Custom Species Lists
The following list is based on a compilation by Gaydos and Pearson (2011), first published in Northwestern Naturalist no. 92 (2011): 79-94. The authors write that the list “serves as a foundation for determining the occurrence of new species and the disappearance of others, enables selection of species as indicators for ecosystem health, and also provides a basis for identifying the mechanisms responsible for marine bird and mammal declines.” The Salish Sea is defined as the coastal zone including Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and covers 16,925 km2 from Olympia, WA to Campbell River, in British Columbia.
The species on this list were identified using sighting and stranding data and scientific surveys, including the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP) and the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey. The list includes species that reside in the Salish Sea year-round as well as species that are rarely found there but depend on the marine ecosystem. For example, the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) nests in salt marsh habitat.
The researchers found that of the 172 bird and 37 mammal species they identified, 42% of birds and 78% of mammals are highly dependent on the marine ecosystem. This means that the remaining 58% of birds and 22% of mammals rely on both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and it is crucial for restoration efforts to consider how closely those ecosystems are intertwined. Ongoing documentation, the scientists added, will surely result in additional species being included on this list, which should be considered a starting point rather than a comprehensive summary.
Salish Sea-reliant birds
The following list is based on a compilation by Gaydos and Pearson (2011), first published in Northwestern Naturalist no. 92 (2011): 79-94. The authors write that the list “serves as a foundation for determining the occurrence of new species and the disappearance of others, enables selection of species as indicators for ecosystem health, and also provides a basis for identifying the mechanisms responsible for marine bird and mammal declines.” The Salish Sea is defined as the coastal zone including Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and covers 16,925 km2 from Olympia, WA to Campbell River, in British Columbia.
The species on this list were identified using sighting and stranding data and scientific surveys, including the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP) and the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey. The list includes species that reside in the Salish Sea year-round as well as species that are rarely found there but depend on the marine ecosystem. For example, the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) nests in salt marsh habitat.
The researchers found that of the 172 bird and 37 mammal species they identified, 42% of birds and 78% of mammals are highly dependent on the marine ecosystem. This means that the remaining 58% of birds and 22% of mammals rely on both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and it is crucial for restoration efforts to consider how closely those ecosystems are intertwined. Ongoing documentation, the scientists added, will surely result in additional species being included on this list, which should be considered a starting point rather than a comprehensive summary.
Source: Gaydos, Joseph, and Scott Pearson. Birds and Mammals that Depend on the Salish Sea: A Compilation. Northwestern Naturalist no. 92 (2011): 79-94.
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American Avocet
(Recurvirostra americana) -
American Bittern
(Botaurus lentiginosus) -
American Coot
(Fulica americana) -
American Crow
(Corvus brachyrhynchos) -
American Golden-Plover
(Pluvialis dominica) -
American Goldfinch
(Spinus tristis) -
American White Pelican
(Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) -
American Wigeon
(Anas americana) -
Ancient Murrelet
(Synthliboramphus antiquus) -
Arctic Loon
(Gavia arctica) -
Arctic Tern
(Sterna paradisaea) -
Baird's Sandpiper
(Calidris bairdii) -
Bald Eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) -
Band-tailed Pigeon
(Patagioenas fasciata) -
Bar-tailed Godwit
(Limosa lapponica) -
Barrow's Goldeneye
(Bucephala islandica) -
Belted Kingfisher
(Megaceryle alcyon) -
Black Oystercatcher
(Haematopus bachmani) -
Black Tern
(Chlidonias niger) -
Black Turnstone
(Arenaria melanocephala) -
Black-bellied Plover
(Pluvialis squatarola) -
Black-footed Albatross
(Phoebastria nigripes) -
Black-headed Gull
(Chroicocephalus ridibundus) -
Black-legged Kittiwake
(Rissa tridactyla) -
Black-necked Stilt
(Himantopus mexicanus) -
Blue-winged Teal
(Anas discors) -
Bonaparte's Gull
(Chroicocephalus philadelphia) -
Brandt's Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax penicillatus) -
Brant
(Branta bernicla) -
Brown Pelican
(Pelecanus occidentalis) -
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
(Tryngites subruficollis) -
Bufflehead
(Bucephala albeola) -
Buller's Shearwater
(Puffinus bulleri) -
Cackling Goose
(Branta hutchinsii) -
California Gull
(Larus californicus) -
Canada Goose
(Branta canadensis) -
Canvasback
(Aythya valisineria) -
Caspian Tern
(Hydroprogne caspia) -
Cassin's Auklet
(Ptychoramphus aleuticus) -
Cattle Egret
(Bubulcus ibis) -
Cinnamon Teal
(Anas cyanoptera) -
Clark's Grebe
(Aechmophorus clarkii) -
Common Goldeneye
(Bucephala clangula) -
Common Loon
(Gavia immer) -
Common Merganser
(Mergus merganser) -
Common Murre
(Uria aalge) -
Common Raven
(Corvus corax) -
Common Scoter
(Melanitta nigra) -
Common Tern
(Sterna hirundo) -
Double-crested Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax auritus) -
Dunlin
(Calidris alpina) -
Eared Grebe
(Podiceps nigricollis) -
Emperor Goose
(Chen canagica) -
Eurasian Wigeon
(Anas penelope) -
Flesh-footed Shearwater
(Puffinus carneipes) -
Fork-tailed Storm-petrel
(Oceanodroma furcata) -
Forster's Tern
(Sterna forsteri) -
Franklin's Gull
(Leucophaeus pipixcan) -
Gadwall
(Anas strepera) -
Glaucous Gull
(Larus hyperboreus) -
Glaucous-winged Gull
(Larus glaucescens) -
Golden-crowned Sparrow
(Zonotrichia atricapilla) -
Great Blue Heron
(Ardea herodias) -
Great Egret
(Ardea alba) -
Great Horned Owl
(Bubo virginianus) -
Greater Scaup
(Aythya marila) -
Greater White-fronted Goose
(Anser albifrons) -
Greater Yellowlegs
(Tringa melanoleuca) -
Green Heron
(Butorides virescens) -
Green-winged Teal
(Anas crecca) -
Gyrfalcon
(Falco rusticolus) -
Harlequin Duck
(Histrionicus histrionicus) -
Heermann's Gull
(Larus heermanni) -
Herring Gull
(Larus argentatus) -
Hooded Merganser
(Lophodytes cucullatus) -
Horned Grebe
(Podiceps auritus) -
Horned Puffin
(Fratercula corniculata) -
Hudsonian Godwit
(Limosa haemastica) -
Iceland Gull
(Larus glaucoides) -
Killdeer
(Charadrius vociferus) -
King Elder
(Somateria spectabilis) -
Lapland Longspur
(Calcarius lapponicus) -
Leach's Storm-Petrel
(Oceanodroma leucorhoa) -
Least Sandpiper
(Calidris minutilla) -
Lesser Scaup
(Aythya affinis) -
Lesser Yellowlegs
(Tringa flavipes) -
Little Gull
(Hydrocoloeus minutus) -
Long-billed Curlew
(Numenius americanus) -
Long-billed Dowitcher
(Limnodromus scolopaceus) -
Long-billed Murrelet
(Brachyramphus perdix) -
Long-tailed Duck
(Clangula hyemalis) -
Long-tailed Jaeger
(Stercorarius longicaudus) -
Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos) -
Marbled Godwit
(Limosa fedoa) -
Marbled Murrelet
(Brachyramphus marmoratus) -
Marsh Wren
(Cistothorus palustris) -
Merlin
(Falco columbarius) -
Mew Gull
(Larus canus) -
Mute Swan
(Cygnus olor) -
Northern Fulmar
(Fulmarus glacialis)
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Search for Species
Utilizing double quotes for exact terms can narrow your search results. Ex. A common name search of Northwestern Sedge matches 'Northwestern Sedge' and 'Northwestern Showy Sedge'. Typing "Northwestern Sedge" return only 'Northwestern Sedge'.
- Abarenicola claparedi - (Rough-skinned lugworm)
- Abarenicola pacifica - (Pacific lugworm)
- Abarenicola sp.
- Abies amabilis - (Pacific Silver Fir)
- Abies concolor - (White Fir)
- Abies grandis - (Grand Fir)
- Abies lasiocarpa - (Subalpine Fir)
- Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa - (Subalpine Fir)
- Abies procera - (Noble Fir)
- Abietinaria sp
Species Lists
External links
- BirdWeb
- Burke Museum
- Native plant list (King County)
- Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program
- USGS: Nonindigenous Aquatic Species in Puget Sound
- Washington Herp Atlas
- Washington Invasive Species Council
- Washington Natural Heritage Program
- Washington Natural Heritage Program species lists
- World Register of Marine Species