Interrelationships of Marine Mammals, Pelagic Fish, and Tides at Different Spatial Scales in San Juan Channel, Fall 2015
Presentation Abstract
San Juan Channel (SJC) in the Salish Sea is habitat to multiple species of marine mammals, which exhibit different patterns of aggregation. To determine if mammal distribution is driven by prey distribution, a survey using direct mammal observations and acoustic backscatter as a proxy for fish biomass was conducted along a 21.5km transect (split into 6 zones) in SJC. The most abundant mammals seen and tracked in this study were Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus), Harbor Seals(Phoca vitulina), and Harbor Porpoise(Phocoena phocoena). Three spatial scales were used in this study: the entire transect (20+ km), zones (3-4 km), and individual kilometers. No direct correlations between fish density and mammal density were found at any scale. Previous studies in the area have suggested that tidal forcing concentrates forage fish in areas of greater topographic relief and mammal feeding behavior may be influenced by these effects. Mammal and fish distributions were compared with tidal current speed at the three spatial scales. Cetacean density directly correlated with tidal current speed at the largest spatial scale, while pinniped density correlated at the kilometer level in the narrowest part of the channel. Direct correlations were found between fish density and tidal current speed around bathymetric features at the lower two scales. This study showed key examples of how physical oceanographic processes affect the distribution of mammals and forage fish in a bathymetrically diverse and tidally active inland sea.
Keywords: mammals, Phoca vitulina, Eumetopias jubatus, Phocoena phocoena, acoustics, pelagic fish, tides, predator-prey, San Juan Channel, Salish Sea
Session Title
General species and food webs
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Poster
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)
Marine mammal populations--Estimates--Washington (State)--San Juan Channel; Marine mammal populations--Monitoring--Washington (State)--San Juan Channel; Marine mammals-Washington (State)--San Juan Channel--Geographical distibution
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); San Juan Channel (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
Interrelationships of Marine Mammals, Pelagic Fish, and Tides at Different Spatial Scales in San Juan Channel, Fall 2015
2016SSEC
San Juan Channel (SJC) in the Salish Sea is habitat to multiple species of marine mammals, which exhibit different patterns of aggregation. To determine if mammal distribution is driven by prey distribution, a survey using direct mammal observations and acoustic backscatter as a proxy for fish biomass was conducted along a 21.5km transect (split into 6 zones) in SJC. The most abundant mammals seen and tracked in this study were Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus), Harbor Seals(Phoca vitulina), and Harbor Porpoise(Phocoena phocoena). Three spatial scales were used in this study: the entire transect (20+ km), zones (3-4 km), and individual kilometers. No direct correlations between fish density and mammal density were found at any scale. Previous studies in the area have suggested that tidal forcing concentrates forage fish in areas of greater topographic relief and mammal feeding behavior may be influenced by these effects. Mammal and fish distributions were compared with tidal current speed at the three spatial scales. Cetacean density directly correlated with tidal current speed at the largest spatial scale, while pinniped density correlated at the kilometer level in the narrowest part of the channel. Direct correlations were found between fish density and tidal current speed around bathymetric features at the lower two scales. This study showed key examples of how physical oceanographic processes affect the distribution of mammals and forage fish in a bathymetrically diverse and tidally active inland sea.
Keywords: mammals, Phoca vitulina, Eumetopias jubatus, Phocoena phocoena, acoustics, pelagic fish, tides, predator-prey, San Juan Channel, Salish Sea
