Event Title

Pacific sand lance in the San Juan Archipelago: Synthesis of Research 2010-2015

Presentation Abstract

Research developed in the Pelagic Ecosystem Function Apprenticeship at the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories has led to the development of a six year time series on Pacific sand lance in the San Juan Archipelago. Although Pacific sand lance are one of the most important forage species through Northern Hemisphere marine systems, many unanswered questions remain about their abundance, distribution, habitat needs and constraints, life history, population structure, diet, diel and seasonal behaviors, and response to environmental conditions. Our research conducted in collaboration with 15 apprentices over six years has led to important insights on diet composition, experimental evidence of crepuscular behavior, acoustic data leading to insights on movements in relation to tides and currents on fine scales, trends in feeding and condition in response to environmental conditions and season progression, tagging results on movements between nearshore and offshore benthic habitats, and analyses of sediment association. Our results have demonstrated strong associations with certain types of benthic habitat and, in partnership with collaborators at the Moss Landing Labs, evaluated distribution for the species throughout the San Juan Channel. This talk will focus on diet and stable isotope results, sediment association and distribution and age structure of this important forage fish species in the central Salish Sea. The intent of this talk is not only to communicate results related to this research program but also explore possibilities for additional collaborations and to determine how this ongoing program might address information needs and priorities.

Session Title

Forage Fish Management and Conservation in the Salish Sea

Conference Track

Species and Food Webs

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2016 12:00 AM

Location

2016SSEC

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Pacific sand lance--Ecology--Washington (State)--San Juan Islands; Apprenticeship programs--Washington (States)--San Juan Islands

Subjects – Names (LCNAF)

Friday Harbor Laboratories (Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

San Juan Islands (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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COinS
 
Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

Pacific sand lance in the San Juan Archipelago: Synthesis of Research 2010-2015

2016SSEC

Research developed in the Pelagic Ecosystem Function Apprenticeship at the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories has led to the development of a six year time series on Pacific sand lance in the San Juan Archipelago. Although Pacific sand lance are one of the most important forage species through Northern Hemisphere marine systems, many unanswered questions remain about their abundance, distribution, habitat needs and constraints, life history, population structure, diet, diel and seasonal behaviors, and response to environmental conditions. Our research conducted in collaboration with 15 apprentices over six years has led to important insights on diet composition, experimental evidence of crepuscular behavior, acoustic data leading to insights on movements in relation to tides and currents on fine scales, trends in feeding and condition in response to environmental conditions and season progression, tagging results on movements between nearshore and offshore benthic habitats, and analyses of sediment association. Our results have demonstrated strong associations with certain types of benthic habitat and, in partnership with collaborators at the Moss Landing Labs, evaluated distribution for the species throughout the San Juan Channel. This talk will focus on diet and stable isotope results, sediment association and distribution and age structure of this important forage fish species in the central Salish Sea. The intent of this talk is not only to communicate results related to this research program but also explore possibilities for additional collaborations and to determine how this ongoing program might address information needs and priorities.