Calendar

Title: Tidal Wetland Loss, Restoration, and Fish Response: Tales from the Pacific Coast 

Speakers:

Laura Brophy, Estuary Technical Group, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis OR and Correigh Greene, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle WA

When: Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 12-1pm EST

Where: Via webinar (see below), or for NOAA Silver Spring staff, SSMC4, Rm 8150

Sponsor: NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS); coordinator is Tracy.Gill@noaa.govWebinar Access: Please register at:
https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/wetlandloss/event/registration.html
After registering, you will get a confirmation email with a link to the webinar.

If you have not used Adobe Connect before, you SHOULD test your ability to use Adobe Connect at the following link:

You may also need to get your IT Admin to allow you to download the software on your computer. Audio is over the computer, so adjust volume on your computer speakers or headset. Users should use either google, IE or Edge on Windows or Safari if using a Mac. Audio will be available thru the computer only; no phone. Questions will be addressed in the chat window. This Webcast will be recorded, archived and made accessible in the near future. Questions? Email Tracy.Gill@noaa.gov

Abstract:  Across the world, tidal wetlands have been reduced to a fraction of their historical extent, posing challenges for coastal communities that rely on their ecosystem services and for species that utilize these wetlands during their life cycles. In this talk, we examine these issues through the lens of estuaries in Washington, Oregon, and California. Our recent research produced new elevation-based maps which reveal the historical extent of U.S. West Coast estuaries. We applied these extents in an indirect assessment of wetland loss, which revealed that 85% of West Coast tidal wetlands have been lost since European settlement. Compounding this problem is emerging wetland loss through climate change. Research in Oregon projects the shifting locations and losses of tidal wetlands under six future sea level rise (SLR) scenarios. Losses vary greatly among estuaries, but coastwide there is near-complete upslope displacement of tidal wetlands (and thus near-complete loss of historical tidal wetlands) at 2.5m SLR. Oregon research also shows that some wetland types such as forested tidal swamps have been disproportionately impacted by past land uses, and these wetland types may be particularly vulnerable to current and future stresses such as SLR. This is important to nursery fish species – several studies have demonstrated that abundance and growth opportunities of native fish fauna are tied to wetland conditions. Restoration is an important tool for bringing back lost wetland functions, yet the many efforts across the three states comprise a small fraction of historical loss.Nevertheless, research is demonstrating that estuary restoration benefits fish populations, and that conservation and restoration of a diversity of wetland types is important. Ongoing research is documenting locations and effects of tidal barriers, spatial extent of restored tidal wetlands, and effects of restoration on productivity in fish populations. 

About the Speakers:
Laura Brophy directs the Estuary Technical Group at the Institute for Applied Ecology in Corvallis, Oregon. For over 20 years, she has conducted field research in U.S. Pacific Northwest estuaries and provided leadership in estuary restoration and conservation science, at scales ranging from on-the-ground restoration projects to the West Coast of the USA.Correigh Greene has been studying fish in estuaries for over 15 years,focusing on species in the Puget Sound region. However, his background isn’t entirely fishy; before becoming a research ecologist at NOAA’s NorthwestFisheries Science Center, he studied lab rats as an undergraduate at Tufts University, owls for his Masters thesis at the University of Michigan, and lizards for his dissertation at UC Davis.