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UC DAVIS MARINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH PROGRAM |
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Email this page to a friend Related PagesEelgrass virtually gone from Westcott Bay Volunteer SCUBA divers help survey marine resources More than $1 million raised locally for research in San Juan County | |
Scientists filling in the blanks with help from MEHPposted 09/10/02
MEHP, a program from the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, focuses on providing gap funding for studies and getting the science to the decision makers, according to staff scientist Joe Gaydos. $290,000 of studies were funded in 2000 and $315,000 in 2001. Scientists and researchers shared the results of their work during the day-long conference last week. A 3-D tour of the sea floor surrounding San Juan Island was one of the highlights of the day. Gary Greene and Janet Tilden of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories used multibeam bathymetry for mapping of adult and juvenile rockfish habitat in San Juan County. San Juan County has a Bottomfish Recovery Program to help rebuild the declining rockfish population. The mapping showed viable areas in three voluntary no-take zones which were included in the initial mapping - Pile Point, Charles Island and Bell Island. Other areas of interest included a deep hole near Turn Island that has complex habitat extending outward in all directions, according to Tilden. "We now have an accurate base map," said Tilden. "We’re cooperating with Canadian Geologic Service and in about a month we'll be going out again to collect more data sets. We hope to completely image the county." Kari Koski of The Whale Museum and Cristen Don of the School of Marine Affairs at the University of Washington presented an update on a study by Richard Osborne of The Whale Museum and Terrie Klinger of UW FH Labs. The study built on a five-year effort by The Whale Museum's Soundwatch Boater Education Program. The possibility of using already existing buffer zones in the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge system as marine protected areas was the focus of their MEHP grant. There are 83 sites comprising 450 acres in the San Juans which are part of the system, according to Koski. "They were set aside to protect marine bird habitat," she said. "They are a terrestrial no-go zone." Activity in a 200-foot buffer in the water around the reserves is discouraged. The researchers believe that the San Juan Islands Wildlife Refuge System provides a politically feasible means of enhancing protection for marine resources through the implemenation of existing management strategies, without requiring that new protected areas be set aside or removed from public use. "We're trying to change the old conception and talk about marine protection," she said. There were 14 presentations. The final one was "Killer Whales as sentinels of marine ecosystem contamination" by Peter Ross of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Ross noted there are a number of factors involved in the decline of the orcas population. He cited noise and stress from vessel traffic, food availability with salmon, pathogens, reproductive cycles, age and sex. "Putting all of this together is not easy," he said."Science can fill in some of these blanks. We need to take a precautionary approach, use wise strategies and common sense." Ross and Steve Jeffries of Washington Fish and Wildlife Dept. created a two year study to evaluate the levels and patterns of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the primary dietary component of southern resident killer whales. They studied four stocks of chinook salmon. They plan to "better understand the state of contamination of the marine ecosystem in Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait, and the risk that this contamination presents to the killer whales and other high trophic level consumers." Ross is also studying marmots in tundra areas on Vancouver Island. He has discovered that the animals, which are herbivores (they eat plants), have traces of 150 POPs in their bodies. Chemicals which have been banned in the U.S. are still used in other countries. Winds from Asian reach the marmots, Ross said. "It takes five to eight days for molecules to move from Central China to the North Pacific," he said. He is also concerned about new flame-retardants accumulating in the U.S. which are not regulated. " Human health is marine system health," he said. More information about MEHP is available on its WEB SITE. A list of the funded projects with links to detailed summaries is also available. Inland Waters Health Conference on Orcas Island Sept 6posted 09/04/02
The maps identify 16 underwater habitat types and an extremely complex sea floor around the islands. The researchers will describe connections between the map findings and potential recovery strategies for dwindling bottomfish populations. Island and San Juan counties will present beach surveys that confirm known critical spawning habitats for forage fish (such as smelt and sandlance) and identify new sites. The UC Davis Marine Ecosystem Health Program was begun in 2000 to study important issues in and around the Inland Waters of Washington and Canada. MEHP staff scientist and veterinarian Joe Gaydos said organizers hope to hold similar science symposia every two years. Friday's symposium agenda includes status reports on the Pacific Northwest Inland Waters ecosystem and its wildlife, and an update on the status of federal marine reserves and marine reserve policy. The audience will include scientists, interested members of the public and representatives from regional natural resource agencies, tribal nations and non-governmental conservation organizations. The symposium, held at the Discovery House at the Rosario Resort on Orcas Island, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more details, see mehp.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ symposium02/symposium.html. The Marine Ecosystem Health Program is a program of the Wildlife Health Center of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. |
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