The SeaDoc Board is instrumental to our mission here in the Salish Sea. Scott, Barb, and Jeff bring unique expertise, passion, and dedication to our team and we’re so excited to have them! View the whole board here and learn more about Scott, Barb and Jeff below.
Drones can be powerful tools in gathering important health data about wildlife, including marine species like the Salish Sea’s endangered killer whales. Scientists have already established the benefits of collecting breath samples to monitor orca health, but we wanted to scientifically understand if it is less invasive than previous sampling methods–namely the use of a long pole with a petri dish extended from a nearby boat toward the whale’s blowhole.
A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Marine Mammal Science, led by SeaDoc Society Research Assistant Catherine Lo, answered that question by analyzing more than 1,000 drone-collected killer whale breath samples.
This summer, our brilliant Scientific Advisory Committee gathered in Seattle to assess and ultimately determine funding for five new critical research projects here in the Salish Sea. You can read about those here.
Our Science Advisors are a vital part of our mission, and we’re excited to introduce two exciting new additions. They are Caitlin Magel of Puget Sound Institute and Phil Bloch of Confluence Environmental Company. We asked them a few questions so you can get to know them a bit better.
Welcome Caitlin and Phil!
We're excited to announce that SeaDoc Society will fund five new scientific research projects aimed at improving the longterm health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and funded through your donations from people like you.
We look forward to sharing more about each of these as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a brief look at the newly funded projects:
We're excited to announce that SeaDoc Society will fund five new scientific research projects aimed at improving the longterm health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and funded through your donations from people like you.
We look forward to sharing more about each of these as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a brief look at the newly funded projects:
The Molly B skims the water as divers prepare for a day of field work in the Salish Sea. SeaDoc Society’s research assistant Cat Lo gets ready to don her heavy dive gear and take a plunge. One by one, the divers back roll off the boat and splash into the water with their slates and survey equipment. They descend and begin their objective; to survey young-of-year rockfish.
Cat’s job entails a lot of time spent on or under the water, whether she’s surveying baby rockfish, assisting with killer whale health assessments, or the many other projects SeaDoc has in motion. Time spent in the field comes with its highs, its challenges, and its unexpected outcomes. While all components of science are important, much of the work we do puts us out in the field, interacting with the ecosystem first hand.
As marine scientists, the ocean is our laboratory.
Science is the vital first step in driving positive change for wildlife, people, and the environment. All efforts to change hearts, minds and policy flow from solid data.
This year, SeaDoc Society will fund six new scientific research projects that will ultimately improve the health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Science Advisors and funded thanks to all sizes of SeaDoc Society donations.
Each project is funded at the level of $50,000 and will answer questions where more information is most likely to improve our ability to recover or manage important living resources. In addition to producing quality science to be published in peer-reviewed journals, each project also will meet the criteria most often associated with research that has a positive conservation impact.
We’re so excited to introduce our newest Research Assistant, Catherine Lo!
Cat’s predecessor, Sarah Teman, started her PhD program at the University of Washington this fall and we can’t wait to watch her bright future unfold! Like Sarah, Cat will work alongside Joe Gaydos on all things science and research here at SeaDoc Society. She joins us on Orcas Island this fall and has hit the ground running!
“Cat comes to SeaDoc with strong research skills and experience in data collection, data analysis, project management, scientific writing, and field work,” said SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos. “Plus she loves the ocean and is a delightful person to work with. What’s not to like about that?”
Science helps us adapt and improve. For decades, marine mammal stranding response and rehabilitation organizations in the United States have been treating and rehabilitating harbor seal pups, and releasing them back into the wild. It’s critical that during rehabilitation seals gain sufficient blubber and mass so their fat reserves can enable them to survive after they are released. Prior studies have suggested that seals with greater body mass have better odds of survival. Unfortunately, until now, there has been no nationwide assessment of the sizes at which seals are released.
Shorelines play a vital role in ocean health, but they’re also the areas most susceptible to human disruption. Unnatural structures like sea walls and roads disrupt a beach’s ability to sustain itself, inhibiting and sometimes destroying important plantlife and fish species in the process.
But figuring out which shorelines need to be protected and which need to be restored is not simple. Science is the essential underpinning for identifying critical habitat. The SeaDoc Society is awarding the prestigious 2022 Salish Sea Science Prize to Tina Whitman, Science Director at the Friends of the San Juans for producing science that led to copious beach habitat protection and restoration throughout the San Juan Islands. Whitman will receive the no-strings-attached $2,000 cash prize at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference on April 28.
We’re excited to introduce you to two newest members of the SeaDoc Society’s Scientific Advisory Board—a crucial part of our work here in the Salish Sea. Before we properly introduce Sunny Jardine and Nicholas Georgiadis, let’s say farewell to three outgoing Science Advisors that have lent SeaDoc their expertise for a combined 50 years! Huge thanks from our whole team!
Many salmon populations in the Salish Sea are bolstered by releases of juvenile fish that are raised in hatcheries. Juvenile salmon are particularly social creatures, which means many wild salmon may school with (and be influenced by) these hatchery-released fish.
Researchers have long suspected that the seaward migration of hatchery fish might inspire wild salmon to migrate out to sea along with them at times when they might not have otherwise made the trek.
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. It requires boats and dive crews in search of suitable locations, but a recent SeaDoc-funded project is looking for something more efficient.
Photojournalist Gemina Garland-Lewis has been following Dr. James Dimond of Western Washington University and his team this summer as they’ve explored a new method: bottling up water and testing it for the presence of abalone DNA to determine habitat. That would simplify things greatly!
We recently funded a project that will study smelt habitat, which is being encroached upon by development. The project uses underwater cages to measure pollution exposure, which you can read about in our June blog post.
Photojournalist Gemina Garland-Lewis is shadowing the team in the field. Here are photos from a recent excursion.
Is a newly discovered shell-boring worm a threat to Olympia oysters—a species of concern and the only oyster species in the Salish Sea?
Dr. Chelsea Wood and her team at the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences aims to answer that question. If so, this will be crucial information to modify the current restoration plan for Olympia Oysters (Ostrea lurida).
Surf smelt are small fish that play a big role in the food chain, serving as a key food source for sport fish, including the salmon that feed the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. They spawn near the shore in areas most vulnerable to land-based pollution.
We recently funded a project that will study smelt habitat, which is being encroached upon by development. The results could help us better understand and protect shorelines.
Tacoma Public School students are taking a big step into their local ecosystem.
While the pandemic has disrupted in-person schooling nationwide, Tacoma Public Schools is piloting a new Explore the Salish Sea science curriculum district-wide that adventurous fifth grade teachers at two Tacoma schools implemented last year.
Explore the Salish Sea is an education program of the SeaDoc Society — a marine science organization based on Orcas Island and a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. The curriculum is built on the book of the same name, authored by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos and board member Audrey Benedict.
SeaDoc Society is excited to fund a project that will study the effects of pollution on surf smelt embryos, which could not only improve conservation of the species, but also our ability to measure pollution in general.
Surf smelt are small fish that play a huge role in the food chain, serving as a key food source for sport fish, including the salmon that feed the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Similar to other forage fish including Pacific herring and sand lance, surf smelt spawn near the shore in areas most vulnerable to land-based pollution.
The SeaDoc Society’s latest funded research project will focus on surf smelt habitat, which is being increasingly encroached upon by urban development. There are currently no monitoring methods for assessing the role of contaminants on the health of this important fish.
Pinto abalone populations in the Salish Sea have been decimated after years of poaching and over-harvest, falling by 98 percent in recent decades. There are not enough remaining in the wild for them to reproduce naturally because they are “broadcast spawners,” meaning if one releases sperm, a female needs to release her eggs close enough to be fertilized.
When abalone are not close enough to other reproductively active abalone there can be no reproduction, making them functionally extinct in the wild.
Biennially, the SeaDoc Society awards the Salish Sea Science Prize to a prominent scientist or team of scientists whose work has resulted in the marked improvement of management or policy related to the conservation of marine wildlife and the Salish Sea marine ecosystem. Non-scientists who have used science in a substantial way to improve management or policy related to healing the Salish Sea also will be considered. This is the only award of its kind. The recipient(s) does not need to be a resident of Washington or British Columbia as long as their scientific efforts or use of science have led to measurable impacts on the Salish Sea ecosystem. The $2,000 prize comes with no strings attached and is designed to highlight the importance of science in providing a foundation for designing a healthy Salish Sea ecosystem. This award is given in recognition of and to honor Stephanie Wagner, who loved the region and its wildlife.
Every year, the SeaDoc Society funds prominent scientists to conduct important research in the Salish Sea. Proposals for this year’s projects’ are due February 22 by 5pm. SeaDoc works to ensure the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystems through science and education and does not take policy positions nor serve in an advocacy role. This year the SeaDoc Society requests proposals only for projects that scientifically address one of the four priority topics below.
Junior SeaDoctors’ mission is to inspire and mobilize youth for a lifetime of ocean literacy, stewardship, and sustainable Salish Sea citizenship.
We achieve this mission through three tributaries: 1) JuniorSeaDoctors.com, a website and club for ocean education and community stewardship, 2) National and Provincial standards-based curriculum for grade 5 teachers, based on our book, Explore the Salish Sea: A Nature Guide for Kids, and 3) Kids on the Beach, a template and guide for educators from schools, Tribal and First Nations, government agencies, NGOs, citizen science programs, and community volunteers to support student projects in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) that help inform policy, restore habitat, and educate the community.
Photo by Ingrid Taylar
Every two years, the SeaDoc Society Awards the Salish Sea Science Prize to a prominent scientist or team of scientists whose work has resulted in the marked improvement of management or policy related to the conservation of marine wildlife and the Salish Sea marine ecosystem.
Non-scientists who have used science in a substantial way to improve management or policy related to healing the Salish Sea also will be considered. This is the only award of its kind. The recipient(s) do not need to be a resident of Washington or British Columbia as long as their scientific efforts or use of science have led to measurable impacts on the Salish Sea ecosystem. The $2,000 prize comes with no strings attached and is designed to highlight the importance of science in providing a foundation for designing a healthy Salish Sea ecosystem. This award is given in recognition of and to honor Stephanie Wagner, who loved the region and its wildlife.
2018 Salish Sea Science Prize Call for Nominations and Timeline (PDF)
In 2009, the SeaDoc Society awarded the first ever Salish Sea Science Prize to Ken Balcomb for his research on the population dynamics of southern resident killer whales. His annual census work was the basis for the population assessments that ultimately led to the Canadian and US listing of the southern resident killer whale community as endangered and served as a foundation for our understanding of resident killer whale longevity, toxics loading, and the implications of disease on the long-term viability of this population.
In 2011, the Salish Sea Science Prize was awarded to John Elliott for his work documenting the high levels of forest industry derived pollutants, dioxins and furans, in marine birds as well for his work documenting the deleterious effects of these toxins on reproduction and embryonic development in multiple bird species. In countless meetings and presentations, Elliott worked with industry and regulators to communicate this science and in so doing, influenced subsequent national and international regulations that halted the use of molecular chlorine bleaching, and restricted the use of chlorophenolic wood preservatives and anti-sap stains.
In 2014 the Northwest Straits Foundation received the prize for scientifically quantifying the impact of derelict fishing gear and the benefit of removal. A peer-reviewed manuscript demonstrated the importance of escape cord for reducing Dungeness crab mortality, which spurred Marine Resource Committees to increase efforts to educate recreational crabbers on this topic. Another manuscript quantified the impact of lost nets on marine species helping funders and policy makers to further support net removal. The additional scientific documentation of drop out and decomposition rates showed that early impact figures were actually gross underestimations as they did not account for the short life of carcasses in a net and the sometimes decades of killing that many of these nets had done prior to removal. Moreover, that same work documented a cost-benefitratio for net removal at 1:14.5, demonstrating that derelict net removal not only benefits marine species, but also is cost-effective.
In 2016 the prize went to a group of NOAA scientists (Drs. Jenifer McIntyre, David Baldwin, and Nathaniel Scholz) who's research on copper and its affect on salmon was instrumental in the passage of landmark legislation in Washington State to phase out the use of copper and other metals in motor vehicle brake pads.
This action will benefit salmon recovery and reduce the loadings of toxic metals to the Salish Sea by hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.
Nominations The SeaDoc Society requests that members of the community nominate highly deserving award candidates. All nominations must be sent electronically to SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos (jkgaydos@ucdavis.edu) by December 20, 2017.
Nominations must be in the form of a narrative (2 pages or less, Times New Roman 12 point font) describing the nominee’s work and the impact of that work. Please provide the nominee’s affiliation, address, email address and phone number. Be sure to describe how the scientist’s (or team of scientists’) efforts have resulted in tangible improvements in management or policy related to the conservation of marine wildlife and the Salish Sea ecosystem. Or, if you are nominating a citizen or group who has used science in a substantial way, be sure to describe what science they used and how it led to improved management or policy. Specific reference to peer-reviewed manuscripts or studies conducted that produced the important and pivotal information must be cited. Please also include the names and contact information for two external referees who can vouch for the role that this scientific work played in effecting positive ecosystem change or the use of scientific work to improve Salish Sea management or policy.
The SeaDoc Society will consider all nominees and select a prizewinner. This is not a lifetime achievement award. Selection will be based on the nominee’s production of valuable science that informed management or policy - or - for using science to improve management or policy related to the conservation of marine wildlife and the Salish Sea marine ecosystem. The decision will be made public when the Prize is awarded. The Salish Sea Science Prize will be given at the April 2018 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Seattle, WA (http://www.wwu.edu/salishseaconference/).
The SeaDoc Society is a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, a center of excellence at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. We fund and conduct research and work to ensure that managers and policy makers use science to improve the health of the region’s marine wildlife and ecosystem. Since 2000, the SeaDoc Society has had a regional focus on designing a healthy Salish Sea. For more information or to sign up for free SeaDoc monthly updates, Wildlife Posts, and calls for proposals visit www.seadocsociety.org.
