Health of the Salish Sea as measured using transboundary ecosystem indicators
Keywords:
ecosystem health, transboundary indicators, Georgia Basin Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget SoundAbstract
The Salish Sea ecosystem is a transboundary area of ecological, social, and economic significance shared by Canada and the United States. Accordingly, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada have committed to cross-border collaboration on Salish Sea issues. The transboundary ecosystem indicators project was established to support knowledge sharing and to identify common priorities for action. Mixed trends were observed among ecosystem indicators, reflecting the complexity of the system. Improvements were demonstrated among indicators of air quality, freshwater quality, and toxics in the food web. Declining trends were observed among indicators of marine water quality, marine species at risk, Chinook Salmon, and summer stream flow. Variable or neutral trends were observed among indicators of southern resident Killer Whale abundance, access to Shellfish beaches, and access to swimming beaches. While the indicators represent separate ecosystem components, including air, water, species condition, and human wellbeing, these indicators are interrelated through biophysical cycles. Methods and results of tracking transboundary ecosystem indicators are presented to facilitate the identification of primary drivers and pressures of observed trends, and responses that have had positive results on a site specific basis.
References
Altman, I.
, Blakeslee, A. M. H
, Osio, G. C.
, Rillahan, C. B.
, Teck, S. J.
, Meyer, J. J.
, Byers, J. E.
, Rosenberg, A. A., 2011. A practical approach to implementation of ecosystem-based management: a case study using the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9, 183–189
Bigg, M. A.
, Ellis, G. M.
, Ford, J. K. B.
, Balcomb, K. C., 1987. Killer Whales: a study of their identification, genealogy and natural history in British Columbia and Washington State
. Phantom Press & Publishers Inc., Nanaimo.
Bigg, M. A.
, Olesiuk, P. F.
, Ellis, G. M.
, Ford, J. K. B.
, Balcomb, K. C., 1990. Social organizations and genealogy of resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 12, 383- 405.
British Columbia Geographical Names (BC-Geographical Names), 2010. Salish Sea: Origin Notes and History. Available at http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/53200.html. Accessed September 25, 2013.
British Columbia Ministry of Environment (BCMOE), 2006. Alive and Inseparable: British Columbia’s Coastal Environment: 2006. Victoria, BC.
British Columbia – Washington Marine Science Panel (BC-WA), 1994. The Shared Marine Waters of British Columbia and Washington State: A Scientific Assessment of Current Status and Future Trends in Resource Abundance and Environmental Quality in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. Report to the BC-WA Environmental Cooperation Council. Seattle, August 1994.
Canada Gazette, 2013. Objectives for Ambient PM2.5 and Ozone: Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) for PM2.5 and Ozone. 147(21).
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), 2000. Canada-Wide Standards for Particulate Matter (PM) and Ozone. Endorsed by the CCME on 2000 June 5–6. Quebec City, Quebec.
CCME, 2001. Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: CCME Water Quality Index 1.0 Technical Report. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), 2012. State of physical, biological and fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2010. Nanaimo, BC, DFO 2011
/065.
Environment Canada (EC), 2009. Marine Water Quality Monitoring: Types of Classification. Available at http://www.ec.gc.ca. Accessed August 19, 2013.
EC, 2013. Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators. Available at http://www.ec.gc.ca.
Accessed September 26, 2013.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1986. Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria – 1986. Office of Water. EPA 440/5-84-002. Cincinnati, Ohio and Washington, D.C., January 1986.
EPA, 2002. A Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition: A Science Advisory Board Report. EPA-SAB-EPEC-02-009. Washington, D.C., June 2002.
EPA, 2006. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter. Federal Register 71:2000. October 17, 2006. p. 61144-61232, Washington, D.C.
EPA, 2008. EPA’s 2008 Report on the Environment. EPA600/R-07/045F. Springfield, VA.
EPA, 2012. 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria. Office of Water EPA 820-F-12-061. December 2012.
Ford, J. F.
, Ellis, G. M.
, Balcomb, K. C.. 2000. Killer Whales, Second Edition: The natural history and genealogy of Orcinus orca in British Columbia and Washington.
UBC Press, Vancouver and University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Fraser Basin Council (FBC), 2011. Sustainability Snapshot 2010: Working Together in the Lower Mainland. A report of the Fraser Basin Council for organizations and residents of Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver and Squamish-Lillooet. Vancouver, BC.
Gabrielsen, P.
, Bosch, J., 2003. Environmental Indicators: Typology and Use in Reporting. European Environment Agency (EEA) internal working paper. EEA, August 2003.
Gaydos, J. K.
, Brown, N. A., 2011. Species of Concern within the Salish Sea: Changes from 2002 to 2011. Proceedings of the 2011 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Ecosystem Conference, October 25-27, 2011, Vancouver, BC
Health Canada, 1992 (updated 2012). Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality, Third Edition. Cat.: H129-15/2012E. ISBN: 978-1-100-20892-3. Ottawa, Ontario.
Heinz Centre, 2008. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems 2008. Measuring the Lands, Waters and Living Resources of the United States
. Washington, DC.
Kristensen, P., 2004. The DPSIR Framework. European Environment Agency, 1–10.
New Zealand Ministry of Environment, 2013. Environmental Indicators Used to Measure New Zealand’s Environment. Available at: http://www.mfe.govt.nz. Accessed September 27, 2013.
Niemeijer, D.
, de Groot, R. S., 2008. A conceptual framework for selecting environmental indicator sets. Ecological Indicators
. 8, 14–25.
Olesiuk, P. F.
, Bigg, M. A.
, Ellis, G. M., 1990. Life history and population dynamics of resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Whal. Commn. Special Issue 12. SC/A88/ID3. 209–243.
O’Neill, S., 2010. Transboundary Ecosystem Indicators: A Conceptual Approach for Using Indicators to Enhance the Health of the Salish Sea. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Seattle, Washington.
Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), 2012. Pacific Salmon Commission Joint Chinook Technical Committee Report: 2011 Annual Report of Catches and Escapements. Report TCChinook (12)-1. January 18, 2012. Available at: http://www.psc.org. Accessed August 20, 2013.
Pickett, P., 2010. Flow Indicator Methodology
. Westside Operations Section, Washington Department of Ecology. Olympia, Washington.
Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), 2012. Puget Sound Vital Signs. Available at http://www.psp.wa.gov. Accessed August 13, 2013.
Rapport, D., 1990. Workgroup issue paper: criteria for ecological indicators. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 15, 273–275. 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.
Ross, P. S.
, Noël, M.
, Lambourn, D.
, Dangerfield, N.
, Calambokidis, J.
, Jeffries, S., 2013. Declining concentrations of persistent PCBs, PBDEs, PCDEs and DCNs in Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) from the Salish Sea. Progress in Oceanography
. Volume 115, 160–170.
Salmon Recovery Office (SRO), 2012. State of Salmon in Watersheds: 2012 Report. Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Available at: http://stateofsalmon.wa.gov/ Accessed August 15, 2013.
US Geological Survey (USGS), 2009. Salish Sea: Board on Geographic Names Decisions. Available at http://geonames.usgs.gov. Accessed September 25, 2013.
Van Cleve, B.
, Buenau, K.
, Thom, R.
, Gulbransen, T., 2010. Puget Sound Georgia Basin Transboundary Ecosystem Indicators Update: Draft Inventory of Ecosystem Indicator. Prepared for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2010 September 13.
Washington Department of Ecology (WA DOE), 2002. A Water Quality Index for Ecology’s Stream Monitoring Program. Publication number 02-03-052. November 2002.
WA DOE, 2012. Marine Water Condition Index. Publication Number 12-03-013. May 2012.
Washington Department of Health (WA DOH), 2013. Shellfish Growing Area Program: Classification. Available at http://www.doh.wa.gov. Accessed August 19, 2013.
West, J. E.
, O’Neill, S. M.
, Ylitalo, G. M., 2008. Spatial extent, magnitude, and patterns of persistent organochlorine pollutants in Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi) populations in the Puget Sound (USA) and the Georgia Basin (Canada). Science of the Total Environment 394, 369–378.
West, J. E.
, O’Neill, S. M.
, Lanksbury, J. H.
, Ylitalo, G. M.
, Redman, S., 2011. Current conditions, time trends and recovery targets for toxic contaminants in Puget Sound fish: the Toxics in Fish Dashboard Indicator. Presented at the 2011 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Ecosystem Conference, 2011 October 25–27, Vancouver, BC. Proceedings published at http://www.verney.ca/ssec2011/presentations.php
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
