Presentation Abstract
Most predatory fish, marine mammals, and birds that eat salmon rely primarily on vision to feed. Natural processes and anthropogenic change affect visual conditions underwater which in turn profoundly affect the magnitude of predation risk on juvenile and adult salmon as well as forage fishes and other species in shoreline and pelagic environments. I will discuss the implications of how natural and anthropogenic changes in water transparency and artificial light pollution have significantly increased the predation threat environment for juvenile salmon in the Salish Sea and relate these to some of the major infrastructure projects in the Pacific Northwest. High levels of artificial light pollution are pervasive throughout Puget Sound and the southern portion of the Strait of Georgia. Over the past 30-40 years, increasing light pollution in Lake Washington, a useful surrogate for the greater Salish Sea, has expanded the peak twilight predation periods of juvenile salmon predators from just dusk and dawn to predation increasing throughout the night. Moreover, changing hydrology and water quality due to dams, climate, and land-water use have changed the magnitude, timing, and spatial patterns in water transparency from sediment plumes and plankton blooms. Collectively, these changes in underwater light penetration and transparency have fundamentally changed the predation environment with important implications for marine survival of salmon, functional sustainability of forage fish populations and the services they provide to the broader ecosystem.
Session Title
Big Objects Need Big Solutions: Addressing the Environmental Effects of Major Infrastructure Around the Salish Sea
Keywords
Visual predation, Artificial light at night
Conference Track
SSE1: Habitat Restoration and Protection
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE1-543
Start Date
6-4-2018 2:15 PM
End Date
6-4-2018 2:30 PM
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)
Marine animals--Effect of light on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Predation (Biology)--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Light pollution--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Underwater light--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
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
Effects of large infrastructure on the underwater visual environment and heightened predation on salmon in the Salish Sea
Most predatory fish, marine mammals, and birds that eat salmon rely primarily on vision to feed. Natural processes and anthropogenic change affect visual conditions underwater which in turn profoundly affect the magnitude of predation risk on juvenile and adult salmon as well as forage fishes and other species in shoreline and pelagic environments. I will discuss the implications of how natural and anthropogenic changes in water transparency and artificial light pollution have significantly increased the predation threat environment for juvenile salmon in the Salish Sea and relate these to some of the major infrastructure projects in the Pacific Northwest. High levels of artificial light pollution are pervasive throughout Puget Sound and the southern portion of the Strait of Georgia. Over the past 30-40 years, increasing light pollution in Lake Washington, a useful surrogate for the greater Salish Sea, has expanded the peak twilight predation periods of juvenile salmon predators from just dusk and dawn to predation increasing throughout the night. Moreover, changing hydrology and water quality due to dams, climate, and land-water use have changed the magnitude, timing, and spatial patterns in water transparency from sediment plumes and plankton blooms. Collectively, these changes in underwater light penetration and transparency have fundamentally changed the predation environment with important implications for marine survival of salmon, functional sustainability of forage fish populations and the services they provide to the broader ecosystem.
