All Articles
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - August 18, 2014
Sunshine and warm temperatures return after last week’s intense rain. The Puyallup and Nisqually Rivers are flowing high. Red-brown blooms and numerous patches of jellyfish remain strong in South Sound, Sinclair and Dyes Inlets, and Bellingham Bay, with brown-green blooms in Whidbey Basin. Macro-algae surface debris is very high in South and Central Sound. Hood Canal remains cooler but Puget Sound
Shedding new light on eelgrass recovery
Scientists say eelgrass, an unassuming flowering plant found just off shore in Puget Sound, is vital to the health of the ecosystem. They also say the plant is declining. New and increasingly urgent efforts to restore it brought a group of researchers to the 2014 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference.
Age, region, and temporal patterns of trace elements measured in stranded harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) from Washington inland waters
A 2014 article in the journal Northwestern Naturalist shows how Harbor Seal tissues can reflect regional and temporal trends in contaminants in Puget Sound.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - July 28, 2014
Warmer and sunnier days result in higher than normal river flows from the Skagit and Nisqually. Biological activity in the water column is high. Abundant organic surface debris in Hood Canal, Padilla Bay, and many Inlets. Red-brown blooms in South Sound, Discovery Bay, and regions of Bellingham Bay. Different blooms in Skagit Bay, Padilla Bay, and Sinclair Inlet. Jelly fish are numerous in all
Declines in marine birds trouble scientists
Why did all the grebes leave? Where did they go? And what does their disappearance say about the health of the Salish Sea? Seasonal declines among some regional bird species could hold important clues to the overall health of the ecosystem.
About the Salish Sea Currents series
Last spring, the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Seattle brought together more than a thousand of the region's leading scientists and managers with one clear goal: To better understand the state of the ecosystem and to look to the future. It was the premier showcase for the science driving Salish Sea recovery, and a rare opportunity.
Developing Human Wellbeing Indicators for the Puyallup Watershed
A July 2014 report examines potential human wellbeing indicators for the Puyallup Watershed.
Pigeon Guillemot Foraging and Breeding Survey in and Near the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve
A 2014 report describes a research and monitoring study of Pigeon Guillemot conducted in and near the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve.
The voice of eelgrass
Eelgrass in Puget Sound makes a noticeable bubbling sound as it expires oxygen on sunny days during the spring and summer.
The Sound Behavior Index: A Management Tool for Behavioral Aspects of Ecosystem Restoration
This paper appears in the July 2014 issue of the journal Coastal Management, which focuses on the role of social sciences in Puget Sound ecosystem recovery.