical report for the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership describes how shellfish have high ecological, economical, cultural, recreational value, however human activity is threatening their existence by altering their native habitat with changes in land use, shoreline modifications, stormwater, sewage and industrial discharge.

Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management

Health of the Salish Sea as measured using transboundary ecosystem indicators

A December 2014 paper in the journal Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management describes a project to identify transboundary ecosystem indicators for the Salish Sea. 

Clam gardens, while all being characterized by a level terrace behind a rock wall in the lower intertidal, are diverse in their shapes and sizes. Photo: Amy S. Groesbeck.Clam gardens, while all being characterized by a level terrace behind a rock wall in the lower intertidal, are diverse in their shapes and sizes.

Ancient clam gardens of the Northwest Coast of North America

Northwest Coast First Peoples made clam garden terraces to expand ideal clam habitat at tidal heights that provided optimal conditions for clam growth and survival, therefore enhancing food production and increasing food security.

Purple sea star. Photo by brewbooks. Creative commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Virus associated with sea-star wasting disease

A virus is the likely cause of sea-star die-offs on the Northeast Pacific Coast and in Puget Sound, according to a November 2014 paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Z. japonica at Padilla Bay in Puget Sound. Photo by Jeff Rice.

Ecological effect of a nonnative seagrass spreading in the Northeast Pacific: A review of Zostera japonica

A 2014 literature review in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management suggests negative effects of nonnative eelgrass on the native species. 

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - November 17, 2014

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - November 17, 2014

A recent cold spell hits Puget Sound lowlands, interrupting this year’s warmer air temperatures. The warm ocean coincides with new maximum water temperatures observed throughout Puget Sound in October! Hood Canal’s higher dissolved oxygen and cold water anomalies are disappearing. November brings cold water from Whidbey Basin into Puget Sound with moderate levels of chlorophyll fluorescence