Presentation Abstract
Puget Sound is a large and productive estuarine system at the southern end of the Salish Sea. King County’s comprehensive, long-term marine monitoring program tracks water quality in Puget Sound’s Central Basin through year-round collection of data for a suite of physical, chemical and biological parameters. Phytoplankton monitoring began with traditional microscopy methods in 2008, and expanded to include a particle imaging system in 2014. These data are critical to assess how changes from climate, physical conditions and other stressors linked to anthropogenic activity from the region’s growing population may impact the Sound’s biodiversity and trophic structure. Currently, twice-monthly surface water samples from 10 Central Basin locations (Point Wells to East Passage) are analyzed year round by FlowCAM, an imaging particle analyzer operating in the 10–300 µm particle range. Phytoplankton particle size, abundance and biovolume are quantified for sixty taxonomic categories. Additionally, zooplankton composition and abundance data are available at select stations. Given the considerable changes in physical conditions recorded for the Salish Sea in the last several years, such as higher than normal temperatures beginning in late 2014, data analysis has focused on key water column indicators (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and weather/climate patterns as drivers of phytoplankton abundance and community composition. Our data reveal important spatial differences within the Central Basin as well as inter-annual differences in seasonal succession patterns of phytoplankton species. These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of Puget Sound phytoplankton communities in relation to environmental and biological drivers.
Session Title
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Eutrophication and Over-enrichment of Nutrients in Puget Sound and Effects on Marine Species
Keywords
Monitoring, Phytoplankton, Puget Sound
Conference Track
SSE16: Long-Term Monitoring of Salish Sea Ecosystems
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE16-102
Start Date
6-4-2018 9:15 AM
End Date
6-4-2018 9:30 AM
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 populations--Climatic factors--Washington (Sate)--Puget Sound; Phytoplankton--Monitoring-Washington (Sate)--Puget Sound; Water quality monitoring stations--Washington (Sate)--Puget Sound
Geographic Coverage
Puget Sound (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
Long-term monitoring in Central Puget Sound: Are local climate anomalies impacting phytoplankton populations?
Puget Sound is a large and productive estuarine system at the southern end of the Salish Sea. King County’s comprehensive, long-term marine monitoring program tracks water quality in Puget Sound’s Central Basin through year-round collection of data for a suite of physical, chemical and biological parameters. Phytoplankton monitoring began with traditional microscopy methods in 2008, and expanded to include a particle imaging system in 2014. These data are critical to assess how changes from climate, physical conditions and other stressors linked to anthropogenic activity from the region’s growing population may impact the Sound’s biodiversity and trophic structure. Currently, twice-monthly surface water samples from 10 Central Basin locations (Point Wells to East Passage) are analyzed year round by FlowCAM, an imaging particle analyzer operating in the 10–300 µm particle range. Phytoplankton particle size, abundance and biovolume are quantified for sixty taxonomic categories. Additionally, zooplankton composition and abundance data are available at select stations. Given the considerable changes in physical conditions recorded for the Salish Sea in the last several years, such as higher than normal temperatures beginning in late 2014, data analysis has focused on key water column indicators (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and weather/climate patterns as drivers of phytoplankton abundance and community composition. Our data reveal important spatial differences within the Central Basin as well as inter-annual differences in seasonal succession patterns of phytoplankton species. These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of Puget Sound phytoplankton communities in relation to environmental and biological drivers.
