Like we covered in a post this summer, saving endangered Pinto abalone is hard in part because locating their habitat is time-consuming and, as a result, expensive. The process involves dive crews on the water in search of suitable locations, but there are only so many dives a team can do in a day. A recent SeaDoc-funded project is looking for something more efficient.
Photojournalist Gemina Garland-Lewis has been on board with Dr. James Dimond of Western Washington University and his team this summer as they’ve explored a new method that involves bottling up sea water and testing it for the presence of abalone DNA to determine habitat. Nothing like a simple innovation!
Check out the photos and captions below and follow along as we cover their work.
Jay Dimond, lead researcher on this project, gets ready to deploy a Niskin bottle to collect a water sample at one of his study sites around the San Juan Islands. The water is collected from 5-10m deep - the same range the pinto abalone is found - to have the highest chance of picking up DNA from this species in the environment.
Not only are kelp forests of incredible importance in the Salish Sea ecosystem, they're also the place that Jay and his undergraduate research assistant are looking for to collect water samples - especially by a rocky coastline such as this. The team collects samples from mostly new sites where they might expect a wild abalone population, but also from the outplant sites where there is a known estimate of abalone. This will help them develop the models used for eDNA rapid population assessments.
Ryder Gathright, a rising junior at Seattle University, pours the water samples into vacuum filters on board the Zoea, a research vessel with Shannon Point Marine Center. He is working with Jay this summer as a research assistant on the pinto abalone project. Once all the water has been run through, the small filter is folded and saved for eDNA testing back in the lab.
Camouflaged critters of Puget Sound keep an eye on the study team while they collect water samples. This harbor seal is one of many wonderful reminders of the biodiversity of this area and the need to protect endangered species here such as the pinto abalone.