The Future of Oceans: Short of Breath―Marine Life in a Warming World

Curtis Deutsch, PhD

Associate Professor, 

School of Oceanography, 

College of the Environment 

University of Washington

Sunday, December 10
3 pm
Curtis Deutsch, PhD
The Fort Worden Commons*
*Please note change of venue


Admission: $5

(students, teachers FREE)


Dr. Curtis Deutsch’s research is aimed at understanding the interactions between climate and ecosystems. He combines numerical models of varying complexity with diverse types of biological and physical data, to discover the ways in which climate produces spatial pattern and temporal variability in ecosystems, and thus influences their basic functioning. Most of this work has focused on biogeochemical cycles in the ocean, with a particular emphasis on the mechanisms that regulate the cycles of nutrients and oxygen over a range of time scales from years to millennia. He also works with terrestrial ecologists to understand how climate influences the patterns of thermal fitness, and their implications for biodiversity in a changing climate. He received an Investigator Award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and is a Fellow of the Kavli Frontiers of Science.

This is the third installment of The Future of Oceans lecture series (learn more about the series here).

This event is offered with generous support by the Darrow Family.

Assisted Listening Devices available

The Future of Oceans: Sharing the Sound― Salmon, Steelhead and Settlement

Sunday, November 12

Jill Rolland, Sc.D.

3 pm

Jill Rolland, Sc.D.
The Fort Worden Chapel
Admission: $5 (students, teachers FREE)

The Sonic World of the Amazonian Pink Dolphin

Sunday, October 8, 2017 

3 pm

David Bonnett, Citizen Scientist

The Fort Worden Chapel

Admission: $5

(students, teachers FREE) 

Mr Bonnett will present his most recent finding of his acoustical research with Amazonian Pink Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) including how ecosystem changes in the Amazon are impacting this species and how this research relates to our local species of Cetacea. His research grows from decades of underwater acoustical research and designing ultra-quiet vessels. 

This is the first installment of The Future of Oceans lecture series. 
This event is offered with generous support by the Darrow Family.

Assisted Listening Devices available

COASST Marine Debris Training

Join the COASST Marine Debris program on Saturday, April 8th from 10am - 4pm and help make a difference for the environment!

COASST Marine Debris participants survey local beaches and collect data on the characteristics and location of debris-data that will ultimately be used to map the source and transport pathways of debris, as well as the potential harm to people, wildlife, and local coastal ecosystems.

Beach surveys are best conducted in groups of 2 or more-please come with a survey partner in mind or plan to join a team during training.
Reserve your training spot by emailing coasst@uw.edu or calling 206-221-6893.

More information about the COASST program is available at https://depts.washington.edu/coasst/involved/volunteer.html

Invaders on the Move

National Invasive Species Week is this week February 26th- March 4^th. What a great time to raise awareness about some local invaders and how we can help to stop the spread of invasive species. Let me start by answering the question of what exactly is an invasive species? By definition, an invasive species a one that is not native to the ecosystem and when introduced has negative effects. Some invaders in Washington include plants and animals such as Scotch broom, the Wood-boring Beetle, and the European Green Crab.

  The European Green Crab is native to the Atlantic coast of Europe and Northern Africa. It is a relatively small crab with a carapace ( back shell) growing only 3.5-4 inches across. Green crabs  were first documented on the east coast of the US in 1817. They are relatively new to the west coast with their first appearances showing up in the San Francisco Bay in 1989. It didn’t take long for them to make their way up the coast to Washington. In 1997-1998 an El Nino event pushed them north up the coast into Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
So what’s the all fuss with a tiny crab? Well, this crab may be small but is quite durable and able to adapt to a number of different environments. It can adapt to many temperatures and enjoys eating and disturbing eelgrass habitat. Eelgrass is a very important nursery habitat for a number of aquatic young animals including salmon and Dungeness crabs. To learn more about the importance of eelgrass check out this blog post by our Marine Exhibit AmeriCorps Educator. Green crabs also enjoy some of the very seafood which humans have a palate for. These crabs love to eat soft shelled clams, scallops, young oysters, as well as native crab species. 

So now that we are up to speed on these little guys takeover of the country’s coastal waters, the next question is, where does that leave us here in the Salish Sea region? On August 30^th 2016, one European green crab was found in Westcott Bay, on the northwest end of San Juan Island. Since then, the crabs have been spotted in Padilla Bay. At this point in time there is no evidence of established green crab communities.

Thankfully, there is a dedicated group of individuals who have made it their mission to help stop this arthropodic invasion. Crab team is a group who partners with Washington Sea Grant, the department of Washington Fish and Wildlife, and numerous citizen science volunteers. They survey a number of different sites in the Salish Sea looking for signs of the European Green Crab. With Crab team working hard, they are on the leading edge of a potential species invasion, which is a good place to be says Emily Grason, the Crab Team’s project coordinator.

European Green Crab  (Carcinus maenas) Photo by Sean McDonald

With this new awareness of the invasive green crab there are some steps you can take to help prevent the invasion in the Salish Sea area. Anytime you are out on a beach walk, take a look at the crabs and crab molts you are seeing.

How to Identify a European Green Crab:

•          5 spines on the outside of each eye
•          Up to 4 inches across the carapace or back shell
•          Wider at the front of the carapace

*The color of this crab can range from dark green to orange or red*

If you find a crab that looks like it could be a European green crab, here are the steps you can take:

1.       Take photos

2.       Record your location

3.       Leave the crab where you found it

4.       Report it to (crabteam@uw.edu)

To find out more about the European Green Crab or how you can become a crab team volunteer visit http://wsg.washington.edu/crabteam.  For some helpful information about other invasive species in Washington visit http://www.invasivespecies.wa.gov/priorities.shtml.

--

Sarah Croston, Americorps - Natural History and Volunteer Educator

Way of Whales Conference 2017

Way of Whales

The view from the Coupeville ferry. Photo by Mattie Stephens

The time has come and gone for the annual Way of Whales Conference, or as I like to call it, Whalefest 2017. Coupeville high school was the host, and in order to arrive in time, Jan North, Betsy Carlson and I caught the 8 am ferry to make our way into Whidbey Island. When we arrived, I caught a whiff of the local agriculture before setting up our exhibition table while Jan and Betsy signed us in. We displayed skulls of all kinds, including a steller sea lion that took many as a bear skull. Our save the shore sign was displayed and many a pamphlet were spread around to give the good word. After speaking to a few visitors to our booth, I was able to walk around and explore the other organizations and their tables while awaiting the day’s many presentations.  

Our proud table! Photo by Mattie Stephens

As I wandered, looking at all the tables, gathering stickers and snacks, I realized how nice it was to be surrounded by fellow “whalers.” My goal of the conference was to expand my marine science network, including my interesting new friends, London, and her father. I spoke with them after overhearing London is heading to New Zealand to work with a graduate student – something I didn’t expect to have in common with a nine year old. London is invited to come to the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) and train her brain on our many cetacean skeletons.

The first presentation was by Howard Garrett of Orca Net, welcoming us all to Whalefest. After introducing the day, he spoke about freeing Lolita, an orca taken from the Salish Sea in the 70s, currently kept at Miami Seaquarium.

Howard Garrett of Orca net. Photo by Betsy Carlson

John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective and others. Photo by Betsy Carlson

The second presenter was John Calambokidis. He gave a presentation about Sounders – local gray whales. It was fairly early for a PowerPoint, but I was wide awake when he presented awesome videos of gray whales he received from suction cup video tags. I met him afterwards, and he knew the professor I worked with in Galveston. He said he would happily be in correspondence.

I’ll remember you all when I’m famous.

Val Viers, an environmental physicist, spoke on his 15 year quest to learn about orcas and acoustics in the Salish Sea. He presented interesting and rare footage of orca communication sequences matched with recorded orca actions and position. What I found most interesting was Val’s deciphering of an orca mother scolding her offspring, which we were able to see on film. Val and his son work with PTMSC and installed our hydrophone, a device that allows us to hear boat and animal noise underwater. We work with his son Scott in the Salish Sea hydrophone network, monitoring ship noise and orca/marine mammal communication.

Current hydrophone network of the Salish Sea. 

Lastly, we watched a beluga whale documentary on the endangered St. Lawrence whales. An orphaned baby beluga is found alive on the beach with time running out. The responding scientist tries something unusual – releasing it back into the wild in hopes another mother will adopt the calf as her own. I’m no movie critic, but the message of the movie was critical – there needs to be widespread knowledge and support of environmental and animal stewardship. Without a change in human behavior, the environment of these whales will deteriorate.

Drone footage of St. Lawrence beluga whales. Photo by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit

Whalefest was closed with a special music video about saving the Salish Sea and played a part in explaining the inter-connectivity of the diverse organisms. Helping people connect emotionally with a place like the Salish Sea can inspire them to protect it. This resounds soundly with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s mission of inspiring conservation of the Salish Sea. The Way of Whales conference and its presenters, all wonderfully well-spoken and knowledgeable, moved strongly for the Salish Sea's conservation. I enjoyed my experience at Whalefest 2017, hope to return, and would recommend a visit to anyone.

See more of our wonderful organization on our Facebook and Instagram, and please consider donating today.

Matthew (Mattie) Stephens is an AmeriCorps serving at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

DAMS AND DIRT: THE COASTAL RESPONSE TO THE ELWHA DAM REMOVAL

Sunday | February 12, 2017 | 3 pm

Ian Miller, PhDCoastal Hazards Specialist, Washington Sea GrantThe Fort Worden ChapelAdmission: $10 ($5 for PTMSC members)

A skilled science communicator and media spokesperson, Dr. Ian Miller is Washington Sea Grant’s coastal hazards specialist, working out of Peninsula College in Port Angeles as well as University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks. Dr. Miller works with coastal communities on the Olympic Peninsula to increase their ability to plan for and manage coastal hazards, including tsunami, chronic erosion, coastal flooding and hazards associated with climate change. To accomplish this, he uses a suite of tools including outreach, applied research, synthesis of existing science, and coordination to help coastal communities access funding and expertise to achieve their goals and implement their plans. Dr. Miller has expertise in a range of topics including: sea level rise, ocean acidification, marine debris, tsunamis, beach erosion and change, Washington coastal ecology, coastal sediment transport and geomorphology.

Before joining Washington Sea Grant, Dr. Miller served as the education director of the Olympic Park Institute and as Washington field coordinator for the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. Dr. Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in marine ecology at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of Environmental Studies and a doctorate in ocean sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His graduate research focused on the transport and fate of sediment in the coastal zone adjacent to the Elwha River delta. Find him online blogging at the Coast Nerd Gazette.

Citizen Science Report - Spring 2015

Rain, rain! Please don’t go away!

With a timely rain storm, PTMSC volunteers completed our roof runoff study in November of 2014. Since then, the Citizen Science program at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center had busy fall and winter seasons. The pages that follow highlight measurable impacts our volunteers have had on the health of the Salish Sea.

In 6 years, the Citizen Science program has doubled in volunteer hours. We will engage over 100 volunteers in the coming year. This summer, we will have 18 citizen science projects engaging mem-bers of our community in civic science. These are remarkable mile-stones for the program and we’d like to thank all of YOU for mak-ing it possible.

—Jamie Montague, Citizen Science Coordinator

Sea Star Wasting Annual Report

Are you curious about the data our citizen scientists have been collecting about sea star wasting?
We have finally finished putting together our sea star wasting annual report.
The report shows observations and patterns that we've seen in the Port Townsend Marine Science Center tanks, as well as in our plots at Indian Island County Park, Port Hadlock, WA.

It's been a busy year for the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, and our work collecting data is far from over as we seek to understand the changes that we'll be seeing for our sea stars in the future.

Our 'Squidlets' Have Hatched!

Curious about these mysterious opalescent egg casings? So were we! 

On the morning of December 7, 2014, Fort Worden's Ranger Todd found them on his crab pot. Citizen Science Assistant AmeriCorps member, Ashleigh, decided to document the development of these Loligo opalescens, California Market Squid, eggs. Typically laid on sandy or hard substrates on the seafloor bottom, California Market Squid eggs hatch in 3-5 weeks but may require longer in colder water.

Over the course of the first 26 days, the eggs slowly transformed from circular yolks to more distinct shape.  Day 31 brings the initial development of the eye stalks which are then followed by rapid developmental changes.

In the Day 45 photo, one can note the eyes at the base of the mantle, the external yolk sac has decreased in size, and the rapidly developing chromatorphores. These chromatophores, or pigment spots, can be contracted and expanded to allow adult squid to turn from a transparent white to an opaque red-brown. Day 53 shows the yolk sac almost completely gone and the chromatophores expanded.

Finally, Day 55 brought us the moment we have been waiting for! Several 'squidlets' (non-technical term) have hatched!  The hatching of the paralarvae from each capsule was staggered over several days.  One can observe in the final 'Post-hatch Egg Capsule' photo where the juveniles emerged from small slits in their chorions. Using powerful contractions from their mantel, the squidlets entered the waters of our beautiful Salish Sea, fully capable of rapid movement in any direction and sustaining themselves on the remains of their internal yolk sacs. 

Check out this link to see a video of a squidlet mobilizing for their grand entry to the Salish Sea!  You can see the rapid movement of the mantel and changing chromatophores, both essential for life in their abundant and diverse ecosystem.

Thank you to Ranger Todd for sharing these eggs with us back in December! While our eggs took approximately three weeks longer to hatch than the expected 3-5 week gestation period, scientists have noted that development is delayed in colder water. Let's keep stunning creatures like the California Market Squid in mind and continue to inspire conservation of the Salish Sea together! 

Feel free to contact Ashleigh (apilkerton@ptmsc.org) if you have any additional questions!

3rd Annual MLK Day of Service: Make it A Day On, Not a Day Off!

A Day in the Life of an AmeriCorps: Adventures in Teaching

The wind gusts, waves crash, and the sun sleeps in. The 'Open' signs are stowed away in the Marine Exhibit, awaiting the spring season. Many people think the Marine Science Center slows down in the winter, but I'm going to let you in on a secret... We never slow down! (As proof, I started this blog post in February and just now have time to finish it.)

While the exhibits may appear closed, behind those doors something crazy and wonderful is happening. We call this phenomenon:

Free Science Classes

Over the months of January and February, an excess of 700 squirmy elementary kids swarmed the touch tanks and beaches, searching for crabs and marveling at intertidal invertebrates. Across the street, at the Natural History Exhibit, their classmates dressed up as birds, examined stuffed specimen, and conducted bird surveys.

Each year, the Marine Science Center offers science classes to schools around the state, free of charge! We pick two classes from our selection of amazing curricula (or make two new ones), and the AmeriCorps team up to teach them, oh about 40 different times. 

This year's classes were Crab Lab and Birds of Shore and Sea. 

So what's it like teaching 4th and 5th graders?? Take a closer look with me, as we dive into the inner-workings of my life on a Free Science Class day.

At 6:00am the alarm goes off, but it's Mango that actually gets me out of bed. She is so excited to be awake she can hardly contain herself. Since I will be wiped out by this evening, I'm forced into early morning runs. I chase Mango through the woods, then hustle back to get ready for work. I inhale breakfast (a bowl of cereal with a few dribbles of flax milk since I keep forgetting to buy more), slap together a PB&J for lunch and grab any snacks in sight, then fly out the door. I hop on my bike, promptly realize I forgot my bike lights, get off my bike, zip back inside, return with the missing items, and peddle, peddle, peddle!

By 8:00am I am pulling out the class material, clipping worksheets to clipboards, arranging chairs, and writing the schedule on the white board, all at once. An hour later, the call from my fellow AmeriCorps comes over the walkie-talkie, "Yellow bus at the top of the hill!", "Roger that! Over and out." I reply.


We wave to the kids, greet the teachers, and direct the whole lot of them straight to the restrooms. Classes never start on time. We quickly hash out a plan of how to make up for lost time. One class heads out to the pier for Crab Lab, following at the heels of my AmeriCorps partner, and the other mobs me at the entrance to the Natural History Exhibit. Then the fun begins.

"Raise your hand if you already know birds are cool" I say, and 25 arms shoot up into the air, including my own. "Great! My job is done. We can all go home now" I joke. We spend the next hour and half learning about bird characteristics, adaptations that help marine birds survive in their environment, and getting up close and personal with "study skins", which are stuffed birds that do not fly away no matter how crazy or loud we are (and believe me, we are both). As exciting as the class activities are, the highlight is at the end, when we all go bird watching.

Someone points excitedly to the mossy roof of the Marine Exhibit. Fifteen pairs of bright yellow binoculars zoom to the left, along with fifteen bird guides attached to sticky fourth-grade fingers. Their faces light up as they successfully identify and count their first sighting-- about 30 rock pigeons.

Twenty minutes later, we file back into the classroom, briefly recap what we learned, and then record our bird survey data onto brightly colored bar graphs. By this time, nobody can hear me over the rumble of their own stomachs. Finally, the moment they have all been waiting for arrives: LUNCH! I release the pack of hungry wolves. They chow down their food at the beach, beneath the watchful eye of several crows and a handful of chaperones.

Meanwhile, back in the classrooms, we get ready for Round Two! When lunch ends, the classes switch and we do it all over again.

After waving goodbye to the kids and watching the yellow bus climb back up the hill, I undo everything I did that morning. I put away the class material, unclip the worksheets from the clipboards, put away the chairs, and erase the white board. I also wipe wet-erase marker off of 30 bird ID guides, sweep the floor, untangle the binoculars, and make sure the beach is free of wrappers. More than once it has crossed my mind that I spend double the amount of time preparing for the classes and cleaning up afterwards than I do actually teaching them.

After the kids leave and the sugar high of teaching has dissolved, I crash hard. My body is physically drained of energy and my brain refuses to do anything resembling productivity. So I sit down, breathe a few deep breaths, and read the students remarks on their favorite part of the day.

"What was your favorite part about today's classes?"

Written on nearly everyone's paper are the words "Bird watching" scrawled in typical fourth-grade fashion. Some even say the best part was having wonderful teachers. It fills me with pride. This, my friends, is why I love teaching. Sure it's exhausting, but it is also exhilarating, exciting, inspiring, and rewarding.

Words of encouragement from a fifth grader.

Teaching young minds to appreciate nature is imperative to the conservation of the Salish Sea and beyond. Through Free Science Classes at the Marine Science Center, kids are given a chance to see first-hand the splendor of a marine bird, learn the importance of crabs, and so much more. If even one of our short-term students decides to pursue environmental conservation, it will have been worth every exhausted evening and frantic morning that we put in. Call me optimistic, but I think there will be more than one.

Thumbs up to science!

Danae Presler

AmeriCorps member
Environmental Educator
Birding Enthusiast

Seabird Rescue!

Look what the storm brought in! 

My new friend and I go for a truck ride.

Life at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center is largely unpredictable, and often chaotic. Inspiring conservation of the Salish Sea is a BIG job and it turns out there are A LOT of ways to do it. Today I helped save a seabird and I'm writing this blog to inspire you to save future ones- and their homes too. 

This striking penguin-like seabird in my lap is a Common Murre. Earlier today a woman braved the wind and rain to bring the bird to us in hopes we would be able to help. She had found him (or her) on a nearby beach, unable to fly and looking tired. We have no idea how to care for birds, but we know someone who does! We called our friend Cindy Daily at Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue (360-379-0802), who's always eager to save a feathery friend. 

While we waited to hear back from Cindy, Chrissy and I went about finishing up our tasks. After all, we had not allotted time in our schedules for bird-sitting and still had to clean up after a day full of harbor seal necropsies (more on that later). We planned to leave the bird in a box lined with a comfy towel, but he kept poking his head out the top and attempting to escape. It was time for Plan B. I tucked him into my jacket and whispered sweet nothings to him as I went about putting things away. 

Getting cozy.

Too soon, Cindy called and it was time to bring my new friend into rehab. We met at the Safeway parking lot to make the exchange. I fought back the urge to ask 'can I keep him?' (it wasn't easy). Instead, I asked what she thought had happened, since I couldn't see any obvious injuries. I was startled by what she told me.

On windy days when the seas get really wavy, contaminants in the water get stirred up. Some types of contaminants, like petroleum or vegetable oils, destroy the insulating capacity of bird feathers. If a seabird like our Common Murre swims through an area with these types of contaminants, they risk death by hypothermia because they can't keep warm. Sometimes a 'de-insulated' seabird winds up on shore, usually cold and exhausted. However, with time, food, and TLC, rehabers are able to save these birds. But only if people bring them in! 

Here's what you should do:

1. If you suspect a bird is 'de-insulated', capture it! It should be fairly easy. Use a towel, blanket, or jacket to cover him up and keep that sharp beak away from your eyeballs. If the bird flies away at a million miles a minute, it probably wasn't de-insulated.
2. Put the bird in a box.
3. Call Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue at 360-379-0802. You could do this first if you are unsure what to do in-the-moment.

Of course the ideal solution to this problem would be to remove all of the troublesome contaminants from the ocean so that seabirds (and everything else) wouldn't be threatened by their presence. Maybe that's not possible, but it's sure worth shooting for.   

Farewell wild one. I forgive you for jabbing me.

Baby steps. Today we helped save a seabird that had been hurt by something people did. Sure, it's not a big difference in terms of the Salish Sea, but it's a big difference for this bird. Thinking about the small things we accomplish on a daily basis allows me to sleep peacefully at night. 

I have high hopes for our little black and white amigo. Thank you mysterious lady who brought him in, huddled in your blanket. You've inspired me!   


*Special note: Cindy Daily is a licensed reahabilitator. It is illegal for the general public to posses a wild bird except for short-term care prior to transporting it to a rehab facility. 

 

Here's a pigeon we brought to Cindy's rehab center a couple weeks ago.
 He had an injury to his neck and crop, but is recovering nicely! 

Thanks for reading!

Danae Presler
AmeriCorps
Marine Mammal Stranding Network Educator