Presentation Abstract
Along the Pacific coasts of British Columbia and Alaska, it has recently come back into knowledge that Indigenous communities traditionally built and maintained clam gardens in the intertidal zone by clearing rocks, aerating sediments, and/or building rock walls. Since 2014, Parks Canada has been working with First Nations advisors of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Hul'qumi'num Treaty Groups in the Gulf Islands National Parks Reserve on the restoration of two ancient clam gardens in the Fulford Harbour area, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Royal Roads University is a partner in this restoration project, and as part of the partnership this research involves the measurement of water properties and primary productivity near the Fulford Harbour area clam gardens for the purpose of investigating seasonal coastal ocean dynamics in the area. While this research is exploratory in nature, a central research question is “what is the timing and quantity of delivery of coastal ocean primary productivity in waters near the Fulford Harbour clam gardens; and how is this impacted by coastal ocean dynamics interpreted from water property data, and tidal and weather records?” This research would be the first ever study of coastal ocean dynamics and primary productivity delivery at the site of ancient clam gardens, adding to the growing body of research on clam gardens and complementing the existing Traditional Ecological Knowledge of these eco-cultural landscapes. The field monitoring program involves monthly in situ measurements of water properties including temperature, depth, conductivity, turbidity, and fluorescence (as a proxy for chlorophyll a, and thus an indication of primary productivity). Field monitoring has been conducted on five occasions so far, and water property data are being continually processed as monthly monitoring transects are completed through August 2018.
Session Title
Posters: Ecosystem Management, Policy, & Protection
Keywords
clam gardens, ocean dynamics, British Columbia, aquaculture, traditional use
Conference Track
SSE18: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE18-48
Start Date
5-4-2018 11:30 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 1:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events); posters
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Mariculture--British Columbia--Saltspring Island; Restoration monitoring (Ecology)--British Columbia--Saltspring Island
Geographic Coverage
Saltspring Island (B.C.); 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, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Coastal ocean dynamics and primary productivity near traditional Indigenous clam gardens in Fulford Harbour, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Along the Pacific coasts of British Columbia and Alaska, it has recently come back into knowledge that Indigenous communities traditionally built and maintained clam gardens in the intertidal zone by clearing rocks, aerating sediments, and/or building rock walls. Since 2014, Parks Canada has been working with First Nations advisors of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Hul'qumi'num Treaty Groups in the Gulf Islands National Parks Reserve on the restoration of two ancient clam gardens in the Fulford Harbour area, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Royal Roads University is a partner in this restoration project, and as part of the partnership this research involves the measurement of water properties and primary productivity near the Fulford Harbour area clam gardens for the purpose of investigating seasonal coastal ocean dynamics in the area. While this research is exploratory in nature, a central research question is “what is the timing and quantity of delivery of coastal ocean primary productivity in waters near the Fulford Harbour clam gardens; and how is this impacted by coastal ocean dynamics interpreted from water property data, and tidal and weather records?” This research would be the first ever study of coastal ocean dynamics and primary productivity delivery at the site of ancient clam gardens, adding to the growing body of research on clam gardens and complementing the existing Traditional Ecological Knowledge of these eco-cultural landscapes. The field monitoring program involves monthly in situ measurements of water properties including temperature, depth, conductivity, turbidity, and fluorescence (as a proxy for chlorophyll a, and thus an indication of primary productivity). Field monitoring has been conducted on five occasions so far, and water property data are being continually processed as monthly monitoring transects are completed through August 2018.
