Monitoring

Monitoring encompasses the routine measurement of ecosystem indicators to assess the status and trends of ecosystem structure and function. Broadly, there are two goals for monitoring in the Puget Sound ecosystem. The first goal is to monitor status and trends of the ecosystem. This may take the form of snapshots of specific regions, or, more usefully, status monitoring tracks variability in carefully selected indicators over time. Status monitoring is fundamentally concerned with documenting spatial and temporal variability in ecosystem components and thus ideally relies on consistent long-term monitoring in a network of sites. A second aim of monitoring is to evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies. Effectiveness monitoring thus aims to detect changes in ecosystem status that are caused by specific management actions.

Sources:

Puget Sound Science Review

Additional resources:

Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program

Eyes Over Puget Sound

Overview

Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program

The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) is an independent program established by state and federal statute to monitor environmental conditions in Puget Sound. 

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Related Articles

Social scientists will monitor several of the Puget Sound Partership's "Vital Signs" including Healthy Human Population and Human Quality of Life.

Social science and monitoring needs for Puget Sound recovery

A report by the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute describes a 2013 workshop to integrate the social sciences into Puget Sound ecosystem monitoring. Social scientists will focus in part on several of the Puget Sound Partnership's designated ecosystem indicators, including categories such as Healthy Human Population and Human Quality of Life.

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Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - December 31, 2013

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - December 31, 2013

The year 2013 in pictures: Low oxygen conditions persisted from January into August and broke a two-year anomaly of more favorable water quality conditions (lower temperature and salinity and higher dissolved oxygen). Dramatic Noctiluca blooms appeared one month earlier than normal (May), lasted for two months, and coincided with lower oxygen. Large jellyfish patches persisted over the winter but then were less visible for the rest of the year. Large drifting algal mats appeared in August.
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Puget Sound Salmonid Habitat Monitoring Inventory and Recommendations

Puget Sound salmonid habitat monitoring inventory and recommendations

An October 2013 report released by the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program inventories and assesses monitoring activities of Puget Sound's ESA-listed salmon and steelhead stocks and habitats.

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Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - November 21, 2013

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - November 21, 2013

After weeks of clouds and warmer air, blue skies and cold temperatures set in. Strong tidal fronts and sediment-rich brackish plumes leave Whidbey Basin and move into Admiralty Reach. A pod of Orcas follows the edge of the plume heading north! Red-brown blooms continue in Henderson, Eld, and northern Budd Inlets. Long organic debris lines are numerous in northern Budd Inlet, Hood Canal, and in Central Sound north of Edmonds (Triple Junction). Conditions in the water column in Puget Sound continue to normalize after seven months of lower oxygen. Water is very clear for this time of the year, particularly in the north.
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Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - October 28, 2013

Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report - October 28, 2013

Puget Sound conditions are normalizing after seven months of lower oxygen. Calm, dry, cool, and foggy mornings abruptly changed on October 28 to sun and strong northerly winds. Red-brown blooms and abundant jellyfish in south Puget Sound inlets appeared as we flew to the coast. Blooms were still visible near ocean beaches and inner bays. Grays Harbor had abundant surface debris with green algae in North Bay. We spotted red-brown blooms in rivers and sloughs in Willapa Bay, as well as schooling fish near sandbanks. Many patches of suspended sediment appeared in shallow water unrelated to tidal currents and remain unexplained.
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Figure 1. Map of study area. Map depicts the four receiver arrays: Hood Canal Bridge (HCB), Mid Canal (MCL), Admiralty Inlet (ADM), and Strait of Juan de Fuca (JDF). Lower insets show single receiver locations for each year.

Paper: A floating bridge disrupts seaward migration and increases mortality of Steelhead smolts in Hood Canal, Washington State

A new study provides strong evidence of substantial migration interference and increased mortality risk associated with the Hood Canal Bridge for aquatic animals, and may partially explain low early marine survival rates observed in Hood Canal steelhead populations.

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