As the impacts of climate change begin to increase in urgency, new techniques for natural disaster mitigation must be invented to protect communities and ecosystems everywhere – especially in coastal environments where they’ll be affected most quickly and dramatically. It’s possible that the solution might come from a radical decolonization in our approach to landscape architecture, land and resource management and environmental planning. How can implementing Indigenous land stewardship techniques in coastal communities help mitigate the impacts of climate change? This project explores Indigenous land and resource management and considers how they might be best integrated into contemporary ecological design in the Western Washington shoreline region while confronting colonial perceptions and interpretations of Indigenous knowledge. Methods include researching global approaches to Indigenous land stewardship integration, a case study on issues relating to the ancestral land of the Olympic Peninsula’s Makah and Quinault peoples, and development of printmaking techniques in monotype, linoleum and lithography. Products will include a research paper with best practice recommendations, artistic landscape representations in the form of prints and an informational zine to make built environment issues collaborative and accessible, with which net proceeds will be contributed back to collaborating tribal communities. Through collective action, working towards decolonizing ecological design and planning might offer sacred land the chance it needs to heal.

Plankton species tend to have a set of conditions that make certain environments ideal for that species to thrive to its highest capability. By focusing on factors such as salinity and temperature, the health of an environment can be tracked based on the consistency of those numbers and its overall impact on marine species’. Given the importance of plankton to the entire underwater food chain, understanding the ability of plankton to survive in certain circumstances is crucial to sustaining a healthy underwater ecosystem. This study analyzes data taken from various sites around Possession Sound from vertical profiles collected by students at the Ocean Research College Academy. This data was further filtered to focus only on those sample dates with abnormally high or low salinity and/or temperature levels. These numbers were compared to plankton counts to understand if the abnormalities were associated with plankton populations. The data showed a connection between days with greater salinity deviations and higher plankton counts. This may mean that salinity fluctuations have an impact on plankton density. Similar information regarding temperature is not as clear currently, meaning that there may not be as distinct of a trend.

Obesogens are chemicals that contribute to obesity and are sourced from anthropogenic inputs. To date, there are limited studies on the effects of perchlorate on lipid synthesis in invertebrates. This study aimed to investigate whether perchlorate, a putative obesogen in some vertebrate species, alters lipid accumulation and metabolism in Daphnia magna. I exposed neonatal D. magna to different levels of perchlorate (10 and 100 mg/L) over a 1 week period. Following exposure, I stained the D. magna with Nile Red, a lipophilic stain, to qualitatively assess lipid accumulation in D. magna using fluorescence microscopy. The lipid accumulation was also quantified using a microplate reader fluorescence-based assay. Preliminary qualitative fluorescent microscopy data collected were inconclusive and will require additional experiments to determine if there is a significant effect of perchlorate on lipid accumulation. Data generated from this study will be used to increase our understanding of the molecular and physiological effects of perchlorate on aquatic invertebrates. There is currently no regulation of perchlorate levels in drinking water and this study will potentially inform future policy for perchlorate.

Microplastics, plastic pieces less than 5 mm, are widespread in the environment and a concern for human and environmental health. In aquatic environments, microplastic particles are often mistaken for food by fish and other wildlife which remain in their digestive system and can cause starvation. Microplastics also absorb and concentrate endocrine disruptors such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and POPs (persistent organic pollutants). These molecules can cause reproductive and developmental issues in both wildlife and humans. Many studies characterize the microplastic load and composition in various environments; fewer studies have documented the changing microplastic concentrations over time. Our study fills in this gap by collecting and characterizing the current microplastic load at various points in Lake Washington and comparing these findings to data from ten years prior. Samples were collected from multiple sites in and around Lake Washington using a manta net for surface tows. Microplastics were extracted using an acid digestion and inspected under a microscope to characterize and quantify the microplastic load. The results of our study help expand upon previously collected data about Lake Washington and the change in microplastic concentrations. This study will hopefully inform local policies to address and mitigate microplastic pollution and its consequences.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) in the marine ecosystem is a factor that impacts not only the quality of the water but also the health of marine life. Low oxygen in the water can lead to hypoxic conditions, which are harmful and can result in the fatality of marine organisms. The levels of DO influence primary productivity and respiration. We use chlorophyll to help us reach an estimated amount of primary productivity that is in that specific area. This study took place in Possession Sound, WA, which has rich biodiversity and is a main freshwater source from the mouth of the Snohomish River. In this study, we collected profiles of DO and chlorophyll along a longitudinal transect from the field sites of Mount Baker Terminal to Buoy in Possession Sound. Looking at data like this we are able to observe what’s happening around the course of a specified tracked area, which we can then compare to areas with different parameters or in relation to other data that has been recorded. We also looked at their correlations with salinity and temperature. With this study, we are hoping to come across direct trends that circle around these parameters and that can also be relative to spatial comparisons of the sites where our data was collected. This analysis will cover comparisons from the years before and the year after 2021, to establish concrete conclusions supported from the data over time. Learning about the DO qualities impacting organisms will allow us a further understanding of the health and productivity occurring in the ecosystem of the Possession Sound.

Within a marine ecosystem, eelgrass beds are critical for filtering runoff, protecting from shore erosion, and storing or absorbing excess nutrients and greenhouse gasses. Eelgrass similarly is a nursery or home for many aquatic species. Because of these connections, eelgrass has been the center of many studies as a result of its pinnacle role within the aquatic ecosystem. Within Possession Sound, located outside Everett in the southern half of the Salish Sea, eelgrass’s relationship to phytoplankton such as Pseudo-nitzschia, which is potentially toxic, is of particular interest to me. For my study, I hypothesized that the abundance of Pseudo-nitzschia will increase with increased eelgrass bed size. My study utilized data from 2015 to 2020 collected from six sites within Possession Sound. The presence of eelgrass beds and their relative size was determined through the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and plankton collection and identification were conducted by Ocean Research College Academy students. Two common species found within the eelgrass beds are Z. marina and Phyllospadix spp. Data were collected above or adjacent to eelgrass beds. I chose three plankton collection sites with differing sizes of eelgrass and three other sites with no eelgrass for comparison. I chose to monitor Pseudo-nitzschia due to its potentially harmful effects. Preliminary data indicate an association with eelgrass beds and higher Pseudo-nitzschia counts. Further research is warranted to investigate the strength of this correlation. Results will add another piece of understanding to the complex puzzle that lies within the aquatic ecosystem and another impact of eelgrass within the Possession Sound.

The ability of ecosystems’ organisms to adapt and thrive is dependent on the water chemistry. One key component of water chemistry is measured by the acidity of the water, or pH. The speed of change in pH affects the ability for microorganisms to adapt and thrive. Globally, the pH of the ocean is decreasing due to increasing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. Possession Sound, a smaller portion of the Salish Sea located off the shores of Everett, Washington, hosts a variety of organisms, all of which are affected directly and indirectly by the pH of the water. The well-being of Possession Sound was explored by examining changes in pH seasonally and spatially. Data were collected with a YSI EXO Sonde from 2016-2022 at four sampling locations with varying distances from shore and the mouth of the Snohomish River that deposits into Possession Sound. A YSI EXO Sonde is a tool used to monitor water quality with sensors to detect depth, pH, dissolved oxygen, and more. Spatially, it was found that lower pH could be found at the sites located nearer to shore. Seasonally, pH increased in the fall and winter and decreased in the spring and summer. Overall, there was less variation in the data that came from the sites located further from shore and more variation in the nearshore site. This could be attributed to the natural mixing that occurs between the freshwater influence of the Snohomish River and the ocean, along with several other factors. Future research examining pH would benefit from the addition of more data sites. Long term monitoring of the water chemistry is important because, as anthropogenic emissions increase, estuaries like that of Possession Sound will feel the effects of climate change first.

During the 2019/2020 recreational crab season, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reported over 735,000 pounds of legal Dungeness crab harvested in Possession Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This enormous fishery relies on numerous variables to survive, including the essential factor, dissolved oxygen. Low levels of dissolved oxygen can lead to an increased risk of disease and suffocation for crabs during all stages of life. When dissolved oxygen levels drop below 2 mg/L, crustaceans, including crabs, do not have enough oxygen to survive. This is called hypoxia. While parts of Possession Sound have rarely had any recent experiences with hypoxia, research conducted by students at the Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) indicates that levels of dissolved oxygen in Possession Sound have recently decreased. My research indicates this trend has been observed, along with an increase in the average annual temperature of Possession Sound, which can contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels. The connection between well-established historical trends of increasing ocean temperatures could introduce more concerns for shellfish such as crabs. My study explores the presence and abundance of crab zoea in Possession Sound and compares these data to trends of dissolved oxygen and temperature in Possession Sound over a 7 year period (2015-17 and 2019-2022). Dissolved oxygen data was monitored with YSI and EXO sensors while crab zoea were counted by my colleagues and I at ORCA. My research seeks to establish a correlation between dissolved oxygen and the presence of crab zoea that could be a critical tool in the management and prediction of future crab populations in this critical crab habitat.

Benthic foraminifera are shelled marine amoeboid protists which are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment. A census of species found in an area can function as an indicator of the health of a marine ecosystem. This project focused on the change in distribution between 2011 and 2018 of foraminiferal assemblages in Budd Inlet, Washington, to determine changes in environmental health in the area. Budd Inlet is located in the South Sound region, and includes the Olympia waterfront. It is the site of several cleanup efforts overseen by the Washington State Department of Ecology, who in 2011 found low to moderate toxicity in sediments and adversely affected macrobiota throughout Budd Inlet, and declining conditions in 2018. For this study, I washed the sediment samples and examined them for foraminifera, then identified the species found. I then compared the diversity of species found between years. Although an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test found no significant change in diversity over time, with species diversity remaining low, there were noticeable patterns in the data. I found overall increases in foraminiferal density and species richness in 2018, with 11 species found in 2011 compared to 13 in 2018. There were two dominant species found in both years, Buccella frigida (28.51% in 2011 and 41.31% in 2018) and Cribroelphidium excavatum (34.51% in 2011 and 17.4% in 2018), both of which are typical of polluted estuarine ecosystems due to their high environmental stress tolerance. This suggests that the ecosystem has not seen improvement despite restoration efforts.