Custom Species Lists

Puget Sound Partnership indicator species: mammals

Understanding the condition of various populations of species in Puget Sound is crucial for evaluating the health of the ecosystem as a whole. Variables such as species abundance, change in populations over time, and genetic and phenotypic diversity paint a picture of how well the Sound can provide for the species that live there, and what the future looks like.

Tracking every species in the Sound is not feasible, but the Puget Sound Partnership selected a number of indicator species based on carefully chosen criteria. The indicator species they chose respond predictably to various ecosystem attributes, and belong to populations that are somewhat well understood. In order to evaluate how a population has changed, researchers need good historical data, and most indicator species have a record of peer-reviewed, published data that can be held up against future surveys and studied for changes that may be significant. Data sources used to evaluate the species indicators came from the Washington Departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, and Natural Resources, the USGS, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. More information can be found on the Species Indicator Evaluation page of the Puget Sound Science Update.