Social science
"It’s the quantifiable.... But it’s also the ineffable. What is the value of sharing these waters with orca and Chinook? What is the value of softening a bulkhead for the sake of a forage fish? What’s the value of a sunrise over mount Baker?"
—Martha Kongsgaard, Chair, Puget Sound Leadership Council
Walking on the rocks along the Sound. Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA. Photo: cleverdame107 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
PSI news roundup
In December 2014, the Puget Sound Leadership Council adopted the 2014-2016 Biennial Science Work Plan, a document identifying decision-critical science for Puget Sound recovery. PSI Research Scientist Nick Georgiadis was lead author on the report in collaboration with the Puget Sound Partnership and its Science Panel. In the report, Georgiadis addresses the challenge of managing large scale ecosystems in the face of scientific uncertainty.
 Dr. Ed Kolodziej is one of the newest collaborators with the Puget Sound Institute. Kolodziej began his appointment at the University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering last fall, with a joint appointment at Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at UW Tacoma. His research looks at some of the ways that organic compounds like steroids and other pharmaceuticals persist in the environment. Known as contaminants of emerging concern (CEC), these compounds are flushed into Puget Sound and other natural systems every day.
 It was a treasure trove of data waiting to be uncovered. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) had been surveying Puget Sound herring habitat for more than 40 years, but until recently, much of that data remained in the original logbooks, un-digitized and unused. Recent efforts by Puget Sound Institute Lead Ecologist Tessa Francis in collaboration with NOAA and DFW have now made this data more accessible. The scientists hope that it will help to answer some of the key questions behind recent declines in Puget Sound herring populations.
 New on the Encyclopedia
The Salish Sea Currents magazine series has been very popular with our readers. As part of this project, we offer a printer-friendly, 2-page flyer of each story.
Recent papers
The field of decision analysis studies and develops rigorous and practical methods for improving how we make decisions. Over the past three years, the Puget Sound Partnership has invested in decision science expertise in its ongoing role of supporting effective Puget Sound recovery. A new paper in the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound describes some of these efforts and analyzes several decision support ideals.
Pacific herring lay their eggs on a wide variety of submerged vegetation, from algae to seagrass. A study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series reports that Puget Sound herring show little preference when it comes to types of spawning vegetation. The paper, co-authored by Puget Sound Institute Lead Ecologist Tessa Francis, analyzes herring egg loss on five types of vegetation in several subpopulations in Puget Sound. Authors include Andrew Shelton, Tessa Francis, Gregory Williams, Blake Feist, Kurt Stick and Phil Levin.
Around the Sound
Climate change, like politics, is local. “At least that is how you have to look at the impacts,” says Encyclopedia of Puget Sound topic editor Amy Snover. Snover is the Director of the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington and has been conducting research on the expected ‘time of emergence’ for climate change in the Puget Sound region.
Related: Snover named White House Champion of Change
Other news: Climate Impacts Group seeks full-time Deputy Director
The Puget Sound Partnership has appointed three new members to its advisory Science Panel. New members include Barbara Bentley, a former academic and now President and CEO of Noetica Naturalists; Robert Ewing, Director of Timberlands Strategic Planning for Weyerhaeuser; and Eric Strecker, Principal Water Resources Engineer and Fisheries Biologist with Geosyntec Consultants. Four current members of the Science Panel were re-appointed, including Wayne Landis, Timothy Quinn, John Stark and Trina Wellman.
Upcoming events
Feb 19 | 9:30 AM - 1:45 PM
Meeting: Puget Sound Partnership Ecosystem Coordination Board
Heritage Room, 604 Water Street, Olympia, WA 98501
Feb 25-26
Meeting: Puget Sound Science Panel
Washington State University Research Center, 2606 W Pioneer Ave, Puyallup, WA 98371
Mar 19-21
Annual Meeting: Pacific Estuarine Research Society
Talaris Conference Center, 4000 NE 41st St, Seattle, WA 98105
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