The Changing Food Web of Puget Sound and What it Means for Salmon

Puget Sound supports one of the most productive and diverse food webs of all the large estuaries in North America, thanks in part to a rich plankton community. This microscopic floating community fuels the small forage fish and other critters who in turn feed the salmon, rockfish, ling cod, seals, sea birds, and orcas that define our sense of Puget Sound as a special place. But that food web is changing: some key forage fish are declining, others are increasing, and jellyfish populations appear to be booming. These changes are echoing all the way up the food web to those species we humans care about most.

Many factors influence these changes, but evidence suggests that nutrient pollution, development patterns, and climate play important roles. Particularly in the context of climate change bringing new stresses to Puget Sound, we need to understand what is happening in Puget Sound in order to become better stewards of this critical and much-loved ecosystem. This presentation will give you a better understanding of what we are learning about changes to Puget Sound’s food web, how these changes are affecting salmon populations, and how we might help reverse some of the declines in the species we care most about.

Dr. Greene is a fish population ecologist with NOAA, and currently works at the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. He has studied the Skagit River salmon extensively and is a founding member of the Skagit Climate Science Consortium.

Anacortes Senior Activity Center, 1701 22nd St.
These presentations are part of Transition Fidalgo & Friends’ monthly gathering, the Seventh Generation Supper. All are welcome to enjoy a simple supper (suggested donation $5, please bring your place setting), at 5:45 p.m., or simply join us for the presentation around 7:00.

Sponsored by Transition Fidalgo and Friends, and part of their "Times of Change" series.

In a time of remarkably rapid climate change, the impacts on human and non-human lives are substantial. In this series of talks, we’ll engage local experts and forward thinkers to help us explore the local and global changes that are afoot, and to inspire our creativity for meeting the challenges ahead.