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
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.
