Estuary & Ocean Ecology Program Strategic Salmon Research Plan 2004

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**Estuarine and Ocean Ecology Program**

**Fish Ecology Division**

**Northwest Fisheries Science Center**

**National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration**

**2725 Montlake Blvd. E.**

**Seattle, WA 98112**

**(206) 860-3270**

Executive Summary

The mission of the Estuary and Ocean Ecology (EOE) Program is to
document links between natural fluctuations in climate and estuarine and
oceanic processes that affect distribution, abundance, growth, and
survival of anadromous and marine fishes in Pacific Northwest coastal
estuaries and marine waters. This information provides support to NOAA
Fisheries policy makers and regulatory staff. We collaborate with other
agencies and academic institutions on research and education related to
the management of Pacific salmon and other marine pelagic species. The
EOE Program focuses on three research themes with respect to salmon
research: 1) understanding the coastal ocean ecology of Pacific
Northwest salmon, 2) evaluating habitat links in the Columbia River and
Puget Sound estuarine ecosystem for juvenile salmon, and 3) ascertaining
the benefits of estuarine and coastal/nearshore habitat restoration to
salmon recovery. Priority areas for continuing and new research over the
next 3 to 5 years include: stock specific abundance, distribution and
growth in the early ocean environment; developing a metric of ocean
condition; shallow water estuarine habitat criteria; and evaluation of
estuarine restoration at a landscape scale. We will update this plan and
research priorities on an annual basis.

# Introduction and Background

The listing of multiple species of Pacific salmon (*Oncorhynchus* spp.)
as threatened or endangered has rapidly increased the demand for science
to inform challenging management questions related to restoration and
protection of salmon and their habitat. While salmonids are one of the
most thoroughly studied fish species in North America, we still have a
poor understanding of the fundamental relationships between estuarine
and ocean habitat and salmon fitness, survival and production. This is a
particularly important issue for NOAA Fisheries, which is charged with
management of salmon and other marine and anadromous fishes under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries
Conservation and Management Act.

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) Salmon Research Plan
outlines 10 key research themes, several of which relate directly to
estuary and ocean ecology of salmon. Our research directly addresses
several key questions arising from the central themes including:

-   What is the relationship between habitat attributes at various
    scales and salmonid production?

-   What are the effective restoration strategies for restoring degraded
    habitat and what is the quantitative effect on fish abundance?

-   What features of climatic cycles and trends have the greatest
    influence on salmonid survival and via what mechanism?

-   Can we anticipate impacts of climate change on species with which
    salmonids interact that might in turn profoundly alter salmon
    population dynamics?

-   Where do juveniles reside during the first few months of
    estuary/ocean residence?

-   What is the impact of diseases and parasites in estuaries on growth
    and survival of fishes? How do we best measure growth and fitness of
    individuals in different habitats so as to identify bottlenecks in
    growth and survival?

-   To what degree is juvenile survival limited by predation by fish,
    birds, and mammals vs. growth limitation by poor feeding conditions?

These are fairly broad questions about estuarine and marine habitats and
fish production, and a more detailed plan is needed to guide the
research efforts of the Estuary and Ocean Ecology Program. In the
following plan we outline a strategy for estuary and ocean ecology
research and identify specific research foci and questions. Our
objectives are to describe: 1) our scientific approach to address marine
research needs, 2) our current and short-term research priorities (1-3
years), and 3) our long-term research plans (3-10 years). In doing so,
we provide a document that will assist in coordination and tracking of
our research both within and outside the Center and Agency.

# Program Mission and Expertise

The Estuarine and Ocean Ecology (EOE) Program researches links between
fluctuations in climate and estuarine and oceanic processes that affect
distribution, abundance, growth, and survival of anadromous and marine
fishes in Pacific Northwest coastal estuaries and marine waters. The
abundance of many coastal fishes is related to variations in climate
conditions, but this relationship is poorly understood. By focusing on
ecosystem studies, we are able to examine the causal connections among
components of the ecosystem (habitat characteristics, climate-driven
estuary and ocean conditions, plankton production, and fish community
structure). Through these studies, we expect to gain better
understanding of the control of coastal resource production, make better
predictions of resource status, and better assess the effects of human
management on these systems.

We are an interdisciplinary team of scientists with skills in fish
biology, physical and biological oceanography, zoology, physiology,
spatial analysis, statistics, and estuarine ecology. Our research
focuses on characterizing variation in the natural processes within the
estuarine and ocean ecosystems and how these changes link to juvenile
salmon growth and survival. We focus our efforts to identify the
critical relationships among physical elements of the estuarine and
oceanic systems that influence the biological processes (availability of
food resources and interaction with predators) that lead to improved
growth and survival of juvenile salmon and the role of climate change on
those relevant interactions. Our research is ultimately related to the
health and productivity of anadromous fish populations, as we seek to
understand how ocean conditions affect marine ecosystems, habitat
availability, and supporting biological communities.

Our research findings are used by NOAA Fisheries and other natural
resource managers to protect and recover marine oriented ecosystems and
salmon populations. The Estuary and Ocean Ecology Program also assists
NOAA Fisheries policy makers and regulatory staff with scientific
information and evaluating the consequences of proposed management
actions. Estuary and Ocean Ecology Program scientists work on
interagency (salmon recovery technical review teams) and international
technical (PICES -- North Pacific Marine Science Organization) teams and
hold affiliate faculty positions at the University of Washington (UW),
Oregon Health and Science University, and Oregon State University.

# Scientific Approach 

The estuarine and nearshore marine environments are critical components
of the extended salmon ecosystem that cannot be treated independently or
be ignored. The need to understand the relationships between estuarine
and ocean habitats and the persistence of salmon populations has only
been appreciated in recent years. It is clear that these habitats cannot
be valued simply on the basis of their role in producing fish biomass or
abundance. Fundamental to the view that estuaries and oceans are an
important part of the life history of salmon is the concept that
anadromous salmonids are comprised of populations or discrete breeding
units that vary with respect to their spatial and temporal use of all
habitats. Moreover, diverse, high quality habitats, and the expression
of life history strategies based upon use of these habitats, are
directly linked to salmon population viability (i.e.., persistence) over
long time scales. We now know that estuary and ocean dynamics help to
control salmon productivity and that salmon biodiversity (including the
diversity of estuarine and ocean life histories) helps to reduce the
effects of fluctuations in ocean conditions. Alterations and loss of
estuarine and coastal ocean habitats thus has direct implications for
population viability, and ocean conditions strongly affect interannual
and decadel variation in salmon abundance.

The challenges of identifying, designing, implementing and evaluating
recovery actions in the estuary and nearshore are significant, in part
because we know little about how salmon directly and indirectly benefit
from these habitats.

To achieve a better understanding of the role of estuaries and ocean
environments to recovery of endangered salmon populations we must:

• *Adopt an explicit ecologically-based conceptual framework for
estuary/ocean management and restoration*.

• *Monitor variations in life-history diversity, habitat use, and
performance of juvenile salmon in the estuary and coastal ocean
habitats*

• *Quantitatively define the contribution of estuarine/coastal predation
in the context of salmon population and habitat change*

• *Characterize effects of altered habitats and food webs on the
capacity of the estuary and marine environments to support juvenile
salmon*

• *Develop and parameterize and ecosystem ocean model to evaluate and
test the significance of various ecological features (physical
attributes and predator/prey interactions) to affect salmon growth and
survival*

Thus, the Estuary and Ocean Ecology Program has taken an ecosystem
approach to assessing and understanding the role of estuarine and ocean
environment in the ecology of salmon. This requires undertaking a
simultaneous evaluation to quantify the physical attributes of their
environment, the relevant biological processes that nurture and
influence survival of juvenile salmon as they move into the marine
environment, and the biological response of salmon (their growth and
health) in the face of impending climate change that undoubtedly will
modify the habitats that salmon can use.

The EOE Program is focused in two areas: understand the nearshore ocean
ecology of Pacific salmon and understand the role of estuaries in
expanding the diverse life history of salmon. Projects are selected and
aligned with these primary research areas.

*[Understand the nearshore ocean ecology of Pacific
salmon]{.underline}*: We are evaluating the role of the Columbia River
plume as an important transition habitat for juvenile salmon and the
impact of the California Current on abundance, distribution, growth, and
survival of juvenile salmon in coastal waters of southern Oregon and
northern California. A concentrated effort is to examine the period
right after salmon enter the marine environment. Evidence suggests that
a substantial proportion of the mortality for some salmon species occurs
during the transition to the ocean environment. The utilization of the
Columbia River plume by juvenile salmon and other prey species has been
a major focus of the program for the last five years. Our studies cover
a wide spectrum of spatial and temporal scales, ranging from
inter-decadal and Columbia River basin-wide effects down to small-scale
fronts that appear and disappear in a matter of hours. An important part
of this research is the assessment of inter-annual variability in the
plume dimensions and structure and how they relate to the distribution
of juvenile salmon, their prey, and predators. The team works very
closely with physical and biological oceanographers both at sea and in
the laboratory to determine how variability in water structure and lower
trophic level biology affects salmon distribution and survival. These
data are being utilized in ecosystem and bioenergetics models that can
be used as a tool to test various hypotheses concerning salmon growth
and survival and effect of climate change.

A companion study project is the Northeast Pacific Global Ecosystem
Studies Program (NEP GLOBEC). This is a multidisciplinary effort to
evaluate how oceanic and climate process affect primary and secondary
productivity and the connection to juvenile salmon growth and survival
in the California Current. The program goal is to understand the effects
of climate variability and climate change on the distribution, abundance
and production of marine animals (including commercially important
living marine resources) in the NEP. The approach is to study the
effects of past and present climate variability on the population
ecology and population dynamics of marine biota and living marine
resources. This information is then used as a proxy for how the
ecosystems of the NEP may respond to future global climate change. The
strong temporal variability in the physical and biological signals of
the NEP will be used to examine the biophysical mechanisms through which
zooplankton and salmon populations respond to physical forcing and
biological interactions in the coastal regions north and south of Cape
Blanco, OR. The goal is to embody this understanding in diagnostic and
prognostic ecosystem models, which are capable of capturing the
ecosystem response to major climatic fluctuations.

We are currently working on synthesizing our acquired data on juvenile
salmon habitat utilization in the northern California Current to improve
prediction of availability of salmon habitat in any year. The objectives
of the proposed research are to 1) identify the physical and biological
characteristics of the habitats of juvenile Chinook and coho salmon in
the northern California Current, 2) develop a spatially explicit
individual--based model that links salmon growth to habitat quality, 3)
develop "salmon ocean habitat indices" to provide annual predictions of
salmon stock abundance, and indicators of climate forced ecological
changes that predict inter-annual variations in the survival of
salmonids. We will test the following hypothesis: distribution and
abundance (resource metrics), and growth and health characteristics
(performance metrics) of juvenile Chinook and coho salmon during the
first summer and early fall of ocean residence are affected by the
interaction of physical and biological oceanographic processes which
create and modulate their habitat in the California Current. We will
combine and synthesize 12 years of data on the ecology of juvenile
salmonids derived from a) the GLOBEC California Current studies in 2000
and 2002, b) Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) studies from 1998
through 2004, and c) the 'Pearcy studies' of 1981-1985. Through an
integrated synthesis, we will characterize what constitutes favorable
habitat for juvenile salmon entering the coastal ocean, and where and
when such habitat occurs, in terms of physical and biological features
and processes. In addition, we will determine if Chinook and coho salmon
juveniles respond similarly to changes in habitat characteristics caused
by climatic forcing, and if we can hindcast and forecast their survival
rates. We will develop spatially explicit individual-based models of
salmon growth, survival, and behavioral response to heterogeneous
environments, to investigate how cohort success (growth and survival) of
juvenile salmon is influenced by ocean conditions (habitat temperature,
prey availability, ocean transport) within the juvenile salmon coastal
habitat and migration corridor. Moreover, taking advantage of the
information provided by coded-wire tags and genetic analysis for
identification of fish origin, habitat conditions will be described with
respect to individual stocks or evolutionary units, a feature critical
to management decisions. We anticipate these habitat characteristics can
be related to meso- to regional-scale ocean features that can be used as
an annual "salmon ocean habitat index" to provide near-term predictions
of salmon stock abundance. By determining if any of these metrics of
juveniles are different among years, or between regions of the Northeast
Pacific, we will learn how climate variation has affected early marine
growth and what might happen with future returns if trends in climate
change continue.

*[Understand the role of estuaries in expanding the diverse life history
of salmon]{.underline}*: Understanding the estuarine ecology of juvenile
salmon is critical to developing beneficial restoration strategies to
recover endangered salmon populations. Pacific Northwest estuaries, are
among the most productive ecosystems on earth. Estuaries provide
important rearing and feeding habitats for a diversity of aquatic and
terrestrial species, yet relatively little is known about their basic
ecology or the impacts of intensive human development. We are assessing
current use patterns of estuarine habitat in affording opportunities for
juvenile salmon to express a variety of life history strategies to
complete their life cycle. A similar effort is to try to assemble
information on historical use patterns in order to contrast loss and
thus diminished capacity of estuarine ecosystems to support diverse
salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. The aim is to develop an
empirical basis for suggesting restoration strategies that have the
greatest potential to facilitate recovery of endangered salmon stocks.

For example, we evaluate the effects of flow management and historic
habitat change on juvenile salmon in the Columbia River estuary. We are
working with the University of Washington, Oregon Health and Science
University, and the Oregon and Washington Departments of Fish and
Wildlife to monitor fish assemblages, salmon life histories, and
physical variables in the lower estuary. The study evaluates fish and
prey assemblages within selected tidal wetlands and analyzes historic
changes in flow, sediment input, and salmon rearing opportunities
throughout the tidal river. Models are used to compare the relative
effects of river modifications and flow regulation on salmon habitat
availability and to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative scenarios
for restoring estuarine habitat.

A complimentary effort is to evaluate the role of nearshore and
estuarine habitat for listed Chinook salmon in the Puget Sound region.
Puget Sound is a highly urbanized fjord/estuary ecosystem. As a result,
many of the habitats that juvenile salmon use have been modified with
structures or armoring that has reduced and disrupted the functionality
of nearshore and estuarine habitat. We will develop and solidify the
empirical basis for protection and restoration of shallow water habitat
as part of the necessary landscape required by juvenile salmon. Because
there are numerous rivers in the Puget Sound region, rather than
conducting duplicate studies in all river systems and areas of Puget
Sound, the effort is concentrated in regional areas of south, central
and northern Puget Sound. We have highlighted several river
systems/areas to focus our efforts. Areas of study include the Nisqually
River estuarine system to the south, the Snohomish River delta and
nearshore system in the more central portion of the Sound, and the
Skagit River River estuarine and nearshore system to the north. In
addition, because of an impending dam removal on the Elwha River, a
large scale experiment will be underway to offer the opportunity to
assess the impact and changes that occur in an estuarine/nearshore
system when the river will be returned to a more natural river system.
Data from these studies will populate life cycle models that can compare
and contrast the benefit of various physical and biological changes to
identify realistic restoration actions that make sense.

# Program Organization

The Estuarine and Ocean Ecology Program organizational structure
(Figure 1) reflects the focus areas outlined above. We have three teams
that are aligned with key research themes within the program:

1)  Climate Change and Ocean Productivity

2)  Ocean Ecology

3)  Estuarine Ecology

These research themes are interdisciplinary, interrelated, and require
coordination among teams. Moreover, interdisciplinary and broad-scale
research of this nature cannot be conducted without cooperation and
collaboration from other divisions within the Center and other agencies
and organizations throughout the region. A role of the Program Manager
is to assure that we are collaborating within and outside the agency,
conducting cutting edge research, and not duplicating research being
conducted by other organizations. Each research team has a lead to
assure that we meet science, technical support, and outreach needs. The
Program organization also provides the structure necessary to conduct
research efficiently and provides for continued Program evolution or
expansion.

> > Figure 1. Organizational structure of the Estuary and Ocean Ecology
> > Program. This includes only the full time federal employees. In
> > addition, the Program includes approximately 20 non-federal
> > employees (contractors, graduate students, post-doctoral candidates
> > and interns) who are instrumental in conducting our research and
> > day-to-day business.

## Prioritizing Research and Allocating Resources {#prioritizing-research-and-allocating-resources .unnumbered}

## The research needs and questions under each of the three research teams are periodically updated and prioritized. We have gone through a planning and development effort to define pressing research needs including meeting with NOAA Fisheries regulatory staff and with stakeholders to define our research direction over the next several years. {#the-research-needs-and-questions-under-each-of-the-three-research-teams-are-periodically-updated-and-prioritized.-we-have-gone-through-a-planning-and-development-effort-to-define-pressing-research-needs-including-meeting-with-noaa-fisheries-regulatory-staff-and-with-stakeholders-to-define-our-research-direction-over-the-next-several-years. .unnumbered}

Below we briefly summarize high priority research direction of each team
over the next 3 to 5 years.

Climate and Ocean Conditions---

-   Maintain long-term ocean monitoring programs (the Newport Line and
    the BPA transects)

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-   Develop an index of ocean condition incorporating physical and
    biological metrics

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-   Identify role of lipid quality of food resources on improved salmon
    survival

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-   Produce an annual report on "Status of the N. California Current
    Ecosystem"

-   Describe role of climate change on productive marine areas for
    salmon

-   Define role of climate and habitat on health and marine survival

Ocean Ecology---

-   Describe salmon habitat requirements in the Columbia River plume

-   Quantify seabird predation impacts on outmigrating smolts

-   Describe distribution and survival of subyearling and yearling
    salmonids in the ocean

-   Relate growth and condition to habitat features

-   Describe role of climate change on productive marine areas for
    salmon

-   Define role of climate and habitat on health and marine survival

-   Determine migratory pathways for juvenile salmon in the coastal zone

-   Determine whether salmon are food limited in the ocean

Coastal Estuarine Ecology---

-   Describe food-web linkages supporting juvenile salmon in the
    Columbia River estuary

-   Assess contributions of different juvenile salmonid life history
    strategies to population diversity and spatial structure in the
    Columbia River Basin

-   Reconstruct historical habitat conditions and estimates of habitat
    change throughout the Columbia River estuary

-   Model effects of historical development activities on estuarine
    habitat

-   Develop improved analytical tools to determine estuarine growth and
    residence times; remote detection systems to track salmonid
    movements and patterns of habitat use; techniques to distinguish
    organic carbon sources in the Columbia River estuary that support
    salmon; and genetic markers to identify source populations of
    individuals

-   Evaluate the effects of habitat restoration projects on juvenile
    salmon performance

Puget Sound Estuarine and Nearshore Ecology---

-   Define stage-to-stage survival and growth rate estimates from
    freshwater to ocean entry for juvenile chinook salmon

-   Relate variability in site scale habitat features (e.g., water depth
    and vegetation characteristics) and landscape scale habitat features
    (e.g., connectivity) to juvenile chinook salmon performance

-   Identify where and what protection and restoration measures are
    needed to support salmon recovery efforts

-   Determine how Puget Sound habitats contribute to viability of
    specific salmon populations, especially population spatial structure
    and life history diversity.

-   Define how each of the major subbasins of Puget Sound are used by
    each chinook salmon population

These research needs (priorities) are likely to change over time, but we
feel they represent our priorities for the next 3 to 5 years given
current gaps and information needed by resource managers. These will be
refined on an annual basis to reflect changing needs and funding. Many
of the above priorities are incorporated into our existing projects. To
assist with planning and project tracking, we schedule the start and end
of each project and other long-term projects in Table 1. This provides
an estimate of when projects will be initiated and completed over the
next 10 years. It also provides a schedule that can be modified should
funding or priorities change.

> Table 1. Timeline for initiation and completion of Estuary and Ocean
> Ecology Program major research areas and projects. Base funding
> represents annual funding from NOAA Fisheries. Other funding
> represents outside funds or short-term grants received from within
> NOAA. Dark gray shading indicates fully funded projects and light gray
> partially funded projects.

<table style="width:100%;">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 8%" />
<col style="width: 40%" />
<col style="width: 6%" />
<col style="width: 8%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 3%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
<col style="width: 3%" />
<col style="width: 4%" />
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td colspan="2"><strong>FY05 Funds</strong></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td colspan="5"><strong>Fiscal Year</strong></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td colspan="2"><h5 id="teamresearch-areaproject">Team/Research
Area/Project</h5></td>
<td><strong>Base</strong></td>
<td><strong>Other</strong></td>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td><strong>11</strong></td>
<td><strong>12</strong></td>
<td><strong>13</strong></td>
<td><strong>14</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td colspan="2"><strong>Climate and Ocean Conditions</strong></td>
<td>200</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Long-term coastal observations</td>
<td>50</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td>Develop Ocean Condition Index</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Status of N. Calif. Current</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td>Climate impacts on salmon productivity</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>NPZ model</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td colspan="2"><strong>Ocean Ecology</strong></td>
<td>450</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Columbia River plume - habitat</td>
<td></td>
<td>800</td>
<td>800</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td>Predator/forage fish interaction</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Salmon coastal distribution</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td>Define migratory pathways</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Food web structure</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td></td>
<td>Model development</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td></td>
<td>Salmon-ocean habitat links</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>200</td>
<td>200</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

  ----------- ---------------------------- ----- ------- -- --- -- -- -- -- --- -- --
  **Coastal                                300                                     
  Estuarine                                                                        
  Ecology**                                                                        

              **Columbia River estuary**         1,200                             

              Salmon-habitat links                                                 

              Landscape scale distribution                                         

              Food web - current                                                   

              Physical water                                                       
              characteristics                                                      

              Habitat change analysis                                              

              Life history diversity                                               

              Hydologic model development                                          

              Food web - historic                                                  

              Historical habitat                                                   
              opportunity                                                          

              **Restoration assessment           15                                
              metrics**                                                            

              **Cumulative restoration           10                                
              effects**                                                            

              **Salmon River floodplain                                            
              restoration**                                                        

              Life history diversity                                               

              Restoration impacts                                                  
  ----------- ---------------------------- ----- ------- -- --- -- -- -- -- --- -- --

  ----------------- ---------------------------- ---------- ----------- ---------- ------- ------- ------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
                                                 **FY05                 **Fiscal                                                               
                                                 Funds**                Year**                                                                 

  **Team/Research                                **Base**   **Other**   **6**      **7**   **8**   **9**   **10**   **11**   **12**   **13**   **14**
  Area/Project**                                                                                                                               

  **Puget Sound                                  200                                                                                           
  Estuary &                                                                                                                                    
  Nearshore                                                                                                                                    
  Ecology**                                                                                                                                    

                    **Snohomish River**                                                                                                        

                    Distribution & abundance                                                                                                   

                    Chinook                                                                                                                    

                    Steelhead                                                                                                                  

                    Coho                                                                                                                       

                    Fish Predator/forage fish                                                                                                  

                    Food web structure                                                                                                         

                    Growth and health (disease)                                                                                                

                    **Dam Removal**                                                                                                            

                    Elwha                                                                                                                      

                    **Puget Sound**                                                                                                            

                    Species distribution &                                                                                                     
                    abundance                                                                                                                  

  **Total                                        **1150**   **2925**                                                                           
  (thousands                                                                                                                                   
  \$\'s)**                                                                                                                                     
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