Series:

SSEC16 snapshots

About the series

Brief reports from the 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Vancouver, BC. Complements the more in-depth stories in Themes from the 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference.

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Latest story posted: 11/08/2016

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Monitoring devices deployed by NOAA for detecting harmful algal blooms. Photo by Rachael Mueller.

Salish Sea snapshots: Detecting harmful algal blooms

Environmental samplers may provide early detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Puget Sound. This toxic algae is expected to increase as the climate changes, bringing with it new and potentially more severe outbreaks of shellfish poisonings. 


Climate change, Physical environment, Water quality, Healthy human population, Algae, Marine habitat, Estuarine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Harmful algal blooms, Bivalves, Salish Sea Currents magazine, Shellfish, Monitoring

Black Scoter (Melanitta negra), one of seven new birds added to a Salish Sea-wide list of species of concern. Photo courtesy of USGS.

Conference snapshot: The number of species of concern in the Salish Sea is growing steadily

The number of species of concern in the Salish Sea is growing at an average annual rate of 2.6%, according to a report published in the proceedings of the 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Vancouver, B.C.


Species and food webs, Plants, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, Invertebrates, Marine habitat, Estuarine habitat, Nearshore habitat, Freshwater habitat, Terrestrial habitat, Salish Sea Currents magazine, Species of concern

Gearing up for the 2016 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

About 4,600 miles of coastline wind from southern Puget Sound to northern British Columbia along what is known as the Salish Sea. It is a land of connections and contradictions. Snowmelt from three national parks feeds more than a thousand creeks and rivers that in turn flow to the rich floodplains and estuaries of places like the Skagit and Nisqually deltas. It is one of the most diverse and spectacular ecosystems  in the world, a fact made even more incredible because it is also home to 8 million people. 


Salish Sea Currents magazine