Abundance and Distribution of Pacific Sand Lance in San Juan Channel, WA
Presentation Abstract
This study is part of an ongoing effort on behalf of the Pelagic Ecosystem and Function (PEF) Apprenticeship to collect information and monitor changes in Pacific sand lance, an important forage fish in the San Juan Channel. Our results have provided an estimate for the abundance of a population of Pacific Sand Lance at a nearshore rearing habitat (Jackson Beach, San Juan Island). Using mark-recapture methods combined with beach seining, we determined the near shore Pacific Sand Lance population at Jackson Beach ranges between 10,000 - 200,000 juvenile (age 0-1) fish, with a decline in abundance over the season corresponding with the timing of fall transition. Using standard Van Veen sampling methods, we also estimated the population of Pacific sand lance in a benthic deep-water habitat in the San Juan Channel sand wave field to support 40-70 million adult (age 1-2) fish. Our research also sampled several areas throughout the San Juan Channel predicted to provide important habitats on the basis of multi-beam backscatter values for substrate hardness. Ground-truthing these areas suggested that this type of habitat mapping may not provide sufficient resolution to predict sandy substrate. We present insights into how Pacific sand lance might be using nearshore and benthic habitats in the Salish Sea. We also provide a relative index for how many Pacific sand lance may reside in the San Juan Archipelago and provide further insight into Pacific sand lance population dynamics in the Salish Sea.
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
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
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)
Pacific sand lance
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Pacific sand lance--Washington (State)--San Juan Channel; Forage fishes--Washington (State)--San Juan Channel; Fish surveys--Washington (State)--San Juan Channel
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
Abundance and Distribution of Pacific Sand Lance in San Juan Channel, WA
2016SSEC
This study is part of an ongoing effort on behalf of the Pelagic Ecosystem and Function (PEF) Apprenticeship to collect information and monitor changes in Pacific sand lance, an important forage fish in the San Juan Channel. Our results have provided an estimate for the abundance of a population of Pacific Sand Lance at a nearshore rearing habitat (Jackson Beach, San Juan Island). Using mark-recapture methods combined with beach seining, we determined the near shore Pacific Sand Lance population at Jackson Beach ranges between 10,000 - 200,000 juvenile (age 0-1) fish, with a decline in abundance over the season corresponding with the timing of fall transition. Using standard Van Veen sampling methods, we also estimated the population of Pacific sand lance in a benthic deep-water habitat in the San Juan Channel sand wave field to support 40-70 million adult (age 1-2) fish. Our research also sampled several areas throughout the San Juan Channel predicted to provide important habitats on the basis of multi-beam backscatter values for substrate hardness. Ground-truthing these areas suggested that this type of habitat mapping may not provide sufficient resolution to predict sandy substrate. We present insights into how Pacific sand lance might be using nearshore and benthic habitats in the Salish Sea. We also provide a relative index for how many Pacific sand lance may reside in the San Juan Archipelago and provide further insight into Pacific sand lance population dynamics in the Salish Sea.
