Page 4 - 2019 Annual Report

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS
“I hear I forget, I see I remember,
I do I understand.”
- Ancient Chinese Proverb
surveyed soft sediment sites at Baker Beach in July and November, Malcolm
Bay in August and December, and Thormanby Island in February and July.
Seagrass Mapping and Monitoring
Seagrass plays an important ecological role as a primary producer, oxygen
producer and by providing habitat for many organisms including juvenile salmon.
It is estimated that 85% of all marine creatures rely on seagrass at some point in
their life cycle. Further, seagrass beds sequester atmospheric carbon, reducing
the impacts of climate change. These vital habitats are at risk from numerous
impacts, including anchoring, dredging, pollution, runoff, and climate change.
Community citizen scientist volunteers helped us perform an in-depth survey
of seagrass beds on the Buccaneer Bay side of Thormanby Island in July and
August. Work was conducted during low tide and involved recording shoot
densities and various measurements of individual shoot size. An overall habitat
overview was also completed, which included substrate and species composition
analyses. Further, volunteers conducted reconnaissance surveys of beds
throughout Pender Harbour. Beds were located and marked with way points for
surveying in 2020.
Forage Fish Monitoring
Forage fish are small fish that are found in high numbers and provide an
intermediate link in the food chain by eating phytoplankton and zooplankton,
as well as providing a food source for species higher up the food chain. There
are many types of forage fish in the coastal waters however Pacific sand lance
(Ammodytes hexapterus) and Surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) are the target
species for this program as they lay eggs in the high intertidal where they
incubate in the sand, making sample collection easily accessible. Samples are
processed by volunteers and staff by looking for eggs under a microscope.
Understanding the timing and location of forage fish spawning is integral to
our understanding of the health of species that feed upon forage fish, such
as salmon, marine birds, and whales. We greatly increased the frequency of
our forage fish surveys in 2019, in order to gain a detailed picture of seasonal
fluctuations. Volunteers and Lagoon Society staff performed surveys looking
for signs of forage fish beach spawning at Baker Beach, Martin Cove and
Thormanby Island, 1-2 times/site/month from January to December.
The Lagoon Society partnered with Cliff Robinson of Fisheries and Oceans
Canada (DFO) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada to collect environmental
DNA (eDNA) samples from beaches. Additionally, we coordinated with other
forage fish groups on Vancouver Island to time spawning events. Following
spawning events, additional sites were sampled to maximize the chance of
finding spawning beaches. Staff and volunteers identified 3 new Pacific sand
lance spawning beaches in 2019.
2