Presentation Abstract
Puget Sound is a large and highly productive estuarine system that is vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts from a growing population. King County operates an exceptionally comprehensive, long-running monitoring program designed to assess water quality in the Puget Sound Central Basin. Data are collected year-round for a suite of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Phyoplankton monitoring using traditional methods was added to the program in 2008 to address a significant biological data gap at the lower trophic level. Since acquisition of a FlowCAM particle imaging system in 2014 the program is generating a more extensive and robust dataset for Puget Sound phytoplankton. This data is critical to assess how changes from climate and other stressors linked to anthropogenic activity may impact Puget Sound’s biodiversity and trophic structure.
Twice-monthly samples from eight Central Basin locations are analyzed year round by FlowCAM. Fifty-nine taxonomic categories are characterized using relevant descriptors of assemblage composition, such as particle size (5–300 µm), abundance, and biovolume. Our dataset also includes zooplankton composition and abundance at select stations. Data analysis has focused on environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and weather/climate patterns as drivers of phytoplankton community composition, with special attention to the occurrence of potentially harmful taxa. Besides evident seasonal cycles, multivariate data analysis has revealed distinct geographic clusters among stations and characteristic taxa assemblages that help interpret the dynamics of Puget Sound algal blooms in relation to environmental and biological drivers.
Session Title
Changes in Ecosystem Function and Climate Revealed by Long-term Monitoring in the Salish Sea
Keywords
Keywords: phytoplankton, Puget Sound, marine monitoring, FlowCAM, algal blooms
Conference Track
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Phytoplankton--Monitoring--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Algal blooms--Monitoring--Washington (State)--Puget Sound
Geographic Coverage
Puget Sound (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
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons
A Long-term Phytoplankton Monitoring Program for Central Puget Sound using Particle Imaging
2016SSEC
Puget Sound is a large and highly productive estuarine system that is vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts from a growing population. King County operates an exceptionally comprehensive, long-running monitoring program designed to assess water quality in the Puget Sound Central Basin. Data are collected year-round for a suite of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Phyoplankton monitoring using traditional methods was added to the program in 2008 to address a significant biological data gap at the lower trophic level. Since acquisition of a FlowCAM particle imaging system in 2014 the program is generating a more extensive and robust dataset for Puget Sound phytoplankton. This data is critical to assess how changes from climate and other stressors linked to anthropogenic activity may impact Puget Sound’s biodiversity and trophic structure.
Twice-monthly samples from eight Central Basin locations are analyzed year round by FlowCAM. Fifty-nine taxonomic categories are characterized using relevant descriptors of assemblage composition, such as particle size (5–300 µm), abundance, and biovolume. Our dataset also includes zooplankton composition and abundance at select stations. Data analysis has focused on environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and weather/climate patterns as drivers of phytoplankton community composition, with special attention to the occurrence of potentially harmful taxa. Besides evident seasonal cycles, multivariate data analysis has revealed distinct geographic clusters among stations and characteristic taxa assemblages that help interpret the dynamics of Puget Sound algal blooms in relation to environmental and biological drivers.
Comments
Keywords: phytoplankton, Puget Sound, marine monitoring, FlowCAM, algal blooms