In Washington and British Columbia's Inland Waters, managers and stakeholders
do not agree on the use of MPAs as a tool to improve ecosystem health.
Some groups are trying to determine if MPAs should be used as a tool to
enhance fisheries or to restore depleted fish stocks. Others would like
to see MPAs created to protect marine heritage or to help restore depleted
fish stocks and are trying to decide where these MPAs should be located,
what size they should be, and how to network them spatially.
The SeaDoc Society does not take a policy position on whether or not MPAs should be created within the Inland Waters. We recognize that regardless of where they sit on the issue, regional managers and stakeholders need more scientific data to make sound decisions regarding MPAs. The SeaDoc Society helps to drive the science needed by managers and stakeholders to make sound scientific decisions regarding MPAs in this region. Key components of our work include funding MPA scientific research, sharing research findings and ensuring that pertinent scientific data are available to managers, policymakers, and concerned citizens, and facilitating collaboration among stakeholder groups. In conjunction with the Puget Sound Action Team, the SeaDoc Society sponsors a MPA-science working group for scientists to share information about MPAs and discuss research needs. Abstracts from Marine Protected Area research projects funded by the SeaDoc Society are listed below:
Biermann,
Christiane
Genetic population
structure of Northwest Straits green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus
droebachiensis): the impacts of harvesting
and marine protected areas
Greene,
H. Gary
Using
multibeam bathymetry to characterize rockfish habitat in San Juan County,
Washington Marine Reserves, USA
Hauser,
Lorenz
Genetic identification of progeny
of MPA-resident copper rockfish (S. caurinus) – self-recruitment
or emigration?
Klinger,
Terrie
Larval
rockfish dispersal trajectories in the Georgia Basin/Puget Sound region
of Washington
Lovvorn,
James R.
The role of herring spawning grounds
as marine protected areas for scoters (Melanitta spp.) in the Puget Sound-Georgia
Basin
Meehan,
Don
Island County Forage Fish Habitat
Assessment
Moulton,
Lawrence
Identifying and Mapping Forage Fish
Spawning Areas in the San Juan Archipelago
Osborne,
Richard W.
Evaluating
near-shore buffer zones in the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
system relative to their function as marine protected areas (MPAs)
Palumbi,
Stephen
Measuring connectivity of reserve
networks in Puget Sound using genetic tools [pdf format]
Strathmann,
Richard R.
Do
marine reserves safeguard native species from impacts of non-native invasive
species?
Whitesell,
Edward A.
Protecting Washington's marine
environments: tribal perspectives
Williams,
Tony
Assessing Habitat or Site Quality
for Migrating Sandpipers: Use of Plasma Metabolite Analysis
Wootton,
Timothy
Spread and Impact of the Introduced
Japanese Seaweed, Sargassum muticum, in Native Kelp Forests of the San
Juan Archipelago
VanBlaricom,
Glenn
Effects of commercial geoduck
(Panopea abrupta) harvest on the benthic infaunal communities of Puget
Sound
For a complete list of grants awarded 2001-2004, go to our COMPETITIVE GRANTS page.
