currenttidings2021-1
Current Tidings
Shannon Point Marine Center
Volume 2021, Issue 1
Dr. Tanika Ladd has joined the Arellano lab as a post-doctoral researcher. She recently received her PhD from the University of California Santa Barbara, where she studied the impact of disturbances such as oil spills, wildfires, and climate change on marine microbial communities. Tanika writes, “As a WWU alumna, I am very excited to be back for a postdoctoral research position in Shawn Arellano’s lab doing something a bit different from my PhD work. I will be using statistical modeling to analyze larval settlement in response to microbial cues at hydrothermal vent ecosystems. I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time at sea and hopefully getting a chance to see these amazing deep sea ecosystems in person while aboard the submersible Alvin.”
Melanie Kudra has just joined the Shannon Point staff as an Office Assistant. She can be found facilitating Shannon Point logistics and greeting visitors in the main office. She has a bachelor's degree in Marine Science from Boston University and comes to Shannon Point after serving as Education Manager at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, TX. Outside of work, she enjoys figure skating and spending time with her bright blue panther chameleon. She's looking forward to meeting you next time you visit!
Dexter Davis is a new research technician in the Arellano lab. Dexter recently graduated from WWU with a major in environmental science with a marine emphasis, and a minor in mathematics. He got his start at Western in the Marine Science Scholars program (see article below) and, as an undergraduate, was able to pursue his marine science passion in Shawn’s lab and on one of her research cruises. In his technician role, Dexter is assisting with cruise logistics, data summarization, and animal husbandry, including keeping their collection of deep-sea mussels alive and assessing their condition for the Seep Animal Larval Transport (SALT) project.
Kathryn Sobocinski, Plunging into research on a locally troubled species
Why is the Cherry Point herring stock doing so poorly? This is one of the questions that motivates Environmental Science/Marine and Coastal Science faculty member Kathryn Sobocinski to regularly plunge into the cold waters of the Salish Sea. In research funded by Washington State’s Puget Sound Partnership, she and graduate student Heidi Stewart are testing hypotheses about the causes of local Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) declines. Herring, along with several other small, fatty fishes, are key intermediaries in Salish Sea food webs. Spawning in localized, nearshore areas, herring and other ‘forage fish’ transfer nutrients and energy from the planktonic food web to larger and more famous organisms including salmon, marine mammals, and seabirds. The Cherry Point spawning stock declined steeply during the latter part of the 20th century and remains at extremely low levels today.
Kathryn (right) and SPMC staff member Jay Diamond prepare for a dive from R.V. Magister
Kathryn, working with biologists from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been testing the hypothesis that surf scoter predation is responsible for herring egg mortality. These seabirds migrate northward along the coast each spring to nest in boreal forests, moving through NW Washington in a “silver wave” whose timing coincides with the late spawning of Cherry Point herring. Kathryn and Heidi, ably assisted by Shannon Point scientists and the droppable bow door of SPMC vessel Magister, deployed cages to exclude diving birds from the seagrass and macroalgae on which herring lay their eggs. Subsequently, diving expeditions were made to count eggs in the control and excluder plots every three days. Although the photos give an impression of fun in the sun, Kathryn points out that surge and low visibility made these census dives really challenging.
As so often happens in science, the scoters did not read the grant proposal and failed to appear in high numbers in spring 2021. This unusual occurrence (or lack thereof), worthy of study on its own account, means that other aspects of the research are being emphasized. Kathryn and Heidi are working up data on egg counts (eggs per linear section of macroalga Sargassum muticum) and egg viability. Heidi and a team of adventurous undergraduates also deployed and maintained underwater cameras, originally in the hope of capturing scoter feeding behavior. Video footage has shown a variety of crabs and fishes potentially feeding on the herring eggs.
Herring eggs on Sargassum
Kathryn’s intrepid spirit shows up in other aspects of her life, as well as in her science. She loves to be active in the outdoors and is enthusiastic about all flavors of skiing. She and her husband, Mark, are fixing up a sailboat, christened the Bluefish after one of Kathryn’s favorite New England estuarine fish species. They have two dogs - border collie/shepherd mixes Marlowe and Neah - who are presumably energetic enough to keep up with their humans. Kathryn reflects that starting her faculty position at WWU less than 6 months before the onset of Covid-19 required a different sort of intrepid spirit, with so much to learn in what rapidly became a full-on virtual academic environment. To top it off, she was still in the process of completing the huge ‘State of the Salish Sea’ report1. We can’t wait for the next installment of ‘Kathryn’s intrepid adventures’!
1Sobocinski, K.L. (2021). State of the Salish Sea. G. Broadhurst and N.J.K. Baloy (Contributing Eds.). Salish Sea Institute, Western Washington University. https://doi.org/10.25710/vfhb-3a69.
Casey Pruitt, Sea ranching with aliens
Wrangling slimy cages of sea cucumbers on a mussel raft during the first summer of the pandemic was one of the many activities keeping Environmental Sciences graduate student Casey Pruitt busy during 2020.
Casey has worked for the Washington Department of Natural Resources in Olympia since receiving his undergraduate degree from Western Washington University in 2014. He’s worked on a kaleidoscope of projects at the DNR, from monitoring the movement of submerged eelgrass beds to multibeam mapping and underwater filming of tire reefs, installed to enhance recreational fishing in the 1970s and now slated for removal. To progress in his career at DNR Casey needs a master’s degree, and he chose to return to WWU under the supervision of Dr. Brian Bingham.
Multi-trophic aquaculture is a growing trend in the seafood industry, as a means to maximize food production and simultaneously reduce animal wastes in the environment. Casey chose this challenging area for his research, specifically the culture of giant red sea cucumbers (Parastichopus californicus) underneath the Taylor Shellfish mussel farm in Totten Inlet in southern Puget Sound. Will sea cucumbers held underneath mussel aquaculture pens grow at higher rates and reduce sediment nutrient loading more than at a control site with no mussel pens? A side benefit of the research is new knowledge about the cucumber itself, which comprises a valuable but hard-to-manage fishery due to our lack of information on basic biology and stock size.
Sampling cucumber cages while balancing on mussel raft in Totten Inlet.
Casey used a two-pronged approach to address the research questions. Sea cucumbers held in mesocosms at Shannon Point Marine Center were fed mussel wastes and macroalgae in varying combinations to determine whether cucumber digestion reduced the N content of these foods. In the field, Casey suspended Tyvek-lined cages of cucumbers underneath the mussel rafts, monitoring cucumber growth and the C and N content of sediments accumulating in the cages. Sea cucumbers truly seem to be aliens among us; as one of their bizarre characteristics, they absorb or eviscerate their entire digestive system during fall and winter. Due to permitting hold-ups, Casey’s field research did not get started until August, so the last months of the study probably involved gutless, non-feeding cucumbers. Obviously this minimized their ability to digest and grow on mussel wastes. Nonetheless, Casey saw clear enrichment of sediment C and N underneath the mussel rafts, and a hint that cucumbers in late summer were reducing sediment N content at the raft site.
Time series of sediment N content at control and mussel raft sites. N content overall is higher under the raft, while the early raft time points hint at reduced N in cages with 2 and 4 cucumbers (red and green symbols) relative to empty cages (blue).
When describing his life outside of science, Casey readily admits that he has “too many hobbies”. He and his partner met on the WWU sailing team, and they currently own a Tasar with which they compete in the Seattle area racing scene. Stand by for the 2022 Tasar World Championships in Seattle! They are into all the PNW outdoor pursuits - skiing, surfing, backpacking, and more – and just to occupy any extra hours, they recently purchased a house (presumably to store all of their outdoor gear!) and are now into home repair. With this kind of energy and drive, plus a quality WWU education, we predict rapid career advancement for Casey and good things for the Salish Sea.
Kicking off the quarter with Marine Science Scholars
Marine Science Scholars display the fruits of their labors: net-collected Salish Sea plankton!
Fall quarter started early at Shannon Point with the week-long Marine Science Scholars program in mid-September. Incoming first-year students, who were invited to participate based on marine science interest in their WWU applications, got a wet, wide-ranging, and action-packed introduction to all things marine under the guidance of Biology/Marine and Coastal Science faculty member Jim Cooper, graduate assistant Emily Musenbrock, and undergraduate peer counselor Amirah Casey. Adventure was instilled right away by the Covid-19 situation. Jim describes the residential situation at Shannon Point as “tricky”, with a continual need to go back to the drawing board to ensure student safety. It worked! Everyone stayed healthy, with the exception of “too-early syndrome” brought on by the program’s pace, the daily 8 AM start time, and the well-known biological clock of young adults.
The Scholars got onto the water right away, with a day-one boat trip to Burrows Bay. Learning opportunities in the Salish Sea followed thick and fast, including visits to rocky intertidal habitats, as well as a student-trapping mud flat expedition. The program encompassed natural history, the tools and techniques of science, invertebrate identification, and discussion of threatened species such as salmon and orca, all culminating in group-designed research projects. Just in case this activity level was insufficient, days in the field and laboratory were followed up by nightly guest speakers. Jim reports that the students were kind and engaged participants, and further adds that the program was “intense but fun” and, inevitably, “lots of work” – much of which was facilitated by Shannon Point staff. This group of Scholars is now a cohort, which will sail on into shared field trips and discussion sessions during their time at WWU. We wish them well!
Several Shannon Point scientists have received new funding awards over the past six months.
Jay Dimond has received several grants to support restoration and management of Salish Sea invertebrate species. These include “Range-wide pinto abalone population genomics to support restoration in Washington State”, funded by the wildlife conservation organization Revive & Restore. In addition, Jay has two new contracts with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community: “Promoting adaptive management and resiliency in the Salish Sea Dungeness crab fishery: Development of a genetic and morphological population assessment model” (supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs) and “Characterizing population connectivity of Dungeness crab in Puget Sound, Washington” (supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Kathy Van Alstyne (SPMC) and Ruth Sofield (ESCI) are teaming up to study contaminants in edible seaweeds of the Salish Sea. The work, which is being funded by the Washington Sea Grant, the Puget Sound Partnership, and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, will support ESCI Masters students Sophie Boyd and Holly Suther. The study will examine concentrations of metals, PCBs, and perfluorinated compounds (the “forever chemicals”) in sugar kelp and other seaweeds that are of interest for current and future seaweed aquaculture operations, as well as the potential for metals to be transferred from seaweeds to shellfish. The projects will include collaborations with local seaweed and shellfish farmers and will provide training on contaminants and seaweeds for local K-12 teachers in collaboration with Tim Bruce in Woodring College and LaConner School District Superintendent Will Nelson.
Suzanne Strom received funding from the North Pacific Research Board to study the role of the smallest phytoplankton in the northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) ecosystem. This research will leverage data and resources from the on-going Long-Term Ecological Research program in the NGA. A graduate student will be supported by this new funding beginning in Fall 2022, and additional funds are being requested to expand the proposed education and outreach component in Alaska schools.
While dissecting methanotrophic mussels collected from the Arellano Lab's Seep Animal Larval Transport (SALT) project in the Gulf of Mexico, a few pearls were found hidden inside, with this being the largest one. Inspired by the famous Vermeer painting, Dexter Davis turned the pearl into an earring and created his own take on the Baroque-era classic, in this case, "The Boy with the Pearl Earring". Dexter’s talents obviously extend well beyond marine science!
In early November a giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) was spotted washed up on the Shannon Point Beach. For scale, the mantle (‘head’) was over one foot in diameter, and the arms (which in life can extend to over 4 m) had clearly been chewed off. Later in the fall, two massive orcas (probably a male and a female) were seen splashing, blowing, and spy-hopping just a few hundred feet off of the beach. Dexter, Mitch and Tanika were lucky enough to witness this spectacular visitation.
Newsletter content prepared by Suzanne Strom (stroms@wwu.edu) unless otherwise specified.