This project is developing food web models for ecosystem-based management applications in Puget Sound. It is primarily being done by NMFS FTEs and contractors, in collaboration with scientists from the State of Washington and University of Washington. Ecosystem-scale models will be built in the Ecopath/Ecosim and Atlantis software frameworks. Working models and scientific manuscripts will be the main products. The target audience is the Puget Sound Partnership, resource management agencies and stakeholders in the Puget Sound area.

This project is developing food web models for ecosystem-based management applications in Puget Sound. It is primarily being done by NMFS FTEs and contractors, in collaboration with scientists from the State of Washington and University of Washington. Ecosystem-scale models will be built in the Ecopath/Ecosim and Atlantis software frameworks. Working models and scientific manuscripts will be the main products. The target audience is the Puget Sound Partnership, resource management agencies and stakeholders in the Puget Sound area.

The purpose of this project is to develop spatially discrete end-to-end models of the California Current LME, linking oceanography, biogeochemistry, food web interactions, habitat, fisheries, economics, monitoring, and management into a common model framework. This framework allows for thought experiments, including evaluation of alternate management strategies, identifying robust indicators, and assessing relative importance of different ecosystem drivers in regulating important processes.

The purpose of this project is to develop spatially discrete end-to-end models of the California Current LME, linking oceanography, biogeochemistry, food web interactions, habitat, fisheries, economics, monitoring, and management into a common model framework. This framework allows for thought experiments, including evaluation of alternate management strategies, identifying robust indicators, and assessing relative importance of different ecosystem drivers in regulating important processes.

We are using genetic pedigree information to estimate the reproductive success of hatchery and wild fall-run Chinook salmon spawning in the Cedar River, Washington.
Genotypes and associated phenotypes for Cedar River Chinook salmon.

The transfer of quota pounds and quota shares between participants in the Pacific Groundfish IFQ plays a critical role in facilitating fuller and more efficient utilization of groundfish resources, a primary goal of the IFQ program. This project provides ongoing analysis of quota market activity and will produce annual reports with information on market activity, market structure, prices and price dispersion, and an evaluation of market performance and potential failings.

The Multnomah Channel Wetland Restoration Monitoring Project characterizes wetlands use by juvenile salmonids and other fishes in the Multnomah Channel Marsh Natural Area (MCMNA) and nearby habitats of the Columbia River estuary. The project is a collaborative program by federal, state, and municipal organizations evaluating the ecological effectiveness of floodplain restoration actions at the MCMNA on behalf of at-risk juvenile salmonids.

NOAA has designed and is currently implementing a hyporheic monitoring plan for the Thornton Creek watershed in North Seattle. This work is being conducted for Seattle Public Utilities, who in 2015 completed two large-scale floodplain reconnection projects in the Thornton Creek Watershed. This study will evaluate restoration effectiveness by comparing control and treatment study reaches to each other and to forested references streams before and after restoration. NOAAs data collection focuses on hyporheic invertebrates, water temperature, and nutrient concentrations.

NOAA has designed and is currently implementing a hyporheic monitoring plan for the Thornton Creek watershed in North Seattle. This work is being conducted for Seattle Public Utilities, who in 2015 completed two large-scale floodplain reconnection projects in the Thornton Creek Watershed. This study will evaluate restoration effectiveness by comparing control and treatment study reaches to each other and to forested references streams before and after restoration. NOAAs data collection focuses on hyporheic invertebrates, water temperature, and nutrient concentrations.

The goals of this project are to examine 1) the relative importance of multiple aquatic habitats (streams, estuaries, and nearshore areas, for example) used by salmon during their migration, 2) evaluate how different forms of density dependence influence the relative importance of these habitats, and 3) determine the influence of life history variation on extinction risk. Analyses of Skagit Chinook, OR coho, and Winter run Chinook are currently being examined.
Results of GIS models of habitat capacity for Sacramento Winter run Chinook salmon.