Hard Core!

As the title of this blog might indicate, these last few weeks have been quite productive on the dendrochronological front (ok, I may have made up that last word). After long last, I have finally cored my last tree (for this REU project at least), and this means getting down to some sanding and dating. Below are some of my favorite pictures of these last two weeks collecting along the Elwha and also up on Hurricane Ridge.

From some the the initial cores out of the Elwha, i would predict that the average age of trees is around 50-70 years. Compare this to what we took of the ridge (average age of around 100 years) we can see some of the affects of harsh climate and short growth periods compared to areas in the Elwha Riparian that, among other benefits, also historically made use of salmonid nutrients on an annual basis.

As a final note on this blog, the last core at hurricane was quite a doozy, and took about 30 min. to pull out of one mean little Mountain Hemlock. the title, therefore, is dedicated to you tree, and to you core, the last of the REU bunch!

Papers and other things

Well, unfortunately, not too much to report on this week. As a part of our REU, the powers that be have asked that we procure a final exit paper defining, as best we can, what we've accomplished as REU students this year. In lue of having not much else to talk about this week (aside from having acquired a kitten, and my girl friend graduating from college!!) I have decided to post here the abstract of what is soon to be my final REU paper. Please feel free to give any feedback you would like on the form of it so far!

The Elwha Nearshore: Assessing Nearshore Utilization by Forage and Salmonid Fish Species in a disrupted Environment utilizing Bayesian Theory

Benjamin J. Warren*

*Western Washington University

Due to riverine dams and shoreline armoring, the Elwha nearshore (a complex and diverse component of the Elwha ecosystem) has experienced major ecological disruption over the last century. Though many studies have shown the effects of riverine dams on river ecosystems, there is little data examining the effects of riverine dams on the nearshore ecosystem, and moreover, the effects of removal. As a part of the essential baseline studies vital to the upcoming historical damn removals, this study seeks to assess the current nearshore utilization by forge fish and salmonid species in the Central Strait of Juan de Fuca. In doing so, this paper also presents the use of Bayesian statistical theory, in assessing the viability of its use in establishing a link between forage fish and salmonid presence. This paper documents the accumulative documentation of forage fish utilization along the Elwha nearshore; indicating that the Elwha nearshore remains a viable ecosystem despite major ecological disruption, and suggests conservation measures and methods that could significantly enhance the function of this vital system in the future.

Core Prep

Well for the first time in a long time, I've managed to find a little time to do some core prep from the samples that I took from the Elwha near the fish hatchery. As can be seen in the photograph, this is a core that is in the process of being sanded down to expose the growth rings, of which are the elements of interest for tracking growth over long periods of time. A single core can take over an hour to sand down to the level that the growth rings are clear enough for accurate assessment of age. The process takes 4 differnet grain sizes of sand paper, with the last being 400 grade (or grit) paper. For a little bit of dendrochronology 101, grit refers to the number of abrasive particles that can be found on one inch of said sand paper. This means that the 400 grit paper that is nessisary for this work is extreemly fine, and extreemly slow to work with. Hopefully in the next few weeks my blog will give way to more extisive discription of how dendrochronology works (or at least some more tree and core pictures, hah!).

Its that Fyking net!

Well, truth be told, scientific research is not always that sexy superstar life that I know we all believe it to be. Today was, in contrast to the high paced life of scientists everywhere, quite slow. We went fyke netting at the Pysht. Fyke netting is a meal of two things: boredom spiced with a dash of tedium.

Fyke netting, (for those who are not aware) is where a particular channel of water is completely blocked off by a series of nets: consisting of two 'wings' and a central trap section. Also known as a Trap Net, Fyke netting relies on the movement of the tides going out to force unsuspecting fish into the single opening in the channel, directly into the welcoming nets of researchers such as us. The problem with this is that it's sample time relies heavily on the size of the channel and the movement of the tides, all of which prove to go slower than a turtle on tranquilizers. the result is a 9 hour day of sitting and waiting for the tide to empty, trying our best not to go out of our minds with tedium.

One of the positive aspects of this type of sampling is that we did get a more-than-average amount of salmonids during the course of the day. With a host of juvenile Chum and one fat Chinook (pictured below) it was interesting to see how this new sampling method contrasted with a seine net, in both the time spent at-site, as well as the representative nature of the collection. Tomorrow should be interesting as well, wish us luck and creativity!

the Fruits of our Labor...

Here are a few choice videos and a podcast for your viewing/listening pleasure!

Well this was a quite busy week, but i did manage to get some stuff done for the REU. after taking a trip home to Vancouver, we went to my mom's work (she is a 3rd grade teacher) where all manner of cool fish-science is going on. Below is a video that i took of her 'salmon in the classroom' program as the Coho fry were being fed. this is an amazing program that has direct relation to our Near shore work, what with reintroduction of class- raised salmon into the environment. maybe we will see some of these guys in a year or so?




This is footage that may be seen in our Vid Cast in the next week- got to see how humorous i can make it in truth :D. Nearly the end of the quarter all woot!

Teh art off straying awwake and other thoughtts

If there is one thing that i have learned about school it the art of staying awake. It is currently 11:30 pm and i am just getting down to some homework that is burning in the back of my conscience. The great tragedy is that Dr. Pepper can only take me so far, and so one must know how to extend 12 oz of caffeine and sugar into 3 or four hours of solid homework time.

The key is to find something that fulfills both the necessary irrelevance of the late night insomniac, commonly known as 'youtube' browsing, with the completely important homework that must be done. The result is the rough draft of our REU video cast, that will be viewed tomorrow during our class.


On another note, the PERS conference that we recently attended was quite awesome in all respects (aside from that one presentation where i nearly fell asleep!). My personal favorite parts were when i first arrived in Newport and checked into the hotel (witch was awesome) and got to see the long mist enshrouded beaches of the Oregon coast. It is hard to describe the sheer unbridled joy of walking on such an expanse of beach as the one featured below after spending some 3 hours in the car. But it certifiably kicked off the conference on a positive note. My second favorite part was having the run of the Oregon Coast Aquarium for our grand feast, and if you have yet to go to this aquarium, it is quite breathtakingly awesome!


The conference itself was extremely interesting and useful; hobnobbing with interesting professionals in the marine/estuarine field, and getting to see the cutting edge of research, just like ours. In the end it was extremely gratifying to have so many people interested in our work, and to have it received so warmly (in all but one case, arrrrrr). I would recommended going to a science conference to anyone who gets the chance, in fact, go to as many as you can!

From PA to P to PT to PA agian!

Well, it has been a weekend of much driving and even less sleeping, but it has been quite great regardless! For those of you who are questioning my sanity (due no doubt to my title), I've just come back from PT (Port Townsend) and a extremely enjoyable evening lecture to the awesome people at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

Driving up from Portland, I arrived in PT just as the sun began to set, affording me a great view of the sound as I arrived on the 'campus' so (as) to speak. As I would not be one to pass up such an opportunity, I managed to take a few pictures while there was still some daylight left. Soon it was time for the presentation to begin, so I made my way over to the presentation room, where I was met by Pam Grey, the conductor of this particular orchestration. Arriving in the room, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Pam and I would not be sharing the room with a scant few! No, the people of Port Townsend seemed well aware of my upcoming, somewhat pre-meditated lecture, and what was more were interested to hear what I had to say. This, of course, terrified me.


The fear was not long lived, however. As I began to talk I realized just how great it can be to have a captive audience that take there own time to come listen to what you have to say, instead of paying attention for a grade. This was extremely satisfying, and I know that it gave me the confidence to loosen up and talk to these interesting people about the Elwha, research and what it means to be a undergraduate researcher on the Olympic Peninsula. In the end cookies, turnips and oranges were pressed into my hands, I was lucky enough to get in an interview and was invited back again. And you know, I just may have to take them upon that: )

Lecture at the Port Townsend Marine Science Centre

Well, turns out that not just scientists are interested in science! Today I was given the pleasure of talking with a one Pam Grey who has invited me to come speak to her and her peers at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center about the research i have been conducting. Needless to say, this is an awsome opertunity for me to expand the awareness of the work we do on the Elwha, and also to see a part of the world that i have never been to before (albeit a very small part).

The lecture, entitled: Assessing Marine Salmon Abundance Using Marine Derived nitrogen signals and tree-ring-width in the Elwha River Watershed will be held on the 18th of this mouth in Port Townsend, and I certainly hope that I can be entertaining for two hours, which is the time that is now set aside for me! Wish me luck!

Don't Mess with Nature

Well it looks like the laws of science win agian! Last week the WDFW team did the last of our Sandlance spawn data collection. For those who are unaware of the intricacies of the Sandlance, Ammodytes hexapterus spawn from November 1st through Febuary 15th. needless to say it has been a cold month and a half. In any case, one of the most iteresting places that we sample, ecologically, are the Elwha buffs.

Years ago, when the Nippon paper industry moved into Port Angeles, they needed a ready supply of fresh water for there paper making needs. Any anyone could tell you, the most ready supply of fresh water around PA is the Elwha river. Figuring that mother nature could take one more for the team, Nippon Paper constructed a large cement pipe to funnel water from the Elwha to the plant (a distance of ~4 miles). The interesting thing about all this is that, in order to protect the plant, Nippon 'armored' the Elwha feeder bluffs with ripwrap (large block of rock) and sheet pile (large sheets of iron). The result of this is that the Elwha system is sediment starved due to the poor transfer of wave energy from shoreline to bluffs. It seems, however, that nature is beginning to have enough.

As can be seen from the picture, we came across a hole in the great Nippon pipe, proving that rocks and iron will only get you so far when defending against the straight of Juan de Fuca. long story short, the pipe is clearly eroding away, and it seems that the mentality that spawned it (hopefully) may not be far behind. Don't mess with mother nature.

The fish fight back and other thoughts

A new quarter! As anyone who is reading this probably is aware, it is a new quarter for us here in Port Angeles, and this means a whole host of new fun research! Right? Well... in actuality things have remained quite the same for Ben in the old PA; the world turns, the grass grows, the ocean is cold and violent at 9:00 am, and we, the WDFW team, are out in it.

A merry Christmas

Santa was good to me this year. Why? you ask. Knowing me, and you knowing that I know that you know me (get that?), it may come as no surprise that I am deserving of all the wonderful goodies that Santa brought this year: primarily among them a new GPS and a waterproof camera. In an effort to give back some of my good fortune (thank you Tif and parents: ) I spent this day in the surf taking a host of pictures for your viewing pleasure, including two beautiful striped sea perch, who stabbed me with there dorsal fins (picture also included). This leads to the tittle of this blog (sorta a stream of consciousness i know). As well, there are many a photo of our seining efforts, that, save the two vindictive perch, yielded no fish whatsoever. Perhaps the fish have migrated to more productive waters, perhaps the season is effecting their metabolism, requiring less furloughs to the near shore? For whatever reason, here's hopping for a more bountiful net next week; herring, smelt and salmon...hold the perch!